Restaurant workers have long dealt with people who come into their cafes or sit at bars just to stare at their phones. But since the virtual reality game Pokémon Go was released in the U.S. Thursday, servers have had to compete for attention with some monsters at their tables.

Some of those monsters are Pokémon. Some are the bleary-eyed, neck-craning customers who are so addicted to the app, they've forgone niceties or anything else that gets in the way of their pursuit.

In Pokémon Go, players can stumble on a Pikachu or Rattata monster while walking down the street. But to advance in the game, players need to find Pokémon and other supplies in real-world locations, such as monuments, office buildings and restaurants. It's created an odd situation for the hospitality business, as restaurants and bars that didn't realize they were hosts to the game pivot to using it as a promotional tool: They must catch the people who are trying to catch Pokémon.

It works like this... Read More