Dave and Buster’s, a Dallas-based dining concept that combines eating, drinking and playing, will burst onto the Massachusetts restaurant scene with all its bells and whistles next month.The chain of 57 entertainment venues is scheduled to open its first Bay State location in Braintree on Dec. 12, following a long local permitting battle that ended in a compromise over booze sales.
Dave Buster’s said it drew nearly 1,800 applicants for the 250 to 300 jobs the chain is filling for the Braintree restaurant located in an abandoned Circuit City store off Interstate 93 near the South Shore Plaza.
“We are seeing a phenomenal response,” said Derek Robinson, a Dave Buster’s veteran who was tapped as general manager of the 33,000-square-foot Braintree venue. “We’re long overdue for the area.”
The company sparked controversy last year over concerns its format — a restaurant melded with an arcade-style atmosphere — would attract a rowdy crowd. Dave Buster’s, which caters to single adults and families, ultimately agreed to separate the bar area and keep wait staff from taking drink orders in the game section.
“There was a lot of input from the public and concerns that had to be addressed,” said Braintree Planning Board Chairman Bob Harnais. “They understood fully that if they didn’t conform … they probably weren’t going to be there.
“I think it will work out well. It’s a good addition to the area and the plaza,” Harnais added. “Anything’s better than an empty store.”
Unfamiliar to many in Massachusetts, Dave Buster’s sometimes draws the derisive description that it’s like a “Chuck E. Cheese for adults” because many of its games spit out tickets that are redeemable for prizes.
“To me that’s an unfair characterization,” said Ron Paul, president of Technomic, a food industry research firm. “Their menu is much better than that. … It’s an upscale kind of entertainment venue. They have worked hard on their food, because they have to compete on a food basis.”
Paul said Dave Buster’s store-opening rate and financial results — the company is privately held, but has reported data to federal regulators since filing for an IPO in July — have been relatively flat over the last few years because of the recession and cutbacks in discretionary spending that have made many restaurants go hungry for customers.
“It’s a tough time to open a casual-dining restaurant anywhere,” Paul said. “The sales have been soft and most of these chains are having trouble getting back to where they were in 2007.”
Robinson said Dave Buster’s invested more than $12 million in the Braintree restaurant and is confident of its prospects. He said the chain is on the hunt across Greater Boston to open additional restaurants, after backing away from a Burlington location because of planning board opposition.
“We are very excited to be in Massachusetts,” Robinson said, “as the chain continues to grow and we continue to find places to call home.”