Gainesville residents will soon be able to play giant video games and eat dinner in the same place.
Dave & Buster’s will open in Celebration Pointe, at 3528 SW 45th St., in early-to-mid 2020, said Ralph Conti, a Celebration Pointe development partner.
The restaurant and arcade will be at the corner of 45th St. and Celebration Pointe Ave., Conti said. It will be between 18,000 and 19,000 square feet.
Dave & Buster’s is a Dallas-based video arcade entertainment center that has games for adults and children and a sports-themed restaurant, which serves food and alcohol.
This particular Dave & Buster’s will be a mid-market store, which means it will be smaller than the other locations, which are about 40,000 square feet in major cities like Chicago, Atlanta and New York.
Conti said the new arcade restaurant will be the first in North Central Florida.
There are currently eight other Dave & Buster’s locations in Florida, according to the Dave & Buster’s website. They are in Daytona Beach, Fort Myers, Hollywood, Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, Panama Beach City and Tampa.
The price and cost of the new addition are currently confidential, Conti said.
He said that the new location will bring job opportunities for residents and students in the area.
“There will be a lot more jobs at Celebration Pointe over the years,” Conti said.
Conti said he wants Dave & Buster’s and Celebration Pointe to be entertainment-driven. The Dave & Buster’s will be located right on Interstate-75, which will allow for high visibility with commuter traffic.
Dakoda Melendez, a 19-year-old UF biology sophomore, has never been to a Dave & Buster’s but has heard about the activities there. He is anticipating its arrival.
“The activities have been getting pretty stale,” Melendez said. “It’s a nice combination of a restaurant and an amusement park or game room, so it’s the best of both worlds.”
