Students are notorious for responding to claims of free beer, and The Zone, a new bar opening up on Main St., hopes to lure some students to their grand opening by offering the first five kegs on the house today.

The Zone, 125 Main St., was formerly Main Attraction. Larry Genalo, manager of The Zone and Corner Pocket, said Main Attraction closed about six weeks ago for remodeling to make a place for the new bar.

Genalo said the decision was made to close Main Attraction because it was not as profitable as they had hoped for.

Like Main Attraction, The Zone will be a dance club, but Genalo said they have tried to brighten the establishment up and have put up new lighting on the dance floor.

Genalo said they will play Top 40 music and may occasionally have live music later on.

The Zone, Genalo hopes, will be more appealing to students than downtown bars have traditionally been.

He hopes to accomplish this by doing more promotional activities, contests and giveaways.

“I hope The Zone gives students a reason to come to the bar [for] other than just a drink,” Genalo said.

Other downtown bar owners agree that The Zone will hopefully bring more students to their side of town, which means more business for them.

“Students that come downtown are trying to get away from the Welch Avenue scene,” said Mike Jacobson, owner and manager of Sportsman Lounge, 123 Main St.

Jacobson said downtown bars offer a more local, small-town atmosphere and many of their customers are blue-collar workers.

He said he was not worried about possible competition with The Zone but was glad it was opening because hopefully students will discover the other bars downtown.