THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 9, 1996 TAG: 9608070111
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY ERIC FEBER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 178 lines
HERB, THE HOUSE disc jockey, is spinning the latest sounds, throwing in a few oldies here and there. The sound system blasts away as dancers do the latest steps across the linoleum dance floor.
The mirrored ball above the floor reflects house lights at random, casting illuminations on the spirited dancers as they go through their gyrations.
In the corner several more are busy in an intense game of pool. Others are sitting at tables munching on burgers or nachos, watching the dancing or oblivious to anything as they make private conversations with their dates.
A few belly up to the bar. One orders a non-alcoholic malt beverage; another asks for a kiwi and strawberry juice on the rocks; and yet another calls for a Coke with plenty of ice.
No alcohol is served here. The customers are all under the legal drinking age.
The Zone is, according to its owners, a rare type of night spot.
The club is an all-ages nightspot, open to teenagers 12 and older. Owners Kerry Sinclair and Julian C. Levine say they know of no other club like it in South Hampton Roads.
``With the exception of a few existing clubs offering special times on specific days for all ages, I don't think there's another open-to-the-public club like ours,'' Sinclair said.
``We're the only full-time, under-21 club in the area,'' Levine added.
Located on Portlock Road, right behind the City Lights restaurant and lounge (formerly The Double Deuce) on Bainbridge Boulevard in South Norfolk, the place has been open for about two months.
So far, business has been fair to slow, but Levine and Sinclair hope word-of-mouth, especially when school starts up in the fall, will eventually make The Zone one of the hottest night spots for teens in Hampton Roads.
``We're slowly building our clientele,'' Levine said. ``It will come.''
The two owners are keen to make the club work. Like any other small business owners, they certainly want to make money, but they say they want to provide a service and a place for underage club patrons.
Both Levine and Sinclair are entrepreneurs in the strongest sense of the word.
Levine, 55, is a Chesapeake resident and native of Brooklyn. He's a body builder who runs his own Ultimate Health and Fitness club on Mount Pleasant Road and Centerville Turnpike; he helps run a limousine service; he's negotiating to place a string of hot dog carts at Chesapeake city parks; he's trying to bring Italian ice carts to Hampton Roads; and he's getting involved in a pre-paid phone card service.
Sinclair, 36, is a Long Island native who resides in Virginia Beach. He manages a string of vending machines placed at various South Hampton Roads sites, including Jungle Golf, Iceland skating rink and the Norfolk Naval Base. He's also working to offer pre-paid phone card service to area consumers.
Together, they own and manage The Zone.
Sinclair said he first met Levine when he used his limousine service. They've been friends ever since.
``In spite of our ages we became inseparable friends and business associates,'' Levine said.
Levine said the idea of The Zone came to him when he was working with the limo service.
``I was taking a young Great Bridge couple around for a night out on the town,'' Levine said. ``First they went to eat at an Italian restaurant. When they were finished with that they wanted to go to a club to go dancing. He could go - he was 21 - but his date couldn't go anywhere. She was only 17. I ended up just driving them around for a while and then I took them home. His six-hour limo rental lasted only about three hours, there was no place else for them to go. They wanted to go to a club to dance.''
Noticing their dilemma, Levine asked the couple if there was an all-ages club, would they go? He said both gave that question an unequivocal ``yes.''
``That stuck in my mind,'' Levine said. ``Then after I met Kerry, I discussed the idea with him. I told him teens throughout Chesapeake and the area really have no place to go dancing. He thought it would work, too.''
The two then looked at places in and around the city. Finally they found the gutted former after-hours club right next door to the City Lights.
They contacted Billy Gray, who owns the building and operates City Lights, and he also thought the under-21 club was a great idea.
``He offered us the place next to his,'' Sinclair said. ``He re-did the entire place. He had it painted, he added a new dance floor, added some amusements, a pool table, a Foosball table and food and beverage facilities. After that, we opened The Zone on June 7.''
A public address system was added to offer the latest dance hits. Now every weekend, Herb the DJ plays pulsating dance music, a few oldies and the latest chart hits for the dancing pleasure of the under-21 crowd.
There are tables and chairs, a pool table and a bar/snack area, where teens can order hot dogs, hamburgers, pizzas, nachos, virgin daiquiris, various exotic juices and soft drinks.
Both owners say more and more teens are coming to the club each week. Most think the club is a good idea.
