ZavaZone: Bouncing back

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Bouncing Back

ZavaZone adjusts after opening just months before pandemic

BY GIANNA JIRAK

For InsideNoVA

In December 2020, Prince William County received an exciting addition to its growing family fun entertainment scene – ZavaZone.

The 30,000-square-foot indoor adventure park, complete with trampolines and a high ropes course, was set to be an absolute hit. But COVID-19 had other ideas.

As many such businesses did, ZavaZone struggled. Customers were few and far between, the owners were struggling to obtain supplies, and bills were piling up. To make things worse, many GPS devices directed customers who were trying to find ZavaZone to the entrance of Potomac Mills Mall instead of ZavaZone’s entrance, which is outside the mall.

Even with those struggles, franchise owner Rich Eitzel didn’t give up. Instead, he reworked the adventure park’s business model.

“We had to re-work our entire firstyear plan and financial projections. We hoped to employ as many as 50 team members but had to scale that down to 30 or so,” he said.

Although he could not employ as many people as he initially wanted, Eitzel believes that being able to employ as many as he was is an accomplishment. Many of the employees he brought on had been laid off or were given reduced hours, and he was delighted to be able to help them get back on their feet.

“Some of our team had been previously laid off due to the pandemic or forced to deal with significantly

“It was very rewarding for me to help those residents of our community get back to their potential.”

– RICH EITZEL, FRANCHISE OWNER, ZAVAZONE

MORE INFORMATION:

» Location: 2700 Potomac Mills Circle, Suite 711, Woodbridge » Hours: Monday, noon-8 p.m. Tuesday, closed Wednesday/Thursday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. and 4-8 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. and 4-9 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday, noon- 6 p.m. » Admission: one hour, $19.50; two hours, $34; three-hours, $44 » More details: www.zavazone.com/ potomacmills/

reduced hours,” Eitzel said. “It was very rewarding for me to help those residents of our community get back to their potential.”

In addition to reducing the number of employees he planned to hire, Eitzel also reworked ZavaZone’s building. Walls were knocked down to make

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ZavaZone at Potomac Mills Mall reconfigured its space and attractions to adapt to the pandemic.

PROVIDED

the space more open and COVID-19 friendly, and some attractions were eliminated due to supply shortages and costs. The missing attractions were, however, replaced with something of a fan favorite at ZavaZone – a giant inflatable.

The inflatable is not just one giant inflatable, but instead seven inflatables connected to each other. Eitzel said he has been told it is Virginia’s largest indoor inflatable. Although it only came about due to the inability to acquire other attractions, it has been quite a success, especially among some of ZavaZone’s younger patrons.

“For toddler-age kids the inflatable is probably their favorite,” said Tara Croce, the communications coordinator at ZavaZone. “We have two different obstacle courses on each side [of the inflatable], it also comes with a rock wall that you can jump off of and a giant slide.”

Now that the nature of the pandemic has changed and more businesses have regained their bearings, ZavaZone is making a comeback from its pandemic struggles. Although employee numbers have not gone up, it is getting more customers than previously and frequently hosts group events.

Even with this customer increase, ZavaZone is still ensuring COVID-19 safety measures. While social distancing is not required within the park, capacity is limited within the building, employees are disinfecting equipment constantly, and patrons are required to wear masks to ensure that everyone has a safe time.

“We constantly wipe everything down,” Croce said. “Doors, handles, handlebars, railings. Everything is sprayed with sanitizer.”

Although these safety measures are heavily enforced for the wellbeing of ZavaZone’s customers, it does not get in the way of any fun whatsoever.

“Loved this place! Took my step-daughter and she had a blast!” one reviewer wrote on Google.”There is so much to do from wall climbing, to trampoline dodgeball, trampoline basketball, to the ninja course and the staff was great!”