Dave & Buster’s:

Arcade or Sports Bar?

Dave & Buster’s is an American restaurant and entertainment business headquarters in Dallas, Texas. Most think of D&B as strictly an arcade, however it is so much more. D&B’s arcade reputation makes it seem as though it is only for children, however each D&B has a full-service restaurant and bar, attracting an older crowd.

Attracting the older crowd:

While the new D&B keeps its arcade intact with over 120 games, they have made an effort to expand into an older demographic. In recent years D&B has brought on their “Eat and Play” deal. This deal starts by giving the customer about 10 different items to choose from including; burgers, chicken fingers, Philly cheesesteaks, and other bar items. Then you can choose the $16.99 deal( includes a $10 play card for games) or a $24.99 deal(includes a $20 play card). All of this while sitting at a booth or at the bar, with a plethora of televisions giving the customer a true sports bar feel.

This Eat and Play combo deal brings in an older crowd of sports fans and college students to come grab some bar food, watch the game, and after getting nice and lubricated, drunkenly competing against their friends at the variety of different racing and shooting games.

Oh did I forget to mention that they have beer towers everywhere? 

They have even begun to advertise their sports bar. Click here

Keeping the younger crowd:

The new D&B in Dallas has over 120 games readily available for the younger crowd. While some of these games include Fruit Ninja, Mario Cart, and Doodle Jump, D&B has done a fantastic job integrating addicting iPhone and console games into their lineup.

As always, the ultimate goal still remains to collect as many tickets as humanly possible to buy that sweet ice cream maker, or even the Xbox. However, as adults, lets be real, it would take thousands of dollars to win those gifts…

Trust me, I have tried… Many times.

So what to change?

Dave & Buster’s has done a great job at what they do for many years (they are an arcade that still exists…) But it is time to bring in the big guns. Launching a social media campaign to bring out that group of 18-30 year olds, that do not have children, is the final goal. With the new Dallas location, they have the goods to get it done. Time to start advertising those happy hours and posting pictures of those beer towers.

Want a new sports bar to go check out? Click Here