CLEVELAND, Ohio - The name is a bit playful, in keeping with the atmosphere.

There's the "punch" - a menu of craft cocktails that includes actual punch bowls, sized to serve up to eight people. There's the "bowl," which also refers to bowling, one of the old-school games patrons can play. And then there's the whole "social" part, the idea that this place isn't just about eating or drinking.

Punch Bowl Social, a mash-up of restaurant and entertainment spot, has committed to a 27,000-square-foot space at the Flats East Bank project. The downtown Cleveland outpost, set to open in mid-June, will be the company's fifth location, following openings in Denver, Portland, Austin and Detroit.

Tucked into the northeast corner of a 242-unit apartment building, Punch Bowl will feature a rooftop deck, eight bowling lanes, three private karaoke rooms and activities ranging from vintage video games to pingpong and marbles. The restaurant will help anchor a new entertainment district that includes a Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill, a dueling-piano bar called The Big Bang and a seasonal nightclub near the mouth of the Cuyahoga River.

It's hard to come up with a one-line description for Punch Bowl, which is part of a broader "eatertainment" category of businesses.

The premise of blending food and fun isn't new. Theme restaurants such as Hard Rock Cafe and Planet Hollywood have served up a mix of pop culture and grub for decades. The Dave & Buster's chain surrounds diners with high-tech stimulation, from video games to scads of televisions airing sports. And there are smaller, niche players, like Lakewood's 16-Bit Bar and Arcade.

Punch Bowl Social will occupy a 27,000-square-foot space in the northeast corner of an apartment building at the Flats East Bank project.

Writers in other cities have described Punch Bowl as "a boozy adult playground." Creator Robert Thompson says that tagline puts too little emphasis on the food, a diner-style lineup that runs the breakfast-to-late-night gamut.

Thompson, a restaurant industry veteran based in Denver, described Punch Bowl as the anti-Dave & Buster's. Aside from offering decidedly low-tech games, Punch Bowl puts a strong emphasis on its menu, which includes design-your-own burgers and - a fan favorite - chicken and waffles with chipotle pecan maple syrup. Most menu items fall between $10 and $15.

"As I went through the concept process for Punch Bowl, there was a word that just stood out, that became the focus. Authentic," he said. "Everything from the design to the food and beverage and the gaming, everything had to go through this process and have a feel of authenticity to it on the other side."

Thompson's company, Seasoned Development, opened the first Punch Bowl in a former Big Lots store in Denver in 2012. He characterizes the restaurant's aesthetic as "dirty modern" - a little bit of mountain lodge with some industrial, Victorian and modern elements thrown in. "Those sound weird going together on paper," Thompson said, "but they translate OK."

In December, Punch Bowl opened a 24,000-square-foot restaurant in downtown Detroit, on the first floor of a parking structure built by Cleveland Cavaliers owner and Rust Belt real estate investor Dan Gilbert. So far, that venue is breaking company records. Now Thompson has two Chicago-area projects in the works, plus aspirations to expand into Dallas, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Seattle and San Francisco.

Developer Scott Wolstein said Punch Bowl will fit well into the diverse waterfront district that he and his mother, Iris, hope to create in the Flats.

"It is truly a unique notion that has enjoyed stellar results," Wolstein said in an emailed statement. "We expect great things from them."

Talks about a Cleveland spot started more than two years ago. Thompson worked with the Wolsteins and their partners, Randy Ruttenberg and Adam Fishman of Fairmount Properties, to carve out a space at the Flats project, which already includes an office tower, an Aloft hotel and a handful of restaurants. The first group of apartments, along with more eateries and entertainment venues, will open in June as part of the project's second phase.

A riverfront boardwalk could be finished in late June or early July, and more apartments will trickle onto the market through October.

Other commercial tenants include the Flip Side burger joint, expected to open by St. Patrick's Day; three restaurant concepts being dreamed up by Cleveland chef Steve Schimoler of Crop Bistro & Bar; Cleveland chef Zack Bruell's Alley Cat Oyster Bar; a brew pub called Beer Head; and a Mexican restaurant named Beach Taco, which appears to have replaced Panini's Bar & Grill on a site plan presented to the Cleveland City Planning Commission late last year.

Fishman, a Fairmount principal, wouldn't drop hints about additional leases during an interview last week.

"The idea is, from day to night, that this will be a live-work-play district for families during the day who want to experience the waterfront or fun things to do like Punch Bowl Social, to moms with strollers, to young professionals, to folks who have a lot more means," Fishman said. "The idea is that people are going to come down to the Flats for fun. They're not necessarily going to decide beforehand which place they want to go."