DEARBORN — When Dearborn businessman Morgan Hammoud surveyed the metro Detroit landscape, he saw plenty of places for teenagers to hang out and plenty of places for younger kids to hang out.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held for the new Gamerz USA family fun center in Westland. Here, owner Morgan Hammoud (c) cuts the ribbon during the grand opening party on Thursday, Oct. 21 along with his wife Elham to his left and Westland Mayor William Wild to his right. Photo courtesy of Abbas Ramadan

But in his opinion, there weren’t enough places for families with both older and younger kids to visit and enjoy a fun time out together.

It was in that spirit that Hammoud opened Gamerz USA on September 1, a state-of-the-art new restaurant and family fun center in the nearby city of Westland that has drawn a great deal of attention in recent weeks.

The city held a ribbon-cutting celebration for the new location on Thursday, October 21 at Gamerz USA. Westland Mayor William Wild addressed the crowd of guests, who enjoyed lunch and a tour of the brand-new arcade and laser tag facilities.

“Kids in Westland have been talking about this place for a long time, and I have to say the project turned out beautiful,” Wild said.

“The city is here to help you succeed because whenever someone opens a new business in Westland, it’s a big deal to us.”

Hammoud, who is transitioning from Arcadia in Dearborn Heights, a similar family fun center, acknowledged that the venture is a risk in today’s economic climate. But he did his homework before beginning the project and feels confident that the location near Westland Mall will work out well.

“It is a risk but if you don’t take risks you’re never going to be successful,” Hammoud said, while thanking landlord Brian Mychajluk for helping to get him a good deal on the rent.

The biggest drawing point of Gamerz USA, which Hammoud hopes can be a chain some day, is the new “modern battlefield” style of laser tag playing field which includes a realistic urban area for participants to enjoy.

Buildings, cars, and realistic debris and a variety of different weapons all make for an engaging setting on the laser tag battlefield and a variety of play modes including capture-the-flag and VIP escort missions are available for players to ensure the experience doesn’t get stale. The area is also more wide-open so that there is more room to maneuver for kids and more visibility making for a safer environment.

In the video arcade area, games like trivia and skee-ball are available as players are given the chance to win tickets that can be redeemed for various prizes at the front counter.

A long line of TVs hooked up to Playstation 3 consoles for playing the latest video games ranging from sports to action games is also available and Hammoud is expected to get 3D-TV gaming capability in soon as well. Tournaments are also expected to be held on the game consoles.

The restaurant area is also a major drawing point, featuring freshly-made halal food in a market that doesn’t offer much of it. Favorite menu items include various gourmet pizza items, Mediterranean cuisine, sandwiches, calzones, salads, appetizers and more.

Mike Lizon, who lives in the area and helped in the construction on Gamerz USA, said that Westland was in desperate need of such a restaurant and said he greatly enjoyed the food.

Hammoud said that business has been steady so far and customers have enjoyed his creation.

“Honestly everyone so far is very happy, especially the kids, this is a new experience for them and we’re happy with the way everything is going so far,” he said.

Hammoud helped design the entire facility from scratch with its modern designs and warm colors. He talked about what it takes to succeed in today’s business environment.

“You have to be creative and take risks, and you have to have knowledge, confidence, and good friends, all of those things will take you somewhere,” he said.

Lizon believes that Hammoud has what it takes to make Gamerz USA a big success. Hammoud is currently scouting out another possible location in the Southfield area should his business continue to grow.

“He’s the best businessman I’ve worked for,” Lizon said. “I’ve worked for a lot of businessmen and I can tell he has the right plan, he’s outgoing, he’s honest, and he always does what he says he’s going to do. I can tell he’s going to succeed in Westland.”

Gamerz also offers take-out food, catering, and service for various events including birthdays, fund-raising, team-building for companies and more.

For more information including hours, visit ww.gamerzusa.com or call 734.266.1600. Gamerz USA is located at 34700 Warren Road in Westland.