Zamias has designs on luring second Dave & Buster's to area

Zamias Services Inc. is working to bring the same kind of splash to the Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills that has proven successful at the Waterfront in Homestead.

Stephen Zamias, CEO of Johnstown-based Zamias Services, said the company wants to draw Dave & Buster's Inc., the restaurant, pool hall and video game parlor, to the Pittsburgh Mills.

A spokesperson for Dave & Buster's said there are no confirmed plans for another Pittsburgh location, but Zamias expected to meet with representatives of Dave & Buster's on Feb. 1 or Feb. 2 about Pittsburgh Mills.

Zamias bought a majority ownership stake of the 1.1 million-square-foot mall in Frazier Township from Arlington, Va.-based Mills Corp. earlier this month.

He described the discussions with Dave & Buster's as in the early stages, but said he believed the multipurpose eatery would fit in well with the entertainment mix at the Pittsburgh Mills, where he said the restaurants have prospered.

"The restaurants, all of them, are doing extremely well," Zamias said.

This week, Zamias Services said it will replace the shuttered Lucky Strike Lanes bowling alley at the Mills with two restaurants, Abate Seafood and Dingbats, and Zamias said he expects to make an announcement soon on a department store for the Mills.

"We're hoping that they're interested," Zamias said of Dave & Buster's. "We would love to accommodate them."

Dallas-based Dave & Buster's, with 46 locations nationwide, is a proven draw. The only Pittsburgh-area location opened in 2000 at the Waterfront. The average Dave & Buster's is 52,000 square feet in size and typically employs more than 300.

Frank Kass, chairman of Columbus-based Continental Real Estate Cos., the original developer of the Waterfront, said the Dave & Buster's reached sales of between $13 million and $14 million in each of its first two years there.

Such revenue figures would rank it with The Cheesecake Factory among the highest grossing restaurants in the region.

Kass said Dave & Buster's draws a strong corporate crowd during the day at its conference facilities and young people in the evening.

"If it's needed in that area, it has a big business impact. They're good," Kass said. "They were great for the Waterfront."

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