Students searching for options for a night out explored West Virginia’s first Dave & Buster’s which had its grand opening in Barboursville on Monday, Aug. 19.
“It’s probably the best thing to come out of West Virginia,” junior Gavin Hesson said.
Another junior at Marshall, Dylan Watts, described the opening of the arcade as a “great opportunity” as well as a “great alternative to doing things like drinking.”
The 150,000-square-foot arcade houses over 100 machines and includes games that appeal to a wide variety of ages. Many of the games are based on popular properties such as the massive Minecraft Dungeons and even Mario Kart-themed racing simulators. The establihment also promises up to 180 new jobs for the area.
As for the older generations, modernized arcade classics like Space Invaders and Pac-Man are available to experience.
First announced in November of last year, construction began almost immediately on the entertainment center after the previous tenant of the building, another arcade named Fun City, closed its doors in 2023 after just two years of operation in the mall space.
Dave & Buster’s is a national chain of arcade and restaurant hybrids that opened their first location in Dallas in 1982. Originally, the two owners of the $1.3 billion company had their own separate restaurants on the same street in Dallas and decided to merge their two establishments into one after noticing their overlap in customers.
As of 2024, over 140 locations are currently operating in America, as well as two in Canada and two in Puerto Rico. In 2022, plans for overseas expansion were announced with plans to open stores in India and Australia.
Students can also take advantage of the current promotional coupon that gives users who download the app 100 free credits to use towards games when they spend $20.
The implementation of Dave & Buster’s in Huntington Mall is just one of the new and exciting renovations coming to the shopping center.
In 2023, construction began on the new Cabell County Career Tech- nology Center in the former Sears building on the mall’s west wing.
Dave & Buster’s is open from 11 a.m. to midnight throughout the week and until 1 a.m. on weekends.
