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"Eatertainment" makes a comeback

Want to do some ax-throwing over burgers, play pickleball before a chicken dinner, or pair mini-golf with hors d'oeuvres and a craft cocktail? You're in luck: Restaurants that let you play and eat at the same time are expanding like crazy.

Why it matters: After a three-year pandemic hiatus, "eatertainment" is on the rise again.


  • Investments are pouring in to chains that offer sports, arcade games and elevated menus — think Dave & Buster's and Chuck E. Cheese but with chef-driven cuisine, Instagram-worthy decor and modern pursuits.

Driving the news: New "social entertainment" venues are flourishing by offering hip leisure activities — such as darts, ping-pong and shuffleboard — in tech-infused settings that cater to our thirst to socialize even as the pandemic stretches on.

  • The pickleball craze has spawned growing chains like Smash Park and Chicken N Pickle, where you can play in a league, book a party or just drop in for a game and a meal.
  • Puttshack, a brand of "upscale" mini-golf-themed restaurants, opened its 7th location this week in Boston — on the heels of raising $150 million from BlackRock.
  • Its founders are behind the eatertainment chains Topgolf (driving ranges), Flight Club (darts), AceBounce (ping-pong) and All Star Lanes (bowling).
  • In Texas, a new baseball-themed venue, Home Run Dugout, offers augmented reality batting cages alongside tuna poke bowls.
  • TOCA Social, where guests kick soccer balls and order from a "banging food and drinks menu" (heavy on the tacos), started in London and is coming to Dallas.
  • A growing number of chains indulge our modern fondness for ax-throwing (not to mention artisanal flatbread).
  • For example: Kick Axe Throwing — in Brooklyn, D.C. and Philly — welcomes those "ages 8 and up as long as they have the strength and coordination to effectively throw a hatchet."
  • Even shuffleboard has gone hip, as evidenced by newcomers like Electric Shuffle, another London import now in Dallas and Austin.

Older, familiar names are also getting facelifts and a fresh jolt of popularity.

What's new: The latest crop of social entertainment venues feature higher-quality food (begone, frozen nuggets!), tech-heavy games that keep score for you, and a host of diversions beyond Skee-Ball.

  • They're also designed to be eye-catching so guests will plaster their social media accounts with pictures.

Decisions, decisions: Don't care for pickleball? Smash Park, which opened its first location in 2018, also has trivia, bingo, cornhole, giant Jenga and Connect Four, bocce, foosball and arcade games — plus dozens of TVs.

  • It also serves colorful and shareable cocktails in fishbowls ("Sociabowls") and fancy pub fare.
  • "I don't know if new entertainment concepts can survive without a good, solid menu," Monty Lockyear, founder and CEO of Smash Park Entertainment Group, tells Axios. "Some of the legacy brands are seeing that, and they're elevating their menus — people expect that."

No cheating: Puttshack has patented a technology called Trackaball that keeps score — and knows if you pick up your ball and move it.

At Puttshack, the ball keeps track of your score (and any efforts to trick it). Photo courtesy of Puttshack

What they're saying: "People are looking for ways to connect with each other and looking for something a little more than the typical bar and restaurant," Susan Walmesley, Puttshack's chief marketing officer, tells Axios.

  • "Because we're all carrying our phones around in our pockets, we're looking for something new and different to share."

Also trending: "Clubstaurants," which blend table service and a nightclub vibe — and haven't been a hot concept since 2016.

The bottom line: Expect to hear more about "eatertainment" as these chains expand nationally and add ever-weirder attractions — getting diners to linger and run up bigger food and bar bills.

Editor’s note: This story has been corrected to remove a reference to Cracker Barrel’s investment in Punch Bowl Social. That investment was canceled in 2020.

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