Vacant space in the Long Leaf Shopping Center will soon reopen as a play center for youngsters.
 
Armand and Jessica Daniel, owners of two other children’s play businesses, have transformed the former Monkey Joe’s space into an entertainment facility called Bounce Parties and Games. They plan to open the center in early July, after final inspections are completed, Armand Daniel said.
 
The new space will feature a variety of games, a café area, bounce houses and a “soft play” kids’ zone for children aged three and under, he said. For kids up to age 12, there will be video games as well as arcade redemption games like Skee-Ball, basketball and air hockey.
 
Players of redemption games accumulate tickets that they can exchange for prizes at the redemption counter, Daniel said.
 
Patrick Riley of Maus Warwick Matthews & Co. said in an email that he represented the new tenants and completed the lease terms with the owners a couple of months ago.  Since then, he said, the Daniels have renovated the approximately 12,400-square-foot space with new carpet, paint and flooring.
 
The Daniels also own Power of Play, an indoor playground at 6644 Gordon Road, which they have operated for three years, Daniel said. They first entered the children’s recreation market when they bought a PlayNation franchise in Wilmington 11 years ago. The PlayNation office is located inside the Power of Play facility.
 

 

 
“At both [Bounce and Power of Play] we will host birthday parties and school fundraisers,” Daniel said. “We’re hoping to do a teen night at Bounce, but not immediately.”