Jillian's

Jillian's
A Jillian's "Player Card" used to play games.
Years active	1985 - present
Definition	Entertainment company
Located	U. S. A.
Status	Active

Jillian's was a restaurant and entertainment chain with locations in the United States and Canada, headquartered in Reno, Nevada. The only remaining Jillian's location that is still open as of January, 2017 is in San Francisco, California (see website).

History

Jillian's was founded in 1985 as a billiards club located in Boston, Massachusetts. The club was named after Jillian Foster, who is the spouse of the establishment's founder. The couple later founded the chain Lucky Strike Lanes. Within several years, the owners opened another branch in Seattle, Washington. By the early 1990s, it had become a competitor of Dave & Buster's, expanding its locations to include restaurants, video games, bowling alleys, nightclubs, and conference rooms. By 2000, there were roughly 30 locations in the U.S. and one in Montréal, Québec, Canada. In 2004, Jillian's Entertainment Holdings, Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and arranged to sell its assets. Nine of the Jillian's locations and the Jillian's tradename were sold to Dave & Buster's. At least some of these locations were eventually converted to operation under the Dave & Buster's name, and some were rebranded as "Dave & Buster's Grand Sports Cafe". In 2009, Dave & Busters, which itself was going through the process of being sold from one venture capital firm to another, sold the rights to the name to Gemini Investors. That company later established JBC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. to operate these locations.

Closings include the location at Neonopolis in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada (which closed in 2008 after also being used as a concert venue) and the location at Peabody Place in Memphis, Tennessee, which shut down in 2009, and the Jillians of Youngstown, Ohio at the Southern Park Mall was closed down on January 30, 2011, but for reasons unknown. The location in Charlotte, North Carolina closed down in February, 2010. The Cleveland Heights, Ohio location also closed on February 20, 2011 and was converted into Myxx, a tapas bar, by its owner. The location in Seattle, WA closed in 2012. The location in Peoria, IL closed May 2013, and the location in Universal City, CA closed in January, 2016.

Known locations

Most locations are either closed or were converted to other businesses.

Canada

Montréal

• 2313 Ste-Catherine Street W.

United States

Arizona

Phoenix

• 21001 N. Tatum Blvd.

California

San Francisco

• Metreon Shopping Centre
• 1000 Universal Studios Blvd.

Universal City

• 175 4th Street

Georgia

Lawrenceville

• 5900 Sugarloaf Pkwy.

Illinois

Peoria

• 5201 W. War Memorial Dr.

Nevada

Las Vegas

• Neonopolis

New York

Farmingdale

• 261 Airport Plaza Blvd

North Carolina

Charlotte

• 200 E. Bland St.

Ohio

Cleveland Heights

• 12459 Cedar Road

Youngstown

• Southern Park Mall

Tennessee

Memphis

• Peabody Place

Texas

Houston

• Katy Mills Mall
• Marq*E
• 7620 Katy Fwy.

Virginia

Chesapeake

• Greenbrier Mall

Washington

Seattle

• 731 Westlake Ave. N

Trivia

• The arcade games in the Jillian's' locations operated on prepaid “Player Cards” (see infobox photo) that could be inserted into games, with specialized ones being entered at a remote terminal.
• As of January, 2017, the current only remaining operating Jillian's is the one at the Metreon Shopping Centre. It is assumed that this location also does not have any video or pinball games, as it states on their web site that it has "billiards", which is assumed to be pool tables.

Links

• Official site

This arcade/former chain was featured in December, 2016.