Vol. XXVI, No. 8, August 2026

  1. Editor's corner
  2. Are you chasing the wrong market?
  3. Lucky Strike's comparable same-store sales
  4. Competitive advantage has changed for location-based entertainment.
  5. Nonalcoholic beverages are now a mainstream category
  6. Why designing successful location-based entertainment venues has never been more complex
  7. The Party Hero; turning LBE birthday parties into unforgettable experiences
  8. Time spent at arts and entertainment venues still down from pre-pandemic
  9. Audits of existing location-based entertainment venues
  10. The digital detox movement

[ Index of Previous eNewsletters ]

Lucky Strike's comparable same-store sales

We've been reporting on the decline in Dave & Buster's comparable same-store sales. Dave & Buster's is the 3rd-largest LBE chain. The 2nd-largest LBE chain is Lucky Strike, formerly Bowlero, with 356 bowling centers, 8 FECs, and 4 waterparks (Chuck E. Cheese's is the largest LBE chain with 464 stores). Lucky Strike operates its bowling centers under the Lucky Strike, Bowlero, AMF, and Bowlmor brands, and its FECs include seven Boomers.

Our analysis of Lucky Strike's year-over-year same-store sales shows a recent decline similar to what we found with Dave & Buster's.

Has Lucky Strike's increase in same-store sales outpaced inflation?

For the same-store sales changes in the graph above, comparing quarter vs previous year's same quarter:

  • From Q2 2023 to Q2 2026 (ending December 28, 2025), year-over-year same-store sales declined by 5.7%, while inflation was +8.9%, meaning their inflation-adjusted same-store sales declined by 13.4%.
  • From Q3 2023 to Q3 2026 (ending March 26, 2026), same-store sales declined by 7.4%, while inflation was +13.8%, resulting in inflation-adjusted same-store sales declining by 16.3%.

Its current year-over-year same-store sales are up 20.3% compared with pre-pandemic 2019. Inflation for the same period was 26%, so, inflation-adjusted, its sales have declined by 4.5% since pre-pandemic 2019.

What's interesting is that Lucky Strike's year-over-year same-store sales more than recovered to 2019 levels for the year ending in 2023. Same-store sales were up 27.8% then, exceeding 19.4% inflation over the same three years. Since then, its same-store sales have been on a decline. 

This inflation-adjusted decrease is not as severe as Dave & Buster's over one-third decline, but it is still significant.

Top Golf, another major location-based entertainment chain, has also seen a roughly one-quarter decline in inflation-adjusted comparable same-store sales. Like Lucky Strike, same-store sales were up through early 2023 and then have been on a decline since.

To learn what may be driving the sales declines at these three largest LBE chains, read our latest white paper, Attractions are no longer enough.

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Vol. XXVI, No. 8, August 2026

  1. Editor's corner
  2. Are you chasing the wrong market?
  3. Lucky Strike's comparable same-store sales
  4. Competitive advantage has changed for location-based entertainment.
  5. Nonalcoholic beverages are now a mainstream category
  6. Why designing successful location-based entertainment venues has never been more complex
  7. The Party Hero; turning LBE birthday parties into unforgettable experiences
  8. Time spent at arts and entertainment venues still down from pre-pandemic
  9. Audits of existing location-based entertainment venues
  10. The digital detox movement

[ Index of Previous eNewsletters ]