Eat and play pickleball at the entertainment center on offer near Bonsack

Pickleball, cornhole, bowling, ax throwing, darts, ping pong, arcade games and some form of miniature golf would be on the menu along with edibles and alcoholic beverages at 540 Social. The owner said he would try to organize a range of activities to appeal to young people during the day and adults in the evening. As planned, crews would erect a two-story building housing a restaurant surrounded by outdoor seating, spaces for recreational sports and a stage for concerts.

“As the sun goes down, our customer base changes,” said Mitchell Tyler, principal of the company proposing the project. It would be the latest in a series of businesses launched by the Tyler family, a portfolio that includes SafeSide Tacticala gun dealer and shooting range in Roanoke, and Blue Ridge Ax Throwing in Blacksburg and Harrisonburg.

The family business Trail Development Group LLC of Roanoke wants to build the project on the site of the former Trail Drive-In movie theater on U.S. 460 East, according to a rezoning application pending in Roanoke County.

The Trail Cinema operated from 1951 until 1985, when it stopped showing films and became a flea market. Trail Development secured access to the now vacant site spanning more than 9 acres and located between a CVS pharmacy on US 460 and a window manufacturing plant in the adjacent industrial park and budgeted $10 million to land acquisition, construction and improvements, Tyler said. .

Trail Development wants the county to change the land use designation of the property from industrial to commercial. The county plans to consider the issue next month, with the planning commission meeting July 2 and the board of supervisors July 25.

“I don’t think it’s a big ask,” Tyler said of the rezoning request. Already zoned for industry, the site could accommodate a rock crushing plant or warehouse using lots of trucks, he said. Businesses that cater to the public, including a bank, gas station, and restaurants, dot the neighborhood.

The land is across the street from the Roanoke Center for Industry and Technology, a large industrial park.

Tyler said a consultant told the family there was a “shocking” shortage of entertainment options available in the Roanoke area. This inspired planned programming for 540 Social to include old favorites and trending hobbies such as pickleball. Except at 540 Social, bowlers would throw real balls at real pins, but would have the option of superimposing projected images of obstacles or targets onto the lanes, Mitchell said. The golf course would be different from traditional miniature golf, in which a customer could put a ball into a lion's mouth, and would instead resemble a “scaled-down” version of a real golf course, he said . The plans give an area of ​​47,000 square feet, or just over an acre.

At a full house, 540 Social could accommodate 600 people at a time, he said.

“Our project’s vision truly brings the former Drive In property back to its entertainment roots!” the rezoning request says. “Named 540 Social – paying homage to the rich community our area code represents – and best described as 'Eatertainment,' we will have a large, high-quality casual restaurant as our anchor. Our draw crosses a wide variety of ages and interests From local families to visitors, from first dates to corporate celebrations – you will come to us and leave with memories of good times with friends.

If the project is approved, a late 2025 opening appears possible, Tyler said.