Financial research concept

Entertainment Venue Comparable Store Base Count

measures the number of seasoned entertainment venues included in the issuer's comparable-store sales population.

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.

A store must season before entering the base
The lag prevents new-store ramp from contaminating the comp
Comparable-store count is not total company-owned count
Part of the Entertainment Venue Store Economics
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Entertainment venue comparable store base count measures the venues eligible for the issuer's same-store performance calculation.

Dave & Buster's fiscal 2025 comparable-store base contained 210 stores, consisting of 153 Dave & Buster's stores and 57 Main Event stores.

A store must season before entering the base

Dave & Buster's historically requires a store to have been owned and open for a full 18 months before the beginning of the fiscal year. Stores permanently closed during the period are excluded.

That rule creates a deliberate lag between opening a venue and allowing it to influence comparable-store sales growth.

The lag prevents new-store ramp from contaminating the comp

New venues can experience a honeymoon effect, with first-year sales above the expected long-term run rate. Excluding those stores from the comparable base helps the metric focus on a more seasoned population.

This does not make the comp base perfectly homogeneous. Dave & Buster's and Main Event have different formats, locations, footprints, and customer mixes.

Comparable-store count is not total company-owned count

Dave & Buster's ended fiscal 2025 with 243 company-owned venues, while only 210 were in the comparable base.

The two figures answer different questions: one describes the full operating footprint, while the other defines the population used for mature-store year-over-year 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.

Browse the full operating model in Company Analysis →

Where this concept fits

Seasoned-store performance, noncomparable exposure, and new-store maturationCurrent relationship
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 CountCurrent conceptComparable Store Operating Weeks Comparable Store Sales Growth New Store Honeymoon Effect Noncomparable Store Operating Weeks
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
Footprint expansion, launch expense, and capital reinvestment
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 Expenditures Company-Owned Store Count New Store Openings Pre-Opening Costs

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 EconomicsSeasoned-store performance, noncomparable exposure, and new-store maturation5 of 5 bridge concepts supportedContinue through this bridge:Comparable Store Operating Weeks Comparable Store Sales Growth New Store Honeymoon Effect Noncomparable Store Operating Weeks

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Compare mature-store coverage

Compare companies while preserving the seasoning rules that determine which locations enter same-store performance measures.

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