A new entertainment center inside Menlo Park Mall in Edison is drawing crowds with bright lights, loud music and games that fill the atrium.

Round 1 opened in February and features bowling, arcade machines and family‑friendly attractions all under one roof.

Assistant general manager Alain Cedeno said the goal is to create memorable experiences. “You don't remember what somebody said, you remember how they made you feel. So that's what we're intending to do here — make people feel like they’re having an exciting, fun time,” he said.

The arcade floor includes more than 200 claw machines and roughly 125 games, along with pool tables and bowling lanes. Visitors can redeem points in the victory zone for prizes ranging from plush toys to collectible figures.

Cedeno said Round 1’s Japanese roots strongly influence the prizes and promotions. “The biggest thing is the collaborations they are doing with anime lately. We are offering a lot of promotional stuff… people are coming in droves trying to get plushies, trying to get figures, trying to get our anime items that you won’t find in other places,” he said.

Round 1 is part of a growing trend of bringing large‑scale entertainment experiences to shopping malls across the region.