Financial research concept

Entertainment Venue Company-Owned Store Count

measures the number of directly operated entertainment venues open at period end.

By Lee BaileyPublished Sep 26, 2026

Research context

See what supports this page, how current it is, and where comparable or historical context is available.

Research date: Sep 26, 2026Use the dated article and cited sources for the definition, examples, and stated limitations.
Operating-model context: 17 connected conceptsPart of the reviewed Entertainment Venue Store Economics; issuer definitions remain distinct where disclosed.
Company examples: 1 reviewed companyRelationships reflect supported examples, not a normalized cross-company KPI ranking.

Store count describes scale, not annual growth
Company-owned and franchised locations are different economics
The total estate is larger than the comparable base
Part of the Entertainment Venue Store Economics
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Entertainment venue company-owned store count measures the directly operated venue base at a specific reporting date.

Dave & Buster's owned and operated 243 stores at February 3, 2026: 179 Dave & Buster's locations and 64 Main Event locations.

Store count describes scale, not annual growth

The 243-store figure is a period-end stock. It should not be confused with new-store openings, which are a flow during the year.

Dave & Buster's opened 11 new stores and relocated one additional Dave & Buster's location during fiscal 2025. Ending store count can therefore reflect openings, relocations, closures, and other footprint changes rather than simply adding annual openings to the prior-year total.

Company-owned and franchised locations are different economics

The company also had four international franchised Dave & Buster's locations open at year-end. Those locations are not part of the 243 company-owned store count.

That ownership distinction matters because directly operated venues contribute consolidated store revenue and operating costs, while franchised locations follow a different economic model.

The total estate is larger than the comparable base

Only seasoned locations that satisfy the issuer's eligibility rules enter comparable-store sales. Dave & Buster's fiscal 2025 comparable base contained 210 stores, versus 243 company-owned stores at year-end.

Use ending store count for physical network scale and the comparable base for mature-store performance analysis.

Primary source: Dave & Buster's fiscal 2025 Form 10-K.

Part of the Entertainment Venue Store Economics

Connects entertainment and dining revenue mix with product-cost rates, comparable-store performance, new-store development and maturation, operating-cost leverage, pre-opening expense, and capital reinvestment for large-format entertainment venues.

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Where this concept fits

Footprint expansion, launch expense, and capital reinvestmentCurrent relationship
Ending company-owned store count and new-store openings show the physical venue base and expansion flow. Pre-opening costs capture launch expense before operations begin, while capital expenditures show cash invested in new stores, remodels, games, technology, and other property and equipment.
Capital ExpendituresCompany-Owned Store CountCurrent conceptNew Store Openings Pre-Opening Costs
Revenue mix, direct product costs, and store-level operating leverage
Entertainment and food-and-beverage revenue mix show what customers spend on inside the venue. Their direct product cost rates preserve different denominators, while payroll and other store operating expense rates show additional store-level cost intensity against total revenue.
Entertainment Cost Rate Entertainment Revenue Entertainment Revenue Mix Food & Beverage Cost Rate Food & Beverage Revenue Food & Beverage Revenue Mix Operating Payroll Rate Other Store Operating Expense Rate
Seasoned-store performance, noncomparable exposure, and new-store maturation
Comparable-store sales growth measures the seasoned base, while comparable and noncomparable operating weeks expose the time contribution behind each population. The comparable-store base count and honeymoon effect help distinguish mature-store performance from early new-store sales patterns.
Comparable Store Base Count Comparable Store Operating Weeks Comparable Store Sales Growth New Store Honeymoon Effect Noncomparable Store Operating Weeks

See It in Company Research

These companies are examples of how the concept is reported or discussed in public filings. Definitions can differ by issuer; these links open company research rather than a normalized metric comparison.

PLAYOpen operating-model research →17 of 17 reviewed concepts in Entertainment Venue Store EconomicsFootprint expansion, launch expense, and capital reinvestment4 of 4 bridge concepts supportedContinue through this bridge:Capital Expenditures New Store Openings Pre-Opening Costs

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Compare physical footprint scale

Compare venue and restaurant operators after separating company-owned locations from franchised units and annual openings.

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