Your first look inside Dave & Buster's Entertainment, opening Monday in West Des Moines

Just call West Des Moines "entertainment central." Wedged between Smash Park with its pickleball courts and Spare Time with bowling alleys and arcade games comes a new contender to keep kids and adults amused.

The highly anticipated Dave & Buster’s Entertainment opens its very first location in Iowa on Monday with 21,700 square feet of restaurant and arcade games alike outside of Jordan Creek Town Center in a standalone building just south of the cinemas.

One side of the space offers the Million Dollar Midway with more than 100 games spanning virtual reality and interactive “for your entire crew, whatever age you are. We welcome everyone,” said Zach Darbonne, general manager of Dave & Buster’s in West Des Moines. Darbonne, who grew up in Louisiana, moved to the Des Moines metro from Houston and worked for Dave & Buster’s for 13 years.

“I’ve always wanted to come to the Midwest and as soon as I found out about opening in Iowa, I was ready to take it,” said Darbonne, who hired 135 people to staff the entertainment venue.

What games does Dave & Buster’s have?

Walk through that Million Dollar Midway to find a little bit of everything, including JJ Bot, an interactive robot game that’s making its Dave & Buster’s debut in West Des Moines.

Look for games branded with Spider-Man, Batman, Angry Birds, Monopoly, Plinko (from “The Price Is Right”), and “The Fast and the Furious.”

Game lovers can play Space Invaders, Lane Master bowling, Hot Wheels King of the Road, or the world’s largest Pac-Man. Race motorcycles, shoot hoops, dance and bowl at this entertainment venue.

And when players win tickets, they can head to the ticket redemption center for prizes. Look for everything from candy and shot glasses to plush toys and Hot Wheels. High-end prizes include a Nintendo Switch, Oculus Quest 2, XBox, or drone with a camera, all the way to percussion massagers and noise cancellation headphones.

Those who want to play games can download an app or buy a card for tokens. For $20, fans can buy 100 tokens, up to 750 chips for $100.

A patio on the western side of the building offers fans and heaters, and soon will be enclosed for at least three-seasons of fun and games. Customers here can find cornhole, giant Jenga, and a huge Connect 4, and maybe even a large chess set in the near future.

What’s to eat at Dave & Buster’s?

“I would come hungry,” Darbonne said. “I would absolutely either come and dine in our sports lounge or in our Viewpoint Bar.”

The menu at Dave & Buster’s encapsulates sports bar fare — appetizers such as garlic Parmesan truffle fries, Creole shrimp dip, cantina nachos with an ancho chili chicken, and pretzel dogs, as well as salads and bowls, burgers and sandwiches, and entrees, such as a voodoo pasta with crispy chicken in a creamy Cajun sauce, a fire-grilled Atlantic salmon with veggies and jasmine rice, a Manchego chicken in a Hennessey Madeira demi sauce, and a 14-ounce ribeye steak aged for 25 days.

Fans of sandwiches can order a chicken avocado club, a Philly cheesesteak, or a crispy Hawaiian chicken sandwich with a pineapple slaw and Huli Huli glaze, or opt for the Beastmode bacon burger with a Blue Moon-braised pork belly topped with applewood smoked bacon and sharp white cheddar.

Next to the bar, find a 40-foot wall-to-wall TV that Darbonne calls “probably the biggest TV in West Des Moines.” The screen can show multiple games or just one.

And if one massive screen isn’t enough, Dave & Buster’s has TVs every which way you look.

Happy hour deals at Dave & Buster’s

Gathering with friends or co-workers for happy hour is the bread-and-butter of any experience at Dave & Busters.

Want fun with a deal? Dave & Buster’s has a five for $5 deal for happy hour every Sunday through Thursday from 4 to 7 p.m. with a glass of wine, backwoods blueberry lemonade, a tres tequila margarita, Long Island iced tea or 22-ounce domestic draft for $5.

Then from 9 p.m. to close on Sundays through Thursdays, happy hour includes $5 late-night bites, such as a double pepperoni flatbread, garlic Parmesan fries, cantina nachos, crispy cauliflower or crispy chicken bites.

Where to find Dave & Buster’s

Location: 190 S. Jordan Creek Parkway, West Des Moines

Contact: 515-858-4141 or daveandbusters.com/us/en/home

Hours: Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to midnight and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.

Susan Stapleton is the entertainment editor and dining reporter at The Des Moines Register. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, or drop her a line at sstapleton@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Dave & Buster's opens its first Iowa location on July 31 in West Des Moines