Remember.....Gidget...Moon Dog......and the Big Kahuna?

If You Love Elvis And Blue Hawaii...Then You’ll Love

KAHUNAVILLE

 

Beach Blanket Bingo Comes To a Mall Near You

 

by Janet Heller of the E.S.P. Staff

 

Kahunaville hits the mark in primary malls in secondary markets with it’s dancing waterfalls, arcade games, casual food, giant drinks, and talking turtles.  To describe this concept would be easy if I could name drop.  I’ll name drop.  Kahunaville is a combination (on a smaller scale) of Rainforest Cafe and Dave & Busters.  But it costs a lot less to get a meal and have some fun at Kahunaville.  Meals are moderately priced, drinks are large, and you can play a game for as little as a quarter. 

 

 

 

The energy level of the people who wait on you and tend bar is high.  The service folks at Kahunaville are likely to break out in spontaneous song, or decide to dance on the bars, tabletops, or any other place that will get the diners’ attention.

 

Filling a niche in smaller markets, using smaller space, Kahunaville is a hit with the under-25 crowd and with younger kids and their parents.  The parents can sit back and enjoy their meal (and a generous drink) while the kids fill the game machines with tokens.  A nice touch to the gaming/arcade part of the Kahunaville concept is the prize redemption center, which offers an inventory of items that will entice all age groups.   E.S.P. staffers found that the food came in  large portions, but it was the combination of “good” drinks and an interesting selection of arcade games that drew most of them back.

 

 

 

Adventure Dining  (the parent company) is looking to take malls in the Mid-Atlantic and New England regions by storm.  The company says it is refining its concept.  The first Kahunaville opened in 1993 in Wilmington, Delaware at the Wilmington Riverfront, along  the Christiana River.  It was followed by the 350-seat Oxford Valley Mall site in Langhorne, Pennsylvania.   The 350-seat Kahunaville at the Eastwood Mall  in Youngstown, Ohio and a site in the Carousel Center Mall in Syracuse, New York soon followed.  A new site at the Holyoke Mall, Holyoke, Massachusetts was due to open April 26, as we went to press.  Sites at the Walden Galleria Mall in Buffalo and at the Crossgates Mall in Albany, New York are scheduled to open shortly.

 

The average size for a Kahunaville is 30,000 square feet. The concept is described by Adventure Dining Chairman and self-proclaimed  Kahunaville “Mayor” David Tuttleman as a “tropical immersed environment in a Disney-like world that serves a ‘theatrical American’ menu, complete with a sizable bar and arcade room.”  Tuttleman and his long time partner, Adventure Dining President and Chief Executive Robert Rosenblit, both expect the company to have eight locations, from Ohio to New York, operating by the year 2000.

 

Besides the experience offered by this active environment concept, Adventure Dining’s Kahunaville has struck a licensing deal with arcade operator Pocket Change America Inc. to install 10,000-square-foot rooms in it’s arcades.  Based in Newark, Delaware, Pocket Change is the nation’s third largest arcade chain  and also has become an equity investor in Adventure Dining.

 

The cost to build a Kahunaville is about $5 million, but quick payback is expected, given the average weekly revenue of more than $150,000 per operation.  Kahunaville restaurants generate annual sales of about $8 million, with 72 percent  coming from food and drinks and 28 percent from the arcade.

 

According to Rosenblit, venture capital firms and several wealthy individuals have “knocked on our doors” looking to grab equity stakes in Adventure Dining.  The company expects to examine various financing opportunities to fund expansion plans.  An initial public offering could be in Adventure Dining’s future in the next couple of years.  Another possibility is distribution/exchange of equity with other restaurant companies.

With four locations established, including the recently opened 40,000-sq. ft. unit in Syracuse, New York, the company is looking to expand again in Holyoke, Massachusetts and in Buffalo and Albany, New York.

For more information contact: 
Lee Zaben, Adventure Dining Inc., 500 South Madison Street, Wilmington, DE, 19801, 1-302-571-6200, fax 1-302-571-6212