The Super Popular Meal Combo Dave & Buster's Is Bringing Back
You may have fond memories of Chuck E. Cheese as a kid, playing all the games and scoring heaps upon heaps of tickets in between stuffing your face with pizza. As an adult, you may not be able to go back to Chuck E. Cheese and relive memories of the ball pit, but you can still cut loose and have some fun at the intersection of entertainment and dining. Enter Dave & Buster's, which offers a more mature way to harness those childhood memories.
Ever since opening in 1982 in Dallas, Texas, Dave & Buster's have sought to create an atmosphere that combines the thrill of an arcade with the rowdy "good times" you'd find at any sports bar. Sure, there may not be a animatronic mouse singing about pizza, but with plenty of liquor, bar food, and sports on TV, it's safe to say it's a fair trade. While the whole "non-stop entertainment" gimmick has proven profitable — NASDAQ even went so far as to say this unique business model was "crushing the competition" back in 2015 — the food at Dave & Buster's is also a key part in keeping the restaurant chain in business. After all, there's no better way to cool off after a night of arcade games than sitting down to eat some wings and watching college basketball with your friends.
The restaurant and entertainment center has recently brought back a fan-favorite combo: the Eat & Play Combo, which encourages diners to do exactly that.
What is the Eat & Play Combo?
When you go to Dave & Buster's, you're given a "Power Card," which can be loaded with any number of points that you can use to play games. You can add points on your Power Card through real money transactions — the current exchange rate, according to the Dave & Buster's website, is $15 for 75 chips at minimum and goes up to $100 for 750 chips. But what does the Eat & Play Combo have to do with this?
According to a press release, the Eat & Play Combo allows you to get a meal and a pre-loaded Power Card for a set price. For $19.99, you can get one of seven entrees, like Buster's All-American Cheeseburger or a Double Pepperoni Flatbread, that comes with a Power Card loaded with $10 worth of points for arcade use. If a $10 Power Card isn't enough, you can pay extra to increase the amount of points that come on the card. The more points you get with the combo, the better the deal gets: The highest you can go is $75 dollars (or 550 points) for $78.99, which means you're technically getting an entree for just $3.99.
The Eat & Play Combo is only happening for a limited time — from March 28 to May 1. If you want to take advantage of the deal, it's recommended you find the nearest Dave & Buster's soon.