Of all the things bolstered by late ’90s/early 2000s nostalgia—Virgin Megastores, Anchor Blue, KB Toys, Blockbuster Video, Borders (rest in piece Pike location)—perhaps nothing signifies this more than Dave and Buster’s, the Let-Mommy-Get-Wasted-and-Play-Games-Sweetie joint that was, at least it was thought, left behind amid the piles of CDs and Beyond Baggy jeans.

But fear not: it is alive and well, with 130 locations across the States and Canada—possibly soon to be 131, thanks to a nearly 43,000-square-foot proposal at East Long Beach’s Town Center, 7575 Carson Blvd. Not bad for a place that was once a “haunt for politicians, bond daddies, and cocaine whores,” at least according to an origin story from Arkansas Business.

The move for a much larger space for the Dallas-based brand comes at odds with the company’s announcement that, after being sold for $570 million in 2010, they would focus on smaller locations, roughly between 20,000 and 30,000 square feet in cities with populations between 200,000 and 500,000. This proposed site will require the demolishing of some 29,677 square feet of existing space just south of the Edwards Theatre complex.

Long Beach can expect to play and eat by next year should the project, which faces the Planning Commission Thursday, Aug. 22, becomes entitled.

Brian Addison is a columnist and editor for the Long Beach Post. Reach him at [email protected] or on social media at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.