Music has the Hard Rock Cafe. Film has Planet Hollywood. It's high time the game industry had its own cheesy, tourist-trappy theme restaurant to part visiting rubes from their money. Apparently, Namco agrees with that sentiment, given the company's plans to open Level 257, "a brand new restaurant and entertainment destination inspired by Pac-Man" in a former Sears warehouse at the Woodfield Mall in the Chicago suburb of Schaumburg, Illinois next month.

According to the official Level 257 tumblr page, the 40,000 square foot, 180-seat restaurant will also integrate a larger entertainment complex, featuring "16 boutique retro-styled bowling lanes with smart technology, table tennis, pinball machines and our Lost & Found games parlor with original arcades alongside exciting new titles, plus custom-built game tables and free-to-play board games provide a unique entertainment experience." Fans of Pac-Man will also be able to shop at a "first-of-its-kind" Pac-Man retail shop and browse a "gallery space" devoted to the little yellow dot.

"Level 257 seeks to explore Pac-Man’s impact upon our society and pop culture, reminding us all of the importance of play in our lives, while facilitating our desire to relive those times when beating the next level was the most important thing in our world," the site says. "All while indulging that which we love now—great food and drink with our friends and family."

The "Level 257" name is a cute reference to Pac-Man's famous "kill screen" bug, which makes the classic arcade title unplayable at the 256th level thanks to a byte overflow error. Plans for the site have been in the works since at least May, according to the Level 257 Facebook page. Namco says it plans to host a celebration for Pac-Man's 35th anniversary at the location in May.

Namco, which first released Pac-Man in Japanese arcades in 1980, already operates a number of amusement venues in the US through its Namco Entertainment subsidiary, including a line of "Time Out" branded arcades. The company's entertainment centers also include Namco Funscape in London and the Namco Nakano arcade complex in Tokyo.