Morgantown levels up with new Dave and Buster’s location
Trending
MORGANTOWN – Dave and Buster's held a ribbon cutting ceremony for their new Morgantown location at 228 Brattice Drive in Westover this morning at 10:45 a.m.
The event began at 9:20 a.m. with a performance from the West Virginia University Drumline, according to General Manager Robert Gladwell. While the events didn't begin until Monday morning, Gladwell said guests arrived as early as 11 p.m. on Sunday.
"The first 100 people in line got free games for the day, so they were already lined up. They started lining up at 11 o'clock last night," he said.
In total, there were over 200 attendees this morning, according to Gladwell.
"Dave and Buster's has a pretty good name following, and there's people who just go to store openings," he said.
The event was made possible with the help of Morgantown Area Partnership, Gladwell said. In addition to the band, the Black Bears mascot, 'Cooper,' was available for pictures.
'Make-a-Wish' was also involved in the ceremony, and "wish kid," Ryan got to participate in the ribbon cutting, Gladwell said.
Gladwell said that the Morgantown location is over 21,000 sq. feet and has games unique to older Dave and Buster's locations, including a "Zombie Escape Room" and "Duck Race." There are eight different "Power Card" gameplay options for various prices, according to https://www.daveandbusters.com/us/en/shop/power-cards.
There are daily drink and food specials available for purchase, including boneless wings, ribs and chicken sandwiches. Customers can also purchase a "Play and Eat" combo, where entrees can be added onto a game card for an additional $4.99, according to the Dave and Buster's website https://www.daveandbusters.com/us/en/about/locations/morgantown.
The arcade is available for rent for private parties and has a unique catering menu, Gladwell said. He is excited to host organizations from WVU in the upcoming months, including the Women's Basketball recruiting team and the baseball team.
"We have a whole catering and buffet menu that people don't really know about, where we can do prime rib, pork loin, a whole Mexican-style feast with quesadilla, tacos, nachos, things like that, he said."
He is excited to bring family fun activities to the area with the new location.
"The concept of having a restaurant, a sports bar and an arcade all together is you know...this is a perfect place. Dad can watch TV on a 40-foot-screen, kids can go play games, and mom can have a sirloin steak," he said.
Gladwell is proud that the location is bringing economic prosperity and jobs to the community.
"We've hired 130 people on staff here, and probably two-thirds are local people...one-third are students," he said.
Paul Carter was one of the first 100 attendees at the event. While he was excited to attend the event with his family, he is apprehensive about the arcade taking business away from neighborhood favorites.
"The little arcades downtown, it's going to be detrimental to them, like the Pool Hall, Levels, stuff like that, just driving business away from the small town guys," he said. "Like, it's a corporation coming into Morgantown trying to take over because they can."
On the other hand Lisa Carter, Paul's mother, said she has always been a fan of the company and is excited to have a nearby location.
"I love the fact that they moved closer instead of having to drive so far to go," she said. "It's family-oriented, so you can have kids here, you can have adults here."
She reiterated that the location is providing necessary jobs for Morgantown residents.
"I think it's going to be really good, give a lot of the people the jobs that they need, that way they aren't struggling so bad," she said.
Maddie Carver, a sophomore biology major, and Brooke Linestrom, senior exercise physiology major, participated in the drumline performance that morning and have been looking forward to the opening for weeks.
"It was rainy, but there was a good turnout," Linestrom said. "The crowd was really into it."
Carver recommends everyone visit the arcade at least once, as there is something for everybody.
"I think it's a good time. Everybody always has fun, even if you think you're not going to," she said.
The Morgantown location is now open Mondays through Thursday from 11 a.m.-12 a.m, Fridays from 11 a.m.-1 a.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m.-1 a.m. and Sundays from 10 a.m.-12 a.m.