Restaurants are playing games with their customers in an offbeat bid to reverse slumping sales and traffic.
In recent weeks, operations ranging from the Dickey’s fast-food barbecue chain to the links-themed Topgolf eatertainment concept have added new computer-based games as their latest draw.
Dickey’s addition serves as a new revenue source as well as another reason for patrons to visit. A store in Chillicothe, Ohio, has installed a golf simulator that parties can rent for $40 an hour, even when the kitchen may not be in operation. The unit is inviting patrons to schedule use of the device early in the morning or late at night.
The fee covers only the use of the simulator, a device that provides a digital depiction of drives, chips and putts on a video screen, mimicking what the duffer would see while actually playing a round. Customers are expected to bring their own clubs and balls.
Because the simulator is rented by the hour instead of per user, Dickey’s voiced hopes the device will help in landing group bookings for special events like birthday, bachelor and company parties. Groups of up to eight people can play the game during the rentals, which can run around four hours if the party plays a full simulated round.
The pilot site intends to build off the rentals by offering special food and beverage deals for the players.
Topgolf, an operation that targets golf afficionados, has long featured simulators. The chain recently reached beyond the generic version to add a different sort based on the cartoon and video-game character Sonic the Hedgehog.
A guest hits balls off a tee on an actual driving range. A computer records the shot and calculates where it would fall if the swing had been taken in the computer-simulated version. A screen at the side of the user’s driving-range slot shows where the ball is located within the game’s on-screen course.
Customers can play the new game for free. Topgolf expects to generate money off the attraction by selling Sonic-themed merchandise in addition to tempting guests with the operation’s usual array of foods and beverage.
The Sonic character will also promote golfing products sold by Topgolf and its parent, Topgolf Callaway Brands. In the inaugural version of the game, the famously speedy hedgehog uses The Sure Thing, the company’s newest golfclub.
In announcing that patrons can play the game for free, Topgolf noted the appeal Sonic holds for younger consumers. It noted that the addition could help the concept attract more families.
A new generation of games figures large in the rebound strategy of Dave & Buster’s, the 168-unit video games and food concept, and its twin sister chain, 60-store Main Event. Included in the updated array are electronic versions of activity games like shuffleboard and darts.
“Games will always be what we’re known for and the key differentiator of our business,” CFO Darin Harper told financial analysts Tuesday.
A standout, he said, is The Human Crane, a variation on the arcade game where players manipulate the controls of a claw-like crane to drop down and grab stuffed animals or other prizes from the well below it.
In the Human version, the player serves as the crane. He or she is suspended horizontally in a harness above the well of prizes, which they can scoop up with their arms or even catch between their feet. The setup ensures that the player can scoop up one of the goodies.
All of the game installers have been struggling with declining traffic and sales. The eatertainment sector where Topgolf and Dave & Buster's competes has been particularly hard hit.
Dave & Buster’s, for instance, posted a net loss of $32.7 million for the third quarter ended Nov. 5, compared with a year-ago deficit of $5.2 million. Same-store sales for the period dropped 7.7%.
Hours before the financial results were released, the company announced that an architect of the turnaround, CEO Chris Morris, was stepping down immediately to pursue other interests. Dave & Buster’s acknowledged that it has been searching for someone to replace Morris for months.
Topgolf Callaway alerted Wall Street in September that it intended to spin off Topgolf and concentrate on its core golf gear business.
Dickey’s has been closing dozens of stores, according to its franchisees.
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