Eater-tainment has become the industry buzzword for restaurants such as Hard Rock Café, Dave & Buster's and Jillian's, which bring together dining and play under the same roof.
—Lornet Turnbull, "Theme Restaurants Looking for a Hook," The Columbus Dispatch, August 21, 1999

All in all, it was a relatively sane year. Eatertainment, as in show me some fun and then show me some food, was a part of the action in '89 (and will still be with us in '90), but it was not as wild and crazy as it had been in past years. Those restaurants with no substance to fall back on headed down the theme tracks into oblivion.
—Pat Bruno, "Restaurants serve up value to avoid throwing in towel," Chicago Sun-Times, December 31, 1989