Founder and CEO Robert Thompson sums up the multi-faceted experience simply: “scratch kitchen, craft beverage, social gaming environment done in a very design-forward manner.” 

Later this year, the chain will open a 12,500-square-foot location, half the size of its traditional locations, in Fort Worth, Texas.

The streamlined model is designed to fuel growth by helping the chain expand into different markets, without sacrificing the entertainment-driven experience it’s known for. For example, the smaller unit will have two bars instead of three, and the bowling alley will become duckpin bowling, a version of bowling using smaller, lighter pins.

“We give up the volume … but not any of the programs or the culinary service and craft beverage offerings,” Thompson said in an interview.

Eight-lane bowling, private karaoke rooms, virtual reality, Skee-Ball, ping-pong, bocce, darts, board games and a 1980s arcade are just some of the offerings at the chain’s locations.

Even as the company introduces virtual reality to its gaming options, it seeks to make the experience social and interactive. Instead of isolating the gamer, each experience is conducted in a “parlor,” completely exposed to the restaurant, where one person puts on the equipment while friends sit on nearby couches and watch.

Despite its focus on gaming, the vast majority of sales are from food and beverage, and menu strategy is as central to the experience as the entertainment.

James Beard Award-winning chef Hugh Acheson crafted the current menu and has remained involved in the evolution throughout the past two years of the company’s success as a partner in addition to chef.

The new menu, which was set to debut Sept. 1, introduced more Mexican flavors. New items include duck and mole tamale and a green chorizo taco with house-made cilantro chorizo.

These will join the popular menu items like chicken and waffles with chipotle cream cheese syrup and the A La Bama fried chicken sandwich with Alabama hot sauce.

Punch Bowl, which received an investment from private-equity firm L Catterton last year, plans to nearly double in size in the next 18 months, growing to 25 units.

New units will include a combination of large and smaller locations. Target markets are Texas, Florida, Utah, Washington, D.C., Colorado, Missouri, Wisconsin and Arizona.