Hollywood Bowl bosses have said prices may need to rise next year to cover the “quite painful” rise in the UK minimum wage.
Chief executive Stephen Burns told the BBC the rise represented an “unexpected blow” to the business.
His comments came as Britain’s largest 10-pin bowling operator reported record sales for the year to September.
The National Living Wage for workers aged 23 and over will rise from £10.42 to £11.44 an hour from April next year.
For the first time, the government will apply the same rate to 21 and 22-year-olds, up from £10.18 an hour.
This increase corresponds to a 9.8% increase for those aged 23 and over and a 12.4% increase for workers aged 21 and 22.
Burns told the BBC’s Today program that the increase was “an unexpected blow. We had budgeted for an increase of about 7.7%.”
He added that the new charges were “extremely painful” and cost the company around £600,000 in the second half of the current financial year, or £1.2m on an annual basis.
“There’s obviously some pressure on it,” he said.
“We have managed to keep prices fairly low to mitigate that, but we may need to take some steps again towards the middle or end of this year.”
The Hollywood Bowl reported a record revenue of £215.1 million for the year to September 30, as wet summer weather drove up sales as people headed indoors for entertainment.
The company, which operates 66 bowling centers in the UK and nine in Canada, said it had strong revenues in both July and August, with August hitting a record high.
However, profit before tax was £45.1m, down slightly from £46.7m in the same period last year.
The increase to the National Living Wage (the official name for the minimum wage) was announced last month ahead of the Autumn Statement.
Rising living costs over the past few years have put a strain on household budgets, with low-income households being hit hardest by rising utility and food costs.
However, the increase in the minimum wage rate has raised concerns from some in the retail and service industries.
Kate Nicholls, chief executive of trade body UK Hospitality, said the increase would have “significant knock-on effects on costs”.
And last week, Alex Baldock, head of electronics retailer Currys, said the minimum wage hike would be imposed on businesses that are “already overburdened”.
“For the retail industry as a whole, a significant rise in the National Living Wage at the same time as an expected £500m rise in rates bills shows how little the government understands or cares about our industry. Only.”