Dave & Buster’s issues layoff notices for the Henrietta location

Nearly 300 people who had worked at the Dave and Buster’s restaurant and entertainment complex located at Marketplace Mall were told recently that their temporary layoffs will become permanent by December.

That information was contained in a required New York State Labor Department notice, along with similar notices for Dave and Buster’s locations in other parts of the state such as Albany and Syracuse.

The Texas-based chain opened up the Henrietta location in 2016. But the restaurants, like so many other businesses, were hit by the closures caused by COVID-19 in March.

The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Dave and Buster’s might have to file for bankruptcy if it can’t reach a deal with its lenders.

A spokesperson for Dave & Buster’s provided this statement:

“Unfortunately, because of the indefinite timeframe for reopening arcades in certain jurisdictions, including New York, the Company issued legally required WARN act notices to affected team members at affected locations.  As the notices made clear, the Company currently does not plan to permanently close the locations, and we will do our best to rehire as many affected team members as we can just as soon as state and local governments allow arcades to reopen.

So far, we’ve been able to open 91 of our 136 stores, but arcades are still not allowed to reopen in New York.  We regret the hardship to our team members, but unfortunately, we are not able to control when governments permit businesses like ours to open.”

A spokesperson for Wilmorite, which owns Marketplace Mall, says that the company is hopeful the Rochester location will reopen when that is permitted by New York state.