Dave & Buster’s co-founder James “Buster” Corley has died at age 72, according to the eatertainment chain and Corley’s daughter.
The cause of death appears to be suicide. According to police reports, a man with Corley’s first and last name was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Monday evening in the Lakewood section of Dallas, where Corley lived. Authorities have yet to say definitively that the deceased was the same Buster Corley, but a member of Corley’s family told a Dallas TV station that he was.
The restaurateur’s daughter, Kate Corley, told Dallas media that her father had suffered a stroke four months ago that affected his ability to communicate as well as his personality.
Buster Corley was running a restaurant in Little Rock, Ark., during the late 1970s called Buster’s. It was next door to a video arcade and saloon called Cash McCool’s, owned and managed by another entrepreneur, Dave Corriveau. The two realized that customers would often shuttle back and forth between the establishments, hitting Corley’s place for food before or after playing games at Corriveau’s joint.
In 1982, they decided to combine their operations in a Dallas location that would roughly be half restaurant and half gaming emporium. According to the chain’s lore, Corriveau ended up with top billing as the result of a coin toss.
Corley remained the food guy, though both carried the title of co-CEO. Although eatertainment places like Dave & Buster’s were hardly known for the quality of their fare, the restaurateur insisted that guests be able to get an outstanding meal as well as high score on one of the cavernous facilities’ games. He brought in chefs to develop a menu that would not have been out of place in any casual-dining restaurant.
"His pioneering spirit and steadfast belief that ‘everybody is somebody’ set the foundation for bringing food and games to millions of Dave & Buster’s guests over the past 40 years," the company said in a statement. "Buster’s passion for hospitality, his demand for excellence, and the deep care he had for his team members were unparalleled...while we will miss his wise counsel and his easy laugh, the legacy he and Dave built endures.”
The operation went public for the first time in 1995, growing quickly to 10 locations. It was taken private in 2005 by Wellspring Capital Management, and Corley and Corriveau stepped down as co-CEOs in 2007.
Wellspring sold the brand to Oak Hill Capital Management and the company’s senior executives after a second IPO was called off. That sale to the public ultimately took place in 2014. Today, the chain has 151 branches.
Corriveau died in 2017 at age 63.
Update: Dave & Buster's comments on Corley's passing have been added to the story.
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