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Dave & Buster’s, slated to open its new Chattanooga restaurant and entertainment complex on Monday, is stepping up measures to combat the coronavirus, officials said Thursday.
“Good, clean fun is the No. 1 priority,” said Leslie Alexander Suarez, general manager of the 30,000-square-foot location that’s occupying revamped space in part of the former Sears store footprint at Hamilton Place mall.
Suarez said Dave & Buster’s is undertaking an “enhanced” and “major” approach, spending five to six hours daily to clean the site as it hosts special events leading up to opening.
Also, he said, the staff plan to continue to wipe down its games during the times when it’s open.
“We’re committed to good, safe fun,” said Suarez, who has opened three other Dave & Buster’s sites before.
Suarez said the complex is “going above and beyond Centers for Disease Control recommendations.”
Dave & Buster’s is employing 240 people as it readies to open to the general public at 11 a.m. Monday.
Shelby Robinson, the company’s public relations director, noted that on one wall is a 40-foot TV wall that will help offer “the best sports venue in town.”
She said the gaming area, meanwhile, offers users more than a million dollars in technology.
“There’s a little something for everybody,” Robinson said.
Suarez said the location, Dave & Buster’s fourth in Tennessee, adds value to the refurbishing of that end of the mall.
“It makes the mall a destination,” he said.
Sears filed for bankruptcy in October 2018 after years of trying to compete against online retailers, discount chains and boutique stores. But mall owner CBL Properties in 2017 had bought the Sears space from the retailer with an eye toward redeveloping the property.
The 1.2 million-square-foot mall continues as the area’s retail powerhouse, drawing an estimated 2 million people annually to the center and nearby stores.
CBL Chief Executive Officer Stephen Lebovitz has said the company, which holds 67 malls nationwide, is focusing less on its sites as conventional malls and more as town centers. He said the company’s product “has had to be transformed to be competitive and stay relevant and successful.”
Last weekend, Dick’s Sporting Goods opened in another portion of the old Sears, moving from a shopping center just across Gunbarrel Road.
Work is underway on an Aloft Hotel in the parking lot next to Dave & Buster’s, and a Cheesecake Factory restaurant opened earlier nearby.
Suarez said Dave & Buster’s is “fun for all ages, families and young adults. It’s the ultimate place to eat, play and watch.” He said people under 18 must be accompanied by an adult at least 25 years old.
As the Chattanooga unit prepares to open, the company’s stock is among those which have taken a hit amid the coronavirus pandemic, down about 60% in three weeks, according to Motley Fool.
“Dave & Buster’s was already facing challenges before the outbreak began, as its comparable sales have been falling for several quarters,” Motley Fool said. “The coronavirus will only make its return to growth more difficult.”
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318. Follow him on Twitter @MikePareTFP.