Teens are an age group caught in the middle — between the day cares of their younger selves and the restaurants and wine bars of their parents.

Hanging out with friends tops many a teen’s priority list, sometimes trumping school and even family.

They just need a venue.

Club 1515 at the Boys & Girls Club is a milieu for huddled chatter and jest-laden antics. Here, teens find their own playground.

Flat-screen TVs. Two pool tables. Rows of computer screens. A ground-level couch that slouches into a corner. A Wii console.

“We want them to feel that this is their home away from home,” Boys & Girls Club Executive Director Mark Kuhnhausen said.

With freshly painted bright green walls and polished floors, the renovated teen center is the bedroom most teens only dream of.

The remodel included adding a cafe kitchen where the young patrons will be able to attend cooking demonstrations and classes. On a recent afternoon, grapes, oranges, nuts and other healthy snacks sat at hand for grazing. The center will soon add dances, band nights and open mic nights.

Club 1515’s improvements came through a $100,000 gift from the deLeuze family of ZD Wines.

The older set at the Boys & Girls Club weren’t always so fortunate.

The club traditionally served younger children, said Robert deLeuze, the winery’s CEO. His daughter worked at the center several years ago, and often found money as a barrier to new programs for teens.

“There was a definite feeling that the Teen Center was underfunded,” he said.

His family approached the club and asked how they could help change that.

The renovation was one of several items on club’s the wish list. The club gave the nod and construction began.

“I think it’s a nice improvement, and hopefully it will continue to get better over the months and years to come,” deLeuze said.

The center hasn’t officially re-opened. The traditional ribbon cutting ceremony is reserved for Tuesday at 4 p.m..

The club was quiet Tuesday afternoon, with five teens stationed at different posts. One lounged on a couch watching a movie.

A girl sat rapt at a computer, with her friend leaning on the counter next to her, reading over her shoulder.

A boy slouched on the other side, his chin in his hand.

From the kitchen, the sound of running water and muffled banging signaled the washing of dishes. Entry revealed another boy, with yellow gloves up to his forearms, in his first day volunteering as part of court-ordered community service.

It’s not a bad gig so far, he said.

Angel Casillas, 17, the young man at the computer, pairs socializing with school work.

He doesn’t have a computer at home, so the teen center’s computer lab is a convenient place to start his senior project, he said.

It’s even better that he can play pool and watch TV between responsibilities.

“I get to chill with my friends,” he said.

The center usually sees about 25 teens each day, with more on Fridays when free pizza is a draw, said Robin Speer, the club’s teen services coordinator. She expects to see participation rise with the renovation.

The Boys & Girls Club of Napa is a hangout for young people ages 6 to 18. For a membership fee of $50 a year, youth have access to full-court basketball, games, arts and crafts and a library where they can do homework.

It gives them a safe, supervised place to have fun, Kuhnhausen said. But fun isn’t the only goal.

By exposing them to various activities, he hopes the children who attend will find their niche.

“We want to make sure that every kid has an opportunity to be successful and succeed, not only in school, but in life,” he said.

Adults may not talk to teens much about the economy, but they feel it, Kuhnhausen said.

The lack of jobs has given some teens a sense of hopelessness about their future. The teen center hopes to equip them as they set out.

 “We want to give the young people a sense of empowerment,” Kuhnhausen said. “This is their teen center.”