Carlsbad residents want a local Dave and Buster's. See what other businesses made our poll.

Carlsbadians are craving a Dave and Buster’s to join the ranks of the growing city’s business scene.

A reader’s poll asked respondents to choose from 11 national and regional chain restaurants and shopping outlets selected by Carlsbad Current-Argus staff based on social media comments. In total, 6,648 readers responded to the poll that allowed them to choose two from the list.

Here are the top three businesses Carlsbad Current-Argus poll on what businesses readers would most like to see in the Cavern City.

See the poll:What businesses do you want to see open in Carlsbad? Vote now in the Current-Argus poll

Editor’s note: Responders may have voted multiple times.

Dave and Buster’s take first place

The chain of sports bars combined with arcade games won out in the poll with 18 percent of the vote, earning 1,197 votes.

Dave and Buster’s is headquartered in Dallas, and operates 50 of its food and entertainment complexes in the U.S. and Canada.

The closest Dave and Buster’s to Carlsbad is in El Paso at 6101 Gateway Blvd., and there’s another in Lubbock at 2620 W. Loop 289 Acc Rd. Another is located in Albuquerque at 2100 Louisiana Blvd. NE.

Sam’s Club wins second place

Many in Carlsbad are familiar with the drive north to Roswell or east to Lubbock to shop bulk quantities of common groceries and home goods at Sam’s Club.

Sam’s Club came in second in the Current-Argus’ readers poll with about 15 percent of the vote and 1,030 votes.

There are several Sam’s Clubs in New Mexico, with one each in Roswell, Santa Fe, Las Cruces and Farmington, and three locations in Albuquerque.

Texas Roadhouse third most sought after business

The chain of steak restaurants is a staple of casual dining throughout the U.S. with almost 600 locations in almost every state in the U.S.

Texas Roadhouse earned 953 votes in the Current-Argus reader’s poll, about 14 percent of the vote.

There are Texas Roadhouse locations Hobbs and Roswell, meaning Carlsbad diners must drive an hour or more to satisfy their cravings for the iconic steaks.

The rest of the results

H-E-B: 857 votes, 12.9 percent

Target: 782 votes, 11.8 percent

Chick-fil-A: 723 votes, 10.9 percent

Costco: 443 votes, 6.7 percent

Hobby Lobby: 289 votes, 4.4 percent

Whataburger: 220 votes, 3.3 percent

Red Lobster: 85 votes, 1.3 percent

Applebee's: 69 votes, 1 percent

Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516,achedden@currentargus.com or@AdrianHedden on the social media platform X.