Dallas-based Dave & Buster's is expanding its local reach with a fourth branch in the area: this one in Euless, off 121 and adjacent to ritzy Grapevine and Colleyville.
Set to open on May 4, the Euless location will feature the same combination of restaurant and entertainment as the other D&B's, but with some new things in the works.
Yes, there will be delicious food and inventive cocktails, an exciting atmosphere, a sports-bar component, and an ultimate entertainment experience. Yes, there will be a "chef crafted" menu with pretzel dogs, bacon-wrapped sirloin medallions and a dish referred to as the Mountain O' Nachos. (Is that Irish?)
There will be high-definition TVs and more than 170 arcade games, including Transformers Human Alliance, Mach Storm and Kung Fu Panda Dojo Mojo, many exclusive to Dave & Buster's.
But according to general manager Jeff Cleary, Euless will introduce some new elements with this opening.
"We're introduced some conceptual changes in our building design, and you'll see those at Euless," Cleary says. "The sports lounge is bigger, and the billiards area connects to the sports lounge.
"So there'll be a sports bar feel on one side, and the other side is the dining room. It does a better job at separating what you're here for."
They're also rolling out some new menu items and new games. "We have a 'Summer of Games' theme with a lot of new selections coming out," Cleary says. "It'll debut at Euless and then the rest of the stores will get them on May 12."
Finally, they're embracing the hottest new trend in the beverage world.
"One thing we'll specifically be trying out here is craft beer," Cleary says. "There's a high demand in the Grapevine and Colleyville area, so we'll offer eight to 10 selections in cans."
Most of these new offerings serve the adult part of their clientele, but the thing about Dave & Buster's is the breadth of its audience: from birthdays and sports team parties in the afternoon to families at dinner to what they call "PTYA" or "play together young adults" between ages 21 and 34, who close out the place at night.
If you've ever driven through the parking lot of the Dallas branch on a Saturday afternoon, perchance en route to Spec's or Total Wine & More, you'd witness the concept's crazy popularity. "That's the busiest store in the market," Cleary says. Other branches in the area include Frisco and Arlington.
The company is prosperous. It launched a second coming-out as a publicly traded entity in October 2014, and it has outlasted other "eatertainment" concepts from the '90s such as Planet Hollywood. And there are more on the way this year: in El Paso; the River Walk in San Antonio; and Friendswood, near Houston.
"We have people who compete with us in one segment, but not anybody who competes with everything we do," Cleary says.
Dave & Buster's drink lineup includes this strawberry-watermelon margarita.
Pollo à la Plancha.Photo courtesy of Sueño
Pretty cocktails at Sueño.Photo courtesy of Sueño