Another option for a fun night out with friends and family has plans to come to the Mid-Columbia. 

Dave & Buster’s, a national entertainment and restaurant chain, is targeting its next location at Columbia Center mall in Kennewick, inside the former Joann and Sears retail spaces, according to public records. 

The company filed a formal application for a change of use for the vacant retail storefronts at 1321 Columbia Center Blvd. on April 17 with public comment on the proposal accepted through May 5, a city spokeswoman confirmed to the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business. 

Plans indicate the entertainment venue would occupy more than 29,000 square feet, with demolition and remodeling anticipated to cost $6.85 million. Dave & Buster’s has not yet filed any building permit applications.

Requests for comment from Dave & Buster’s and Simon Property Group, the mall’s owner and operator, were not immediately returned. 

Arcade-restaurant-bar 

For those unfamiliar, the giant arcade-restaurant-bar pairs wall-to-wall sports screens with a full-service menu of burgers, pizza, chicken, fish and pasta, plus vegetarian and gluten-friendly options. A bar keeps cocktails flowing alongside beer on tap. Kids are welcome but it shifts from family-friendly by day to more adult-oriented at night. 

The real draw is the game floor, packed with arcade favorites like Mario Kart DX, Minecraft Dungeons Arcade, Big Bass Wheel, Pop the Lock, Halo: Combat Evolved, NASCAR Pitstop and others, along with billiards. 

The first Dave & Buster’s opened in a former 40,000-square-foot warehouse in Dallas, Texas, in 1982 when its founders decided combine their separate bar and arcade businesses. It now has 170 locations around the world, offering a full-service restaurant, sports bar and expansive video arcade that caters to adults and kids alike. 

The company collected $2.1 billion in revenue in 2025, down 1.4% compared the previous year. Yet the company, which also owns family entertainment center operator Main Event, opened 11 new locations last year, in addition to three international franchises. The closest one to the Tri-Cities opened last year in Spokane Valley, where it planned to hire 160 employees for the 24,000-square-foot venue, according to the Spokane Journal of Business. 

“Since joining the company nine months ago, I have become even more confident in our ability to dramatically improve operating results, driven by standout progress in our food and beverage offering, disciplined marketing and a sharper value proposition for our guests,” said CEO Tarun Lal in Dave & Buster’s fourth quarter report to investors. 

“In 2026, we will make meaningful improvements to the business, sharpening our marketing to drive brand consideration, refining our pricing and menu architecture, launching a powerful lineup of culturally relevant new games, and implementing our refreshed remodel program,” Lal added. 

Columbia Center area growth 

Dave & Buster’s is the latest in a slew of planned or known newcomers of chain retailers and restaurants to the Columbia Center shopping and entertainment area announced in recent months.

• Renovations at Columbia Center are currently underway for JD Sports, a British sports retailer that specializes in sneakers and sports fashion. It is moving into the space near anchor tenant JCPenney previously occupied by fast fashion retailer Forever 21, which also closed following bankruptcy in 2025. 

• Building permits have been filed to renovate the former Sonic Drive-In at 8600 Gage Blvd. to prepare it as the first Tri-Cities location of Vancouver-based and fan favorite Burgerville. Known for its hamburgers but also for its fries and shakes, the company also uses Pacific Northwest-sourced products in more than 75% of its menu. 

• At the Tri-Cities Center just across Columbia Center Boulevard from the mall, Seattle-based fashion retailer Nordstrom Inc. announced this spring its plan to open a new and long-awaited Nordstrom Rack in space adjacent to existing discount retailer Burlington.  

• Habit Burger will open its second Tri-City restaurant, also at the Tri-Cities Center, in a portion of the building once home to David’s Bridal before the summer. 

• The space at 1220 N. Columbia Center Blvd., once home to a Bed Bath and Beyond store that closed in 2023, will become the Tri-Cities’ first Urban Air Adventure Park this fall. The Portland-based company currently operates 350 such indoor parks up and down the West Coast.