Dave & Buster's provides adults steady dose of fun
By Katherine Nichols
Advertiser Staff Writer
Marcus and Angela York planned to stop by the newly opened Dave & Buster's for a few minutes.
Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser
Marcus York just wanted to try the virtual boxing game upstairs in the Million Dollar Midway.
Louie Tamez, corporate training specialist at the Hawai'i Dave & Buster's, waits for customers at the prize redemption counter.
Three hours and $40 later, he and his wife carried a giant plastic cup overflowing with redeemable tickets (think Chuck E. Cheese for adults) and still had not made it to the boxing game. His goal? To accumulate enough tickets over several visits to earn a fax machine prize for his wife.
"You're like a kid in here," said Angela York of Mililani. "It reminds me of Vegas."
Do they plan to become regulars? "Oh, yeah," said Marcus York. "Of course!"
Both liked the fact that they could act like children, but that real children were in short supply, making the atmosphere decidedly adult.
The Hawai'i Dave & Buster's, in the Victoria Ward Entertainment Complex next to the theaters, is the only bar/restaurant/activity center of its kind in Hawai'i, and at 40,000 square feet, is large enough that workers actually hand out maps to help you find your way around.
It is the 30th in the national chain whose origins date to 1982 in Dallas.
The two owners, originally of Little Rock, Ark., blended the 1970s success of Buster's, a favorite local restaurant and watering hole, with Dave's, a place for innocent adult fun nicknamed "Slick Willy's World of Entertainment." The Hawai'i location will employ about 350 people, with nearly half of those in the facility at any given time.
"It's very dangerous," said 21-year old Sheldon Young, who was playing pool downstairs.
Dave & Buster's
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Victoria Ward Centers, 1030 Auahi St.
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Mondays.-Thursdays 11 a.m.-1 a.m.; Fridays-Saturdays 11 a.m.-2 a.m.; Sundays 11 a.m.- midnight
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589-2215
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Web site
"You can spend a lot of money in here." Young, of Kane'ohe, deemed the music "great," and the atmosphere "laid back." The cost to play pool or shuffleboard runs $8 to $14 per table per hour, depending on time of day (evenings are more expensive).
The decor resembles an old gaslight district, with Tiffany-style lamps hanging low over mahogany tables and chairs; a brick arch; and fans humming to the slow speed of the belts moving them.
Fake palm trees rise to the ceiling in the center of the Grand Dining Room, which seats about 200 and serves everything from grilled chicken salad ($8.95) to ribeye with Jack Daniels sauce ($18.95) as well as the requisite Buffalo wings ($8.95) and the more creative Avocado and Shiitake Nachos ($6.95).
"Captains" greet you at the door, wearing T-shirts embroidered with "Big Time Fun." They can be found floating throughout all three levels.
"We try to stay away from calling them bouncers," said Paul Martinez, the lead trainer, who is temporarily on loan from Dave & Buster's corporate offices in Dallas.
Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser
There's good reason for checking ID at the door and in the bars. Alcohol is everywhere. Each game provides a place on which to set your drink.
Despite the bar and abundance of alcohol, children are welcome at Dave & Buster's but must be accompanied by adults over 25.
And if you run dry in the middle of your virtual ski race, for instance, you can flip a switch that flashes a light to summon a waitress for service.
Children are welcome — within boundaries. No one under 21 may enter without an adult over the age of 25. Each adult may accompany no more than three children, and those youngsters must be supervised at all times. Children also are asked to leave by 10 p.m.
Besides the steady flow of food and alcohol, another casino-like element is cigarette smoke. Cigars are not allowed, but smoking is allowed everywhere but the dining room and the restroom.
The Viewpoint Bar area next to the dining room features one giant and four smaller television screens airing CNN and various sports. Typically, the volume is kept low in favor of kicky music, but the television gets priority at the bar during big sporting events.
Guests who want to play interactive games in the Million Dollar Midway first must pay cash at a booth and obtain a Power Card. Unlike cumbersome tokens, these cards are swiped at each station until your "chips" run out. The more you pay, the better the value. Games like Daytona USA, in which the chair and steering wheel lurch and move like a real race car, average about $2 per play.
While every Dave & Buster's has a Special Events Theater for private parties, business meetings, or Mystery Dinner Theatre, the feature that separates the Honolulu location from the others, said regional operations manager Brock Anderson, is the Sunset Bar. From its rooftop perch, the protected yet airy bar overlooks Kewalo Basin and Ala Moana, and offers a view of Diamond Head.
