Everyone Wins @ D&B

For me growing up, family night happened on Friday nights sitting around a board game with Mom, Dad and family friends, drinking soda & eating pizza or Chinese food.

These days, family fun night consists of moms hanging around the kitchen table sipping wine, dads in the living room watching sports and drinking beer, and the kids chilling in the “man cave”, eating pizza, wings & chips with remote controls in their hands and headphones over their heads playing x-box live. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with this but it would be nice to get the sense of “togetherness”, when all together.

Dave & Buster’s (“D&B”) has found a way to incorporate family togetherness with the adult convo time that parents crave, and the entertainment the kids have grown so accustomed to.

D&B has figured it out. They recently opened 4 restaurants in different parts of the country. The latest one in Worburn, MA is a brand-new, 44,000 square foot custom open floor plan building, encompassing 4 private party rooms (3 of which can be combined into 1 large room) and over 170 video games (including a newer Ms. Pac Man, a ginormous electronic game of Connect Four and even a 4 person Air Hockey game). The restaurant is split into three separate areas: the Bar, Sports Lounge and Family area.

The Bar is a double-sided area with 16 televisions. The Sports Lounge has a 200” projection screen surrounded by approximately 15 screens showing everything from sports to music videos and is an extension to the Bar area. The Family area is much quieter, seating approximately 150. This area is a bit removed from the Sports Lounge and Bar area and providing a boundary to offer a more private, low-key environment.

Dave & Buster’s menu caters from the simplest of palettes to the most sophisticated of eaters. From fries, burgers, hot dogs, shakes, and covered pretzels, to more sophisticated fare like steaks, surf & turf and salads. My favorite section of the menu was the desserts. From the Brookie Cookie Sundae Tower to the Hot Sugary Donut bites to the Decadent Chocolate Fondue, I loved them all. Trust me when I say I tried them all – OMG!!!!!

Upon entering the facility, I immediately noticed two police officers. Parents and caregivers visiting the Woburn location can take comfort in knowing their child(ren) will be safe roaming the facility any night of the week. On Fridays and Saturdays there are multiple officers at the door and walking the premises. If this is important to you, call your local D&B’s to find out whether their location offers the same security.

The game room reminds me of a casino – games flashing the brightest of lights and making sounds like everyone has won a jackpot. One can’t help but to be drawn in.

Remember going to arcades and pulling tickets from the machine every time you played a game or walking around with tons of tokens clanging in your pocket or in a cup? I would stuff tickets in my pants pockets until they were hanging out or run to my mom and have her hold onto them for me, then run back to the games. I even remember stuffing tickets in my socks – LOL. Dave & Busters has come up with a way to get rid of those cumbersome tickets and noisy, heavy tokens with their Power Card. Decide a specific dollar amount you want to put towards your play and simply add that amount to the card at a Charging Station. The amount is converted into tokens on the card. Each game uses between 3 and 9 tokens. Approach any machine and slide your Power Card like a credit card. The reader lets players know how many tokens remain. Tickets won at the games are stored on the card. When you are done playing you can take your card to the Winner’s Circle and purchase prizes, or keep your tickets and balance on your card for your next visit!

Enter Dave & Buster’s as a family, eat as family, let the kids be kids – have them run and play, all the while you can enjoy adult conversation and beverage or play a mean game of four-person air hockey. When you are done letting your inner child come to the surface, gather the troops and leave the same way as when you came in – as a family.

Seems like everyone wins at Dave & Buster’s

Cindy Corbett

Native New Yorker, transformed Boston sports fan. Love going to the movies, spending time with my kids, tropical vacations, all things entertainment & trendy fashion, anything on Bravo and hanging with my girlfriends. Would rather snack all day than have a meal. Love everything celebrity but don’t ever want to be one :)