``We notice we get kids from as far away as Suffolk, Newport News and other Peninsula locations,'' Levine said. ``The kids that come in say they're glad we're here.''
But teenagers aren't the only ones glad The Zone is open.
Parents of teens who live in and around South Norfolk sing its praises, too.
``The first night it opened I went there to check it out,'' said Debbie A. Davis, whose children Linda Putt, 13, and Jennifer and Dorothy Putt, both 12, are regularly dropped off at the club on weekends. ``They do have bouncers and they seem to look after the kids. They don't let anything get out of hand. I think this place is really great for teens. It gives them some place to go and something to do on weekend evenings.''
Linda Putt, a Hickory Middle School student, said she, her sisters and her friends like the place because it offers them a place to dance, hang out and meet their friends.
``There's no other club like this in the area,'' Linda said. ``We love to go dancing there.''
``I have no complaints whatsoever,'' said South Norfolk resident Sharon A. Query, an employee at Portlock Pharmacy. ``I think it's great. I have four children, and my youngest (14-year-old Melissa Linkous), goes there every Friday night to dance and be with her friends. The owners are very nice. I think they're doing a great job.''
Query said she dropped off Melissa at the club one Friday night and then returned a couple of hours later, to check things out, unannounced. She was pleased with what she saw.
``I snuck back in and saw that my daughter still there having fun,'' she said. ``I work at the pharmacy and talk to a lot of people and so far I've heard no complaints at all.''
And neither have the police.
According to Elizabeth Jones, spokesperson for the Crime Line and the Chesapeake Police Department, The Zone is no-trouble zone.
``Now the club has only been open a few weeks and it hasn't picked up a lot of its clientele yet, but so far we've gotten no complaints, and we haven't experienced any problems,'' Jones said.
She said she spoke with Officer L.A. Hernandez, who regularly patrols South Norfolk as part of the department's community policing effort.
``Officer Hernandez and other officers made contact with the owners, and he said they seem to be very helpful and pro-police,'' Jones said. ``They seem very easy to get along with.''
Although Angelina F. Wiggs, a South Norfolk homemaker, has two young children of her own, she readily takes her teenage nieces and nephews - Melissa Goode and Tiffany Ritter, both 15 and Oscar F. Smith High sophomores, and Brian Goode, a 17-year-old Oscar Smith senior - to the club every weekend.
``It's excellent,'' Wiggs said. ``I can drop them off and not worry. Julian and Kerry have my home phone and will contact me if there's ever any problem. They're both wonderful guys. They both blend in well with the teens and they watch out for the kids. When they're there, they won't let anyone leave unless the parents are there or they have permission from parents. My nieces and nephews say they'd rather go there than to the mall or the movies.''
Wiggs said the club is so popular with her family that a threat of no visits to The Zone keeps them in line.
``When they hear `No Zone!' they straighten right up,'' she added. ``I once asked Julian and Kerry why not just open another bar. They told me we've got plenty of bars, but there's no place for teens to go.''
Levine said he and Sinclair plan to make the club available for private teen parties or for school or church youth functions. They also hope to schedule popular local bands, karaoke nights, catering, special promotions and even ``happy hours,'' where soft drinks, juices and virgin daiquiris are sold at special low prices.
There's only one thing in the club that bothers both men: The cigarette machine in the corner.
``I hate to see these kids smoke,'' Levine said. ``I've been a body builder and an athlete all my life, and I can see where smoking is harmful, especially for these kids. We're thinking of getting rid of it.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Cover, Color photo]
IN THE ZONE
Staff photos, including the cover, by STEVE EARLEY
Chatting at the bar at ``The Zone'' are, from left: Jenna Burke,
Christie Williams, Michelle McCann, Leah Pecher and Maggie Kraemer.
Chris Martin lines up a shot at one of the two pool tables at ``The
Zone.''
Staff photos by STEVE EARLEY
Teens dance at ``The Zone'' with flashing lights and music from a
deejay.
The teenagers are not allowed to leave unless their parents are
there or give their permission.
AT A GLANCE
What: The Zone, under-21 teen dance club
Where: 1105 Portlock Road (off Bainbridge Boulevard, behind City
Lights Cafe)
When: Open Thursday through Sunday nights from 8 p.m. until 2
a.m.
Cost: A $5 cover charge will be collected at the door
Call: For more information, phone 545-4109. by CNB