The Dave & Buster’s eatertainment concept is inching closer to becoming a sports bar via a new prototype that’s scheduled to fire up its grills and games on the brink of the Super Bowl.
The next-generation store features dozens of more oversized HDTVs than older units boast, including one screen—a “Wow Wall”—that’s 40 feet long.
Supporting the visual bump-up is what the chain calls a “top-notch surround sound” system, and high-rollers looking for the experience of an in-stadium luxury box can opt for a VIP Watch Room featuring bottle service.
Interior shot of the new Dave & Buster's prototype.
Other signature features include a wall of self-service beer taps with 20 selections. The so-called Tap Zone is located inside the Dallas prototype’s midway, or gaming area, helping the brand meet its long-stated objective of enabling players to grab a beer and get back to gaming in a flash.
The announcement of the store indicates the prototype will feature a new “chef-crafted menu” sporting such options as chicken potstickers, pretzel sticks, fried pickles and loaded queso. The company has tried a number of ways in recent years to make dining more convenient for customers who come to play games. Those efforts have ranged from trying in-store quick-service stations to enabling guests to place their orders remotely and pick up their food.
Recreational offerings have been updated with what Dave & Buster’s calls The Arena, an interactive high-tech gaming area that builds on the chain’s past experiences with virtual-reality technology. Up to eight players can be accommodated.
To introduce the option, users will each be charged a discounted price of $5 per session.
High-tech versions of traditional interactive games will be offered in private “social bays” that can be reserved in advance. The pods enable from two to six gamers to play digitally-powered versions of darts ad shuffleboard.
The prototype includes an enormous TV screen.
The VIP Watch Room, the social bays and other areas of the store can be booked for private events.
The store was designed in part to keep “guests excited to return again and again,” according to the company. Dave & Buster’s has strived for several years to boost the frequency of customer visits and dispel the notion that the concept is a special-occasion place.
The grand opening is slated for Feb. 9, or two days before Super Bowl LVIII. On the day of the game, patrons will be offered the deal of paying $58 for unlimited gameplay and food giveaways.
Dave & Buster's declined to say how the cost of developing the new prototype compares to the expense of building or renovating the prior generation of its stores. But it said units sporting the new design will be as large as the big boxes that the brand has developed in the past.
The store is located at 9450 North Central Expressway in Dallas.
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