Alabama has a new Dave & Buster’s, and word is, it won’t be the last.

That word came Monday morning from general manager Travis Hamilton, as he officially opened Mobile’s newest family entertainment destination. It is the state’s third, after locations in Huntsville and Birmingham.

“I hear that there are more to come for the state of Alabama in the future,” said Hamilton, shortly before cutting a ribbon amid fanfare that included Azalea Trail Maids, music from the Excelsior Band and the anticipation of dozens of customers lined up to be the first inside.

Hamilton said after the ribbon-cutting that he couldn’t reveal any details about the company’s expansion plans in Alabama, just that it has some. The company operates around 170 Dave & Buster’s locations in 43 states, Puerto Rico and Canada; it recently celebrated the opening of a location in Bangalore, India.

The new store is at 1757 E. Interstate 65 Service Road, an address that puts it near the intersection of Interstate 65 and U.S. 90, directly across U.S. 90 from a Top Golf that opened in 2023.

It offers more than 30,000 square feet of gaming, food and entertainment space, featuring “over 100 of the latest arcade games,” including “new and classic arcade games where hard-earned tickets can be redeemed for a variety of exciting prizes, including Apple products, Xbox consoles, Beats by Dre, etc. Guests can also find many fun games, including Godzilla VR, Wicked Tuna, life-size versions of Hungry Hungry Hippos and Minecraft Dungeons Arcade.”

Turns out those hippos are not quite as big as lives ones, which is probably for the best. But everything else about Dave & Buster’s is bigger than life: The bar is gigantic and if the bank of large-screens TVs over head doesn’t do the job, for some reason, there’s a gigantic video wall nearby that dwarfs it.

The main gaming area has a feel similar to that of a casino floor, in terms of lights, noise, options and sheer sensory overload. But the attractions are all arcade games, rather than one-armed bandits.

District 4 Councilman Ben Reynolds said he’d taken his children to a preview session and they’d been captivated. “We got home after 9 p.m., you know, on a school night, and if they didn’t turn off the machines, we would have been here all night and probably into the next day,” he said. “So it is a fantastic experience for families, and you can have something to eat, you can have a cocktail, you can do things for parents as well.”

Reynolds was one of two council members who spoke. Thanks to a redistricting that will take effect with municipal elections later this year, the location will shift from District 4 to C.J. Small’s District 3.

“I used to hear people saying, ‘Oh, there’s nothing to do in Mobile,’” said Small. “Well, if I look across the street I see Top Golf, and I’m standing right here, I see this brand new great-looking building called Dave & Buster’s. I think the last time I was in Dave & Buster’s, I was in Atlanta, Georgia. I was like, ‘Mobile will never get one of these.’”

He was more than happy to be proven wrong, he said.

As with the Top Golf, Bradley Byrne, President and CEO of the Mobile Chamber, said having a Dave & Buster’s a high-profile quality-of-life feature that helps recruit new businesses and residents to the city.

“I just got a chance to take a tour inside,” he said. “It is awesome. I’m telling you it is great. I can see people coming here for the playoff games this weekend, March Madness, the World Series. To college football on Saturdays in the fall, NFL games on Sunday, just you can just imagine anything going on in there. It’s a tremendous addition to this community. This is the sort of thing that we need in order to attract more people and more businesses to this area.”

Hours of operation are Mondays through Thursdays from 11 a.m. to midnight, Fridays from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 a.m, and Sundays from 10 a.m. to midnight. Patrons younger than 18 must enter with a guardian who is at least 25 years old, and the guardian must remain with his or her underage guests at all times. For more information including food and beverage menus and store policies, visit www.daveandbusters.com.