Hit a breaking point? Chicago Heights 'rage room' lets visitors smash plates, printers for a fee

Breaking Point Rage Room’s first client was a young mother, who arrived crying with her baby.

She left her infant with Breaking Point owner Melody Billups and headed into one of its rage rooms, where a range of dishes, appliances and glassware was set up for her to break with a baseball bat.

"She was crying, and she was just like, 'I needed this because I felt like I was gonna hurt myself or my baby,’” Billups said. “And that solidified that we were supposed to open."

That was in 2021, when Breaking Point opened a 600-square-foot space in Homewood. After closing the location in 2023, Billups reopened the all-ages space last month in Chicago Heights.

Rage rooms, or rooms that visitors can rent to destroy often easily-breakable items, with equipment like baseball bats and hammers, have been popular for more than a decade. The idea is to release stress, anger or other difficult emotions by breaking everything in sight.

Billups, 49, first heard of the concept several years ago when watching an episode of the Fox TV series “9-1-1.” After seeing the characters at a rage room, she decided to try it out herself.

"I went into my garage one day after a little spat with my significant other, and I went in there and just broke a couple of vases. And I felt so much better,” Billups said. “I came out of that garage, and I told my kids, 'We're opening a rage room.'"

Despite its global popularity, rage room businesses aren’t common in the Chicago area, with only one, Angry Cactus Lounge in Bucktown, located in Chicago. There are similar concepts, mostly offering activities like axe throwing, such as Naperville’s Axe Zone Lounge and Bulls Eye Axe Lounge in Burr Ridge and Glenview.

Breaking Point, about 30 miles south of Chicago at 191 W. Joe Orr Road, appears to be the only location that strictly offers rage rooms. Its new 1,800-square-foot space has three rooms.

Visitors are provided with safety gear and can break about 20 items such as wine or beer bottles. Billups also encourages visitors to bring their own items. Additional objects, like printers or monitors, are available as an add-on purchase.

Prices are $50 per person for 15 minutes, or $75 per person for 30 minutes. Groups are allowed, but solo raging is common. Screaming is also encouraged.

Billups estimates the business will be able to triple its revenue, compared to its old, smaller Homewood location. The business is also run by her nephew, managing partner Devin Stewart, and her four sons.

Unlike most rage room businesses, mental health is at the forefront. Billups is looking to partner with therapists, who can bring their clients. She said support groups have also frequented the space.

“It's not just a regular place to go. I hug people when they come out,” Billups said. “Sometimes they just want to sit and talk about what brought them in here. … I may not be able to solve your problems. I can't do anything about your issues, but I can give you a shoulder to cry on, and I can give you a safe space.”

This means the business has sometimes brought some unexpected heaviness into their lives.

A young man, whose father died, recently stopped into Breaking Point. His aunt was scared for him and booked a room when he was struggling with his mental health.

“I felt like I was putting myself in his footsteps, in his shoes,” Stewart, 33, said. “I was feeling what he was going through. It was definitely heavy, but it was more so for me. I felt like I was a relief for him because I was assisting him in getting that anger out. We tried to make the vibe for him as safe and comfortable as we can. And I feel like that it was like a duty for me to just provide whatever I can to help him get that out.”

Opening the Black-owned business in Chicago Heights was intentional, Billups said. She felt the area was “underserved.”

“Our first client, when she came in and looked at me and she said, ‘I trust you.’ I said, 'That‘s something we need in Black and Brown communities to feel safe,'” she said. “I don't think she would have been so comfortable if she didn't see my face when she came in.”

Sometimes, Billups and the team find themselves letting visitors extend their booking, like in the case of the young man who initially booked a 15-minute session.

“Forty-five minutes later, he's still in there, and we're passing him printers because he just needed it,” Billups said. “When he came out, he just kept thanking us and thanking us.”

It’s not uncommon for customers to ask for Billups’ personal phone number after stopping by.

“To not have an outlet or not have a listening ear, it could be the difference between life and death,” she said. “I can give you a space where you come in and feel like for those 15, 30 minutes that you are unleashing this heaviness off your back. It's fun, but it’s also cathartic.”