VR entertainment center Pelagos opens at Regency – Richmond BizSense

A new reality sports center has arrived at the Regency.

Pelagos VR opened last month in the storefront next to the Sloop John B restaurant at the west entrance of Henrico Mall facing Quioccasin Road.

The 5,000-square-foot space offers a 33-foot-by-33-foot “free-roam” area, an area dedicated to virtual escape rooms as well as four treadmill-like stations that offer games. different different.

Sports sessions at Pelagos start at $45. Escape room games last 45 minutes, while some VR games last 25 minutes. The escape room area has room for six people at a time, while the arena area has room for five players at a time.

Players in the arena can play action games and shooters licensed from Switzerland’s TrueVR Systems. The escape room games are licensed from Canada-based vrCave, which incorporates some video game elements into real-world experiences.

The treadmill’s four omnidirectional channels allow VR-equipped players to move around the real world using an infinite treadmill. These stations are made by the Austrian firm Cyberith Technologies.

This area has a room where customers can put on VR equipment and get a brief explanation from a Pelagos employee about how the games work before the sessions start. During active games, staff work as spotters to make sure players don’t collide or fall.

Pelagos is owned by Gene and Joan Burke. Their daughter Katy is the company’s creative director and son Colin is its marketing director.

The business presents itself as a comprehensive experience, and is mainly aimed at adults.

“One of the great things about our place is the power of play and the ability to immerse yourself in another world, to stimulate your imagination,” said Katy, who previously worked for a local company. of Ravenchase Adventures. “Because I think it’s very easy to play as a child, and the older we get, the harder it is to have fun and play. We wanted to build an environment and a place where people could feel safe to learn and do so. ”

Pelago also has an on-site restaurant with seating for 50 people. In addition to beer and wine, the menu includes items such as philly cheesesteak egg rolls, pretzel dogs and mini corn dogs, as well as salad and charcuterie boards.

“We have good pub food and really good food, charcuterie, healthy stuff, because you work hard here,” said Katy.

Pelagos is open from 6-10 pm. Wednesday and Thursday, 3-11 pm on Friday, 10 am to midnight on Saturday and 11 am to 9 pm on Sunday. The site is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Gene, who previously worked for Capital One and recently retired as Koalafi’s COO, estimated that it costs less than $1 million to start Pelagos.

He said Pelagos, which is an ancient Greek word meaning “deep sea,” is trying to gain popularity and the availability of virtual experiences. He estimated that more than half of the site’s visitors will be familiar with home VR devices, but that the novelty of the concept also helps business.

“VR is more popular than it was a few years ago,” he said. “It’s a natural attraction. People see it or hear about it, and they’re like, ‘I the coolest thing ever.’ There’s a lot of that, it sells itself.”

Pelagos is a mom-and-pop that takes what Gene calls a “high-end” virtual reality business, and has modeled its business on Sandbox VR, a network of VR locations with locations in Northern Virginia and the surrounding areas. other. in the country.

Looking ahead, Pelagos is interested in developing its own VR experiences and may explore the idea of ​​franchising.

“There are a lot of different growth strategies that we’re going to explore,” Gene said.

Pelagos is the latest experience-based employer to come to Regency, where the owners of Rebkee Co. and Thalhimer Realty Partners in recent years have tried to shift the mall away from retail and toward a mix of mixed-use and commercial- and residential-based tenants. units.

Other entertainment-oriented tenants at Regency include the trampoline park Surge Adventure Park and Performance Pickleball.