By Bailey Lucero-Carter
Move over Chuck E. Cheese—there’s a new name in entertainment and it has something for everyone. With its grand opening Monday, The Zone in Ashburn is an entertainment center that boasts high standards and a fresh environment appealing to all ages.
Six years ago, Gill and his family were disappointed with their experience at a chain entertainment facility: the food was sub-par, the atmosphere was unclean and the parents had nothing to do. “I’m a hotelier by trade, so that’s the time I thought, ‘somebody could definitely do better,’ and that’s how the thought process started,” says Kamal Gill, CEO/chief entertainment officer.
At The Zone, kids and adults can play laser tag in a two-story arena with a Mayan Jungle theme, or bowl on an alley where a 20-foot projection screen plays sports over the pins. The Zone also features 37 arcade games, including popular titles like Fruit Ninja or Flappy Bird, high-speed racing games like Dead Heat, and a 3-D air combat simulator called The Mach Storm. The games and activities were selected by Gill, for being both kid- and adult-friendly.
With inspiration from Dave & Buster’s, The Zone strives to provide high standards of fun and food for all ages. Unlike other entertainment centers, The Zone keeps an Executive Chef on staff and strays away from frozen foods. “We’re trying to follow the farm to fork route,” says Gill. “We’re sourcing a lot of fresh ingredients, so that’s a very key thing for us to do. We’re not your typical run of the mill sports bar.”
The Zone’s hottest menu items will be classic choices like pizza, burgers, flatbreads and wings, though the selection also includes calamari, fish tacos and Indian kabob. Parents can even enjoy beer and wine from the bar and can lounge either in the dining area or on the patio.
The high-quality entertainment provided by The Zone is further enhanced by its high-tech system of game currency. Instead of inserting coins and receiving tickets for arcade games, players can swipe a card that keeps track of their currency and tickets won. Players can then cash in these electronic tickets for tangible prizes without having to count hundreds of paper slips along the way.
Advanced technology, quality dining and widespread entertainment bring high hopes for The Zone. “We definitely wanted a high-end place,” says Gill, “and when I say high-end, this doesn’t mean that we’re charging high-end. It means that people have the look and feel of a very nice, warm, friendly, and luxurious place.”
The Zone
43811 Central Station Drive, Suite 100
Ashburn, 20147
Sun. – Thur. 10 a.m. – midnight
Fri. & Sat. 10 a.m. – 1 a.m.
No Admission Fee
