Coastal Virginia natives Jake Caburian, Amante Canonizado and Robert Barnuevo grew up on the hardwood floors of local skating rinks. They are now on a mission to reintroduce their childhood pastime with SK8 House, a modern entertainment center that offers indoor skating as just one of its many recreational elements.
SK8 House, located in the Lynnhaven North Shopping Center, boasts 27,000 square feet of affordable family fun and private event space. “We’re trying to make use of every square foot in here,” says Caburian as he walks us through the spacious floorplan. Upon entering SK8 House, guests will check in at the front desk which doubles as a bar for skate rentals. They will then choose from a variety of admission options that gain them access to SK8 House’s many spaces including a Toddler Area, Kids’ Jungle Gym, eSports Lounge, Escape Room, a practice skating rink and the full-scale rink that flanks the center’s left side.
In the eSports Lounge, kids and adults alike can take advantage of an array of gaming systems for some high-tech fun. “We’re trying to incorporate the new wave of younger entertainment [with] nostalgic, classic skating,” explains Caburian.
Local artist Jas paints a colorful mural at the SK8 House entrance. Additional murals
are planned for the center's interior.
No entertainment center is complete without food, so the SK8 House trio recruited three local vendors to set up permanent shops along the center’s back wall. Flipping gourmet burgers, grilling up Philly cheeseteaks and tossing fresh New York-style pizza is local food truck Casual Eats. Complementing the comfort food vendor are Wing It, a saucy chicken wing joint, and Jelly Ball, a beverage stop specializing in rolled ice cream, smoothies, milkshakes, slushies and pearl drinks. Additionally, older patrons can visit the Native Taproom to imbibe local brews and regionally crafted wines.
The SK8 House team is also looking to utilize the practice rink as a multipurpose center for activities such as daily aerobics classes. They are hopeful that the space’s central location to the beach and proximity to the Interstate 264 thoroughfare will not only attract Virginia Beach residents but those in the Chesapeake and Norfolk communities as well. “It’s a family entertainment center, so we really want to incorporate families, communities and everything in between,” explains Caburian. “We want to keep that approach by making things affordable.”
SK8 House is located at 600 South Lynnhaven Road, Suite 100, Virginia Beach.
Grace Silipigni
Grace Silipigni is an elementary school Spanish immersion teacher based in Virginia Beach and a regular contributor to Coastal Virginia Magazine, covering a wide range of topics such as health and wellness, education and learning, food and drink, happenings and events, travel and getaways and more.
