New sports lounge opens its doors in downtown Fredericksburg

BY CHRIS MARKHAM

Downtown Fredericksburg welcomed a new small business to its family with the grand opening of Jay’s Downtown Sports Lounge.

On Wednesday, Nov. 5, Jay’s opened its doors for the first time to the general public after a week of hosting private dinners for the staff’s friends and families. The lounge will offer a unique taste to the Fredericksburg area, only to be rivaled by Home Team Grill.

“We are very excited because it’s a one a kind sports bar in Fredericksburg,” said owner Sanjay Sharma. “One and only I should say in this area, so I’m very excited because I feel I have something to give to Fredericksburg.”

Jay’s Downtown Sports Lounge is located at 409 William St., next to the Olde Town Butcher. The lounge opens up the possibility of adding additional flare to an already robust corner of the downtown area, which also includes Fredericksburg favorites such as Castiglia’s and Vivify Burger Lounge.

The restaurant will offer all that of a typical sports lounge, including pool tables, dart boards, flat-screen TVs and, of course, a bar. The bar will offer more than 60 beers, 20 of which will be on tap. The nearly all black interior of the restaurant provides a sophisticated feel while the seating options, ranging from couches and bars to booths and sunrooms, offers a wide variety of choices for its customers.

“Being a sports bar, we are planning to do some pool tournaments, dart board tournaments,” Sharma said.

The lounge’s 52 televisions are aligned side-by-side throughout the interior of the restaurant and are tuned to offer 24 different channels, ensuring that customers will be able to watch as many games as possible.

Being the first sports bar of its kind in the Fredericksburg area, University of Mary Washington students will now have the opportunity to enjoy a new atmosphere, one never before seen in the area.

“I think since we are a sports bar, we are going to attract a lot of college kids,” Sharma said. “They are going to have fun over here.”

The restaurant is located in the same building that previously housed F.W. Sullivan’s, along with numerous other stores. Sharma, who also owns Jay’s Restaurant and Lounge in the Greenbrier Shopping Center, will be heading his second venture, according to the Free Lance Star.