Who Is Dave and Buster's Named After? The Real People Behind the Brand

If you've ever wondered who is Dave and Buster's named after, the answer is two real people: David "Dave" Corriveau and James "Buster" Corley. They weren't co-founders from day one they were next-door neighbors running separate businesses in Little Rock, Arkansas. 

Corriveau ran a games and entertainment venue. Corley ran a restaurant. When they noticed customers drifting between the two all night, they decided to combine them. That's the origin of the name and the brand.

Who Was Dave? The Man Behind the First Name

His Early Life and First Businesses

David Corriveau was born in 1951 and grew up in North Little Rock, Arkansas. His instinct for business showed up early. As a teenager, he bought a food truck, converted it into a snow cone cart, and scaled it into a small fleet by hiring friends to run the extra carts. Straightforward, scrappy, and self-funded.

After a period working as a blackjack dealer in Las Vegas, he returned to Little Rock in 1975 and opened Cash McCool's Saloon and Game Parlor a converted 7-Eleven that mixed bar service with billiards and arcade games. 

That venue was effectively the prototype for the entertainment side of what Dave & Buster's would eventually become. By 1977, he had expanded into Slick Willy's World of Entertainment, a larger space at a Little Rock train station.

What Corriveau Actually Brought to the Table

His obsession was the games experience the layout of the floor, the upkeep of the machines, the variety of what was on offer. That singular focus became one half of what made the Dave & Buster's model work. He later developed what was known internally as "Ideal Playing Conditions" essentially a documented standard for how a Dave & Buster's games floor should look and function.

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Who Was Buster? The Man Behind the Second Name

Why the Name Is "Buster" and Not "James"

Most articles skip this entirely, but it's worth being clear: "Buster" was a nickname. His legal name was James Winston Corley. He went by Buster throughout his entire personal and professional life, which is why the nickname not his given name ended up on the brand.

His Background Before the Partnership

Corley was born in 1951 in Brookhaven, Mississippi. He started his hospitality career as a waiter at TGI Fridays in Jackson right after high school and worked his way through management ranks. After being let go by TGI Fridays in 1978, he opened Buster's a restaurant and bar at a Little Rock train station. Right next door to Corriveau's Slick Willy's.

Buster's quickly built a reputation for quality food and service. It drew a particular kind of crowd: politicians, lobbyists, professionals people who expected a decent meal, not just a place to drink.

What Corley Brought to the Partnership

Where Corriveau's strength was entertainment, Corley's was hospitality. He understood food, service, and how to make a room feel like somewhere worth staying. That complementary split  games on one side, dining on the other became the structural logic behind every Dave & Buster's that followed.

How the Two Actually Met and Decided to Merge

Two Venues, One Shared Crowd

Both businesses sat at or near the same Little Rock train station. Neither man planned a merger. The idea came purely from watching what customers did: they moved between Slick Willy's and Buster's all night, naturally treating them as two parts of the same experience.

What's often overlooked is how the friendship started. When Corriveau opened Slick Willy's, Corley sent flowers to the grand opening an unusually warm gesture from a next-door competitor. 

Corriveau was impressed enough that he sought Corley out. From there, the two met regularly to compare notes on how the businesses were running.

The partnership formalized in a very literal way before they ever signed anything: they cut a window through the wall between the two buildings so customers could be served across both spaces without going outside. That was the first actual test of the concept.

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How Dave and Buster's Got Its Name and Who Is Dave and Buster's Named After

Equal Partnership, One Coin Toss

Naming the new venture after both men was the natural call. The partnership was equal neither had more capital in the deal, neither was the silent partner, neither outranked the other. The combined name reflected that.

The only open question was whose name came first. They settled it the way you settle things when there's no better reason to go either way: a coin toss. 

Corriveau won. That's why it's Dave & Buster's, not Buster & Dave's. No branding strategy. No alphabetical logic. Just a coin landing the right way up.

Why Dallas? The Reason They Left Little Rock

The first Dave & Buster's opened in Dallas, Texas, in December 1982 not in the city where both founders had built their reputations. They found a vacant 40,000-square-foot warehouse on "Restaurant Row" in Dallas and decided the larger market justified the move.

The irony is that Little Rock, the city where the whole idea started, didn't get its own Dave & Buster's until 2016. Thirty-four years after the first location opened. 

The reason was a specific piece of Arkansas legislation that capped prize winnings from amusement games at $5 an amount that made the Dave & Buster's model financially unworkable there. The cap was eventually raised to $500, which cleared the way for a location.

What Happened to the Founders After 1982

Their Roles Running the Company

Both Corriveau and Corley served as co-CEOs after the launch. Their responsibilities divided along the same lines as their original businesses: Corriveau ran the games and entertainment side, Corley ran food and beverage. They managed the company together through the early expansion years.

In 1989, Edison Brothers Stores bought a majority stake to fund growth into new cities. The company went public in 1995. By 2007, both founders had sold their interests to a private equity firm and stepped away from active involvement.

David Corriveau

Corriveau died in 2015 at age 63. He and Corley were later inducted together as inaugural legacy members of the Amusement Industry Hall of Fame.

James "Buster" Corley

Corley died on January 2, 2023, at age 72. His daughter Kate confirmed that he had suffered a stroke four months earlier that caused severe neurological damage specifically to the parts of the brain governing communication and personality. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his home near White Rock Lake in Dallas.

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The TikTok Myth Worth Clearing Up

It Was Not Founded by Dave Chappelle and Busta Rhymes

This claim spread widely enough on TikTok that Snopes issued a formal fact-check. The short version: no. Dave Chappelle is a comedian. Busta Rhymes is a rapper. Neither has any documented connection to the restaurant chain.

The brand was built by two private businesspeople from Arkansas whose names happen to sound like two famous people's names. That's the full extent of the resemblance. 

The real founders were David Corriveau and James "Buster" Corley not celebrities, not entertainers, just two people who ran adjacent small businesses and decided to build something bigger together.

Conclusion

Dave and Buster's is named after David Corriveau and James "Buster" Corley two real people whose neighboring Little Rock businesses merged into one idea. A coin toss settled whose name came first. Both founders are gone, but the brand built from a shared wall and a shared crowd still carries their names.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who exactly is Dave and Buster's named after?

Dave & Buster's is named after its two co-founders: David "Dave" Corriveau and James "Buster" Corley. Both were real people who ran neighboring businesses in Little Rock, Arkansas, before opening the first combined location in Dallas in December 1982.

Why is Dave's name listed first?

Dave's name comes first because Corriveau won a coin toss. The two founders agreed the name should include both equally the toss simply decided the order. There was no strategic or alphabetical reason behind it.

Is "Buster" a real name or a nickname?

It's a nickname. James Corley's legal name was James Winston Corley. He went by Buster throughout his entire life, which is the name that carried over onto the brand when he and Corriveau became partners.

Did the two founders know each other before starting the company?

They met because their businesses were neighbors. Corley sent flowers to the opening of Corriveau's Slick Willy's in 1977 that gesture started their friendship. The business partnership grew after both noticed customers freely moving between the two venues.

Are Dave and Buster still alive?

Neither founder is alive. David Corriveau died in 2015 at age 63. James "Buster" Corley died in January 2023 at age 72, following a stroke that had caused significant neurological damage four months before his death.