Dave & Buster's

Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (stylized in all caps) is an American restaurant and entertainment business headquartered in Dallas. Each Dave & Buster's location has a full-service restaurant, full bar, and a video arcade, the latter of which is known as the "Million Dollar Midway". As of February 2024, the company has 158 locations in the United States, as well as two in Puerto Rico and two in Canada.

In 1982, David "Dave" Corriveau (1951–2015) and James "Buster" Corley (1951–2023) opened the first Dave & Buster’s in Dallas. Corley had previously operated a bar called "Buster's" in Little Rock, Arkansas, next door to a saloon and game parlor called first "Cash McCool's" & then "Slick Willy’s World of Entertainment", owned by Corriveau. After opening Dave & Buster's, the two operated as co-CEOs.

In 1989, Edison Brothers Stores purchased a majority of the ownership in the restaurant to finance further expansion into other cities. Dave & Buster's was spun off from Edison Brothers, and went public with Andy Newman as chairman in 1995. By 1997, the chain could be found in ten locations across the country.

D&B acquired nine Jillian's locations after Jillian's filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in 2004. Seven of these Jillian's locations were rebranded with the Dave & Buster's name, while two were closed following the acquisition. The company announced on December 8, 2005, that it would be acquired by private equity firm Wellspring Capital Management. On July 16, 2008, Dave & Buster's Holdings Inc, filed with the SEC to again become a publicly traded company. The company had set a date for the Initial public offering IPO of October 5, 2012. However, it pulled out right before it opened. In June 2010, Oak Hill Capital Partners, in partnership with the company's management team, completed its acquisition of Dave & Buster's from Wellspring Capital Management.

In October 2014, Dave & Buster's launched a second IPO, selling its 5.88 million shares at an offering price range of $16–18. The offering raised $94 million, to be used for debt repayments. Shares are traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange using the symbol PLAY.

Co-founder David Corriveau died on February 7, 2015 at his home in Dallas, Texas.

Dave & Buster's, as with all other entertainment and restaurant businesses, was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic due to restrictions on non-essential businesses. The company's same-store sales fell by 70% during fiscal year 2020. As restrictions eased, the company began to recover in fiscal year 2021, being down by 10% only. The case of Omicron variant spread still affected the business resulting in a sales decrease in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Dave & Buster's CEO Brian Jenkins retired in September 2021, with chairman Kevin Sheehan named interim CEO. On April 6, 2022, Dave & Buster's announced that it would acquire the Plano, Texas-based family entertainment center chain Main Event Entertainment from Ardent Leisure and RedBird Capital Partners for $835 million, with its CEO Chris Morris becoming the new CEO of Dave & Buster's upon the completion of the sale in June 2022.