Last summer, 13News Now introduced you to the vacated Marshalls store at the Lynnhaven North shopping area in Virginia Beach.
Many people got excited on social media when they found out that it was set to become a new, family-friendly entertainment center with a roller-skating rink.
SK8 House Entertainment Center is finally ready to open its doors.
When you walk inside, you'll see a number of family-friendly activities from party rooms and play spaces for kids to lounging, video gaming areas, and an escape room for people who are older.
Operations Manager Robert Barnuevo said it's intentionally set up to “have something for everybody."
He said it’s meant to "emphasize family bonding, to where parents can actually bring in their kids and do something with them."
The new entertainment center was meant to open its doors earlier but the coronavirus pandemic caused a delay.
"I am excited, more than you can see behind this mask,” said Barnuevo.
With an expectation of crowds visiting the space, Barnuevo said they have taken safety measures to protect the community.
The first thing upon entry is taking everyone's temperature, and they mandate that visitors wear face masks. If you don’t have one, they sell masks inside.
Barnuevo said they’ve also added extra cleaning and hand-sanitizing stations.
"It's really a small price to pay to make sure that everybody in here is well taken care of," he said.
The entertainment center's biggest attraction: two roller skating rinks, which will both be monitored by staff.
“We will have people basically just walking the perimeter making sure that we stay within the occupancy that we set in here,” said Barnuevo.
Monday, Barnuevo said skaters would be required to wear masks while enjoying the rink, to lower the possible risk of spreading COVID-19. The business has limited the skating rink capacity from 300 to 125.
SK8 House is different from other entertainment centers too, not just because of the variety it offers but because you don't have to pay to enter.
Instead, you pay when you participate in activities.
Barnuevo said they've hired about 20 employees to run the spaces.
The next step for SK8 House: opening the food and drink stands inside the building. In the meantime, a food truck outside will provide an option for visitors.