Uploaded December 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
James Winston "Buster" Corley, known to everyone as Buster, was born January 2, 1951, in Brookhaven, Mississippi. Buster was an absolute legend to those who knew him. That was partly because he was the "Buster" in Dave & Buster's but also because he touched so many lives.
People took a job at one of his restaurants expecting to work as a waiter or bartender for just a short time but instead, thanks to Buster, found themselves with a new purpose in life and a decades-long career.
At 17, Buster started dating his high school sweetheart, Leacy Suddath. After graduation in 1969, he started his hospitality career as a waiter for TGI Fridays in Jackson, Mississippi. He worked his way through the ranks and was recruited to open TGI Fridays' third location in Little Rock, Arkansas, and serve as its general manager. In 1978, after TGI Fridays' fired him, he went down the street to the train station with Leacy's help, he opened Buster's. There, he met his future business partner, who would become his best friend, Dave Corriveau, who at the time owned Slick Willys, an arcade and game room also at the train station. After watching the customers rotate between the two locations, Dave and Buster hatched the idea of combining the two places, moving it to Dallas and making it grander in size. Leacy and Buster married in 1980. The first Dave & Buster's opened with the slogan “There’s No Place Quite Like It” in 1982.
That first D&B in Dallas was 40,000 square feet and cost $3 million to build. It had two bars, shuffleboard, tournament-quality billiard tables, a midway with a million dollars worth of arcade games, and the unique opportunity for people to enjoy these activities while also eating cocktails and gourmet food. Combining a restaurant with an arcade may seem like a no-brainer today but Dave and Buster were the first to invent this new “eater-tainment” industry. Leacy oversaw the research and development of D&B’s food until 2007; her goal was to have it rival that at any four-star restaurant in the U.S.
The food items on the menu at D&B rivaled any four-star restaurant in the first 15 years. Buster was passionate about the food on the menu; menu items were ahead of their time and trends. Extensive work was put into the research and development of the food at D&B by his high school sweetheart and wife until 2007.
Buster lived by the motto that "Everyone Is Somebody" and should be treated with kindness and respect. At his restaurant, Buster’s, he welcomed each guest as if he’d known them for a lifetime. Buster made them feel welcome and made sure they enjoyed themselves and wanted to return. The same attention to hospitality continued when he opened D&B; every guest was made to feel special. Buster’s charisma was legendary; it was the heart of Dave and Buster’s.
Dave was the fun; Buster was the motivation. He would say, “I am only as strong as my team” and attributed his success to the people he worked with. Buster wouldn't ask anyone to do something unless he had done it first. Buster's passion for hospitality, his demand for excellence, and his deep love for what he always called his "team" are truly unparalleled.
James Winston "Buster" Corley, known to everyone as Buster, was born January 2, 1951, in Brookhaven, Mississippi. Buster was an absolute legend to those who knew him. That was partly because he was the "Buster" in Dave & Buster's but also because he touched so many lives.
People took a job at one of his restaurants expecting to work as a waiter or bartender for just a short time but instead, thanks to Buster, found themselves with a new purpose in life and a decades-long career.
At 17, Buster started dating his high school sweetheart, Leacy Suddath. After graduation in 1969, he started his hospitality career as a waiter for TGI Fridays in Jackson, Mississippi. He worked his way through the ranks and was recruited to open TGI Fridays' third location in Little Rock, Arkansas, and serve as its general manager. In 1978, after TGI Fridays' fired him, he went down the street to the train station with Leacy's help, he opened Buster's. There, he met his future business partner, who would become his best friend, Dave Corriveau, who at the time owned Slick Willys, an arcade and game room also at the train station. After watching the customers rotate between the two locations, Dave and Buster hatched the idea of combining the two places, moving it to Dallas and making it grander in size. Leacy and Buster married in 1980. The first Dave & Buster's opened with the slogan “There’s No Place Quite Like It” in 1982.
That first D&B in Dallas was 40,000 square feet and cost $3 million to build. It had two bars, shuffleboard, tournament-quality billiard tables, a midway with a million dollars worth of arcade games, and the unique opportunity for people to enjoy these activities while also eating cocktails and gourmet food. Combining a restaurant with an arcade may seem like a no-brainer today but Dave and Buster were the first to invent this new “eater-tainment” industry. Leacy oversaw the research and development of D&B’s food until 2007; her goal was to have it rival that at any four-star restaurant in the U.S.
The food items on the menu at D&B rivaled any four-star restaurant in the first 15 years. Buster was passionate about the food on the menu; menu items were ahead of their time and trends. Extensive work was put into the research and development of the food at D&B by his high school sweetheart and wife until 2007.
Buster lived by the motto that "Everyone Is Somebody" and should be treated with kindness and respect. At his restaurant, Buster’s, he welcomed each guest as if he’d known them for a lifetime. Buster made them feel welcome and made sure they enjoyed themselves and wanted to return. The same attention to hospitality continued when he opened D&B; every guest was made to feel special. Buster’s charisma was legendary; it was the heart of Dave and Buster’s.
Dave was the fun; Buster was the motivation. He would say, “I am only as strong as my team” and attributed his success to the people he worked with. Buster wouldn't ask anyone to do something unless he had done it first. Buster's passion for hospitality, his demand for excellence, and his deep love for what he always called his "team" are truly unparalleled.
