Main Event Entertainment, with 44 locations in 17 states, has announced the appointment of Tony Wehner as the company’s new Chief Operating Officer.
In this role, Wehner will be responsible for the end-to-end customer experience for Main Event’s 20 million annual guests. Wehner arrives with more than 20 years of executive leadership experience across several industries, most recently serving as Chief Executive Officer of BigShots Golf, a tech-driven family entertainment brand centered around golf and culinary experiences. Prior to that, Wehner was Chief Operating Officer for Bar Louie, the highly-acclaimed chain gastrobar with locations throughout the country and also spent 16 years at On The Border in a variety of operations and sales roles.
“We are thrilled to have Tony join our team at such a crucial and exciting time for our business,” says Chris Morris, CEO, Main Event Entertainment. “His passion for the entertainment and hospitality industry is exactly what we were looking for in a leader, and his pedigree of building world-class teams is an asset we are very fortunate to be adding to our team as we enter 2021.”
Wehner adds: “Main Event has a strong reputation as a category innovator and I can’t wait to work alongside such an exceptional team through the next phase of growth for the company. Chris is an outstanding leader who has built a tremendous culture and set a very high standard for excellence. The role that Main Event plays in the lives of families has never been more important and I can’t wait to bring our unique brand of entertainment to millions of guests across our great markets.”
Currently, 39 of the 44 Main Event centers are fully functioning as the company continues to operate under its “Play Smart, Play Safe” plan, a program that was put into place coming out of shelter-at-home last spring. The plan includes some of the industry’s most-admired operating procedures, such as all team members and guests being required to wear masks and receive temperature checks upon arrival. On top of that, Main Event has roughly 100 social distancing markers throughout each center, several sanitization stations, team members solely dedicated to cleaning surfaces, a valet bowling service, reduced capacity, touchless menus plus spaced out seating in the bar and restaurant.
Each Main Event center consists of state-of-the-art bowling, interactive laser tag, billiards and an innovative games gallery featuring over 120 of the latest interactive arcade games—all under one roof—creating a multi-sensory gaming experience like no other. Whether looking for an inspiring casual dining experience—with delicious shareables like wings, loaded nachos, oven-baked pizza and more in a full-service American-fare grill—or handcrafted cocktails and cold brews on tap—Main Event is the ultimate place to make connections and memories.
