Dave & Buster’s is a staple of young adult outings.

The entertainment business and restaurant chain has been around since the early ’80s, and over the course of more than four decades now, it has never diminished in popularity. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the company felt the predictable consequences of social distancing, Dave & Buster’s managed to hold on and even expand. It’s taken over several similar brands over the years, including Main Event, and it seems we’ll have access to the joint arcade, bar, and restaurant chain for years to come.

It was always a good idea to pair a restaurant with arcade games, but Dave & Buster’s upped the ante by adding alcohol into the mix. In doing so, it shifted its primary demographic from kids and families to young adults who have flocked to the chain’s locations to enjoy a fun, boozy evening out. The chain’s longstanding success is proof that the idea was always a good one, but who had it in the first place?

Did Dave Chappelle and Busta Rhymes create Dave & Buster’s?

A surprising but understandable rumor about Dave & Buster’s origin pins the credit for its creation on two big stars from the ’90s and 2000s. Perhaps due to their prominence in the years following the franchise’s creation, paired with their fitting names, rumors that Dave Chappelle and Busta Rhymes created Dave & Buster’s have followed the stars for a while now.

Sorry to burst your bubble, anyone who was hoping that a long-ago collab between the two yielded the first Dave & Buster’s, but no, Chappelle and Rhymes did not start Dave & Buster’s. They’ve got the right names for it, but the comedian and rapper were just kids when the franchise first began.

Who really started Dave & Buster’s?

The very first Dave & Buster’s was opened in 1982, when Rhymes and Chappelle were ten and nine, respectively. That’s a bit young to be starting a business, but the actual duo behind the popular chain — David Corriveau and James “Buster” Corley — were at just the right age to launch a fresh business.

They were already experienced business owners at that point, having gained the idea for Dave & Buster’s from their own history. Before the very first location was opened, the pair separately operated a bar and a game parlor that were located next door to one another. They decided to combine the two, and Dave & Buster’s was born.

The franchise has changed hands a few times since, but Corriveau and Corley were the masterminds behind the popular chain. In 2023, a full 160 Dave & Buster’s locations exist between the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico, and more are still to come. Earlier this year, the company announced a deal that will eventually see Dave & Buster’s locations crop up in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

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