Rage hall proposed for vacant Wawa in Gloucester Township

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — Gloucester Township could get a rage room, where patrons can relieve stress by smashing everything in sight. But before anything is destroyed, business owners must get permission to rebuild it.

The company – currently titled Mad Glass, LLC – hopes to build a rage room on the site of a vacant Wawa (1115 N Black Horse Pike). The proposal is submitted to the township zoning board. agenda for Wednesday’s meeting.

The first known rage room opened during the Great Recession — a Tokyo business called The Venting Place, designed for stressed workers, according to WHYY. Since then, they have opened all over the world.

Rage rooms – sometimes called “destroy rooms” – typically allow clients to rent space and smash things. They are often touted as a fun escape and stress reliever. Certainly, psychologists have mixed opinions on their impacts on mental health.

The proposed facility in Gloucester Township will include at least two separate rooms where individuals or groups of up to four people can break things. The property’s 3,800-square-foot building will remain the same size and rooms will be insulated with soundproofing materials to minimize noise pollution, according to zoning documents.

Mad Glass LLC will offer two distinct packages:

“Shards of Rage”: a 20-minute session with 30 breakable objects, for $30
“Hot Heads”: a 20-minute “all you can eat” session, at a cost of $50

Customers ages 13 and older will use baseball bats, sledgehammers, golf clubs and crowbars to destroy glass bottles, VHS tapes, flat-screen TVs and other objects.

Mad Glass LLC is a disabled veteran-owned business operated by married couple Tamarris and Shawnte Jenkins.

If approved, the facility will initially operate from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays and 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. on weekends. As the business grows over the years, it will likely be open from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.

All participants must wear protective equipment. Owners and all future employees will be first aid certified.

The property, most recently used as a salon, is in the township’s commercial residential district — a mix of homes, small apartment buildings and businesses less likely to generate heavy traffic. Mad Glass LLC is seeking a use variance from the Board of Zoning Adjustment because rage rooms are not addressed in the township’s zoning policies.

There are only two rage rooms within an hour’s drive of Gloucester Township, while a third is coming soon in Burlington County, according to Mad Glass’ market research. Patch announced last month that a smash room would open at Moorestown Mall.

The zoning board meeting begins Wednesday at 7 p.m.