New video game lounge offers 3 hours free Sunday
Dec. 3—DANVILLE — Respawn Gaming Lounge will host three hours of free gaming opportunities at its open house from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
The new business officially opened its doors at 3124 N. Vermilion St. on Nov. 19. It offers a place for people of all ages to hang out while gaming.
Owner Philip Bryant said the lounge is stocked with six gaming PCs, five Xboxes (three are Series X and two are Series S), three PlayStation 5 consoles, three Nintendo Switches, three arcade machines, a virtual reality headset and an infinity table, which Bryant described as a large tablet with preinstalled board games.
Bryant, who is a lifelong Danville resident, said he decided to open a gaming lounge because he wanted to provide a safe place for people to play games and socialize with others.
"I've always felt Danville needed a place like this," he said. "With how popular gaming is, and how passionate I am about gaming, I thought it'd be really cool to have something in town for young people to go to hang out with their friends, play video games and just be in a welcoming environment ... I'm just really passionate about making sure we do something for our young kids in this community."
The mid-November grand opening wasn't quite as busy as Bryant had expected, but he said the customers who have shown up are returning consistently.
"We've seen the people that have given us a chance are the ones that are coming back," he said, adding how he hopes Sunday's open house will attract more potential regular customers.
The lounge's current business hours are 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday due to Bryant working full-time as a kindergarten teacher in Danville School District 118.
He is also working with the Boys and Girls Clubs from South View Upper Elementary School and North Ridge Middle School, both to inform students on how businesses are run and show them a safe place they can go to hang out with friends.
Bryant said he is willing to work with other youth groups in the area to provide a hangout spot for older kids. Children 12 years old and younger are also welcome, he said, but they must be accompanied by an adult.
Sunday's open house will provide "good firsthand experience of what we have to offer as a business and what we're about," Bryant said. "I've been working on this for a long time and I truly think it'd be good for our community, so I want people to be aware of it."
More information can be found at respawngaminglounge.com.
