Chuck E. Cheese's

Chuck E. Cheese's
A Chuck E. Cheese's in Houston, Texas.
Years active	1977 - Present
Definition	Family entertainment center
Located	Chile Mexico Panama Peru Saudi Arabia Trinidad and Tobago United Arab Emirates U. S. A.
Status	Active

Chuck E. Cheese's (formerly Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre and Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza) is a chain of American family entertainment centers. Chuck E. Cheese's is the main brand of CEC Entertainment, Inc., with its headquarters in Irving, Texas.

The concept is a sit-down pizza restaurant, complemented by arcade games, amusement rides, an animatronic show, and other diversions, such as climbing equipment, tubes, and slides − all mainly directed at younger children. The brand is represented by Chuck E. Cheese, an anthropomorphic mouse.

The company was founded as Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre by Nolan Bushnell in 1977, officially being labeled as the first family restaurant to integrate food, animated entertainment, and an indoor arcade. Pizza Time Theatre and Showbiz Pizza Place merged in 1984, bringing both concepts under the wing of Showbiz Pizza Time, Inc. In 1991–92, Showbiz Pizza Time, Inc. unified the two brands into Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza. In 1994, Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza underwent a redesign, changing to Chuck E. Cheese's by 1995. In 1998, Showbiz Pizza Time, Inc. was renamed to CEC Entertainment, Inc. In 2007, the company celebrated its 30th anniversary, and as of March 2014, it operates 577 restaurants.

Corporate history

Chuck E. Cheese's, originally referred to as Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theater, was founded by Atari founder Nolan Bushnell, who was seeking to expand the purview of video game arcades beyond more adult locations like pool halls to a kid and family friendly venue. Bushnell’s experience in the amusement park industry, as well as his fondness of The Walt Disney Company, was influential in the conceptualization of the Pizza Time Theatre concept. The first location opened in San Jose, California in 1977, and was labeled as the first family restaurant to integrate food, cheap animated entertainment, and an indoor arcade. In 1978, Bushnell purchased the Pizza Time Theatre concept from Atari's then-corporate parent, Warner Communications.

Franchising

As the restaurant became increasingly successful, he began to franchise, resulting in a co-development agreement between Bushnell and Robert Brock of Topeka Inn Management in 1979. The agreement handed Brock exclusive franchising rights for opening Pizza Time Theatres in sixteen states across the southern and midwestern United States, while also forming a company subdivision, "Pizza Show Biz", to develop the Pizza Time Theatres.

Showbiz Pizza Place

In November 1978, Brock met Aaron Fechter of Creative Engineering, Inc. Concerned that Fechter’s animatronics would be too strong a competition for Bushnell’s work, Brock requested that Bushnell release him from the co-development agreement, citing misrepresentation. In December 1979, Brock and Fechter formed “Showbiz Pizza Place Inc”, severing Brock's business relationship with Bushnell. Showbiz Pizza Place was conceptually identical to Pizza Time Theatre in all aspects except for animation, which would be provided by Creative Engineering. Showbiz Pizza Place opened its first location on March 3, 1980, in Kansas City, Missouri.

Upon the opening of Showbiz Pizza Place, Bushnell sued Brock and Topeka Inn Management over breach of contract. Brock immediately issued a counter-suit against Bushnell, citing misrepresentation. The court case began in March 1980, eventually settling out of court with Showbiz agreeing to pay Pizza Time Theatre a portion of its profits over the following decade. During this period, Topeka Inn Management also changed its name to Brock Hotel Corporation and moved its headquarters to Irving, Texas. Both restaurants experienced increased success as the video game industry became more robust, and, to maintain competition, both franchises continually modified and diversified their animatronic shows.

Mergers and restructuring

In 1981, Pizza Time Theatre went public; however, the evolving video game industry resulted in significant losses for Pizza Time Theatre, which lost $15 million in 1983, and by 1984, Bushnell’s debts were insurmountable, resulting in the filing of Chapter 11 bankruptcy for Pizza Time Theatre Inc. Showbiz then bought the foundering company, recreating itself as Showbiz Pizza Time Inc.

After the merger, both restaurants continued operating under the different titles, while major financial restructuring had begun, eventually becoming publicly traded in 1989, with sales increasing by 8.3%. During this period, Creative Engineering began to sever ties with Showbiz Pizza Time (they officially left the company in September 1990), eventually resulting in the unification of its mixed characters. By 1992, all restaurants assumed the name of Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza. However, the name was changed to Chuck E. Cheese's in 1994 during a redesigning of the concept. In 1998, the company renamed itself CEC Entertainment, Inc. Part of this renaming was related to a move from the NASDAQ to the NYSE. In 1999, CEC Entertainment, Inc. bought out competitor Discovery Zone. Chuck E. Cheese's celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2007.

In February 2014, Apollo Global Management acquired CEC Entertainment for US $54 per share, or about $950 million. There are 577 open locations throughout North America, South America, Chile, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Peru and the Middle East.

Arcades and currency

From the time of the company's inception to today, one of the main draws for the stores has been the arcade. The arcade games primarily consist of either redemption games or video arcade games.

The brass tokens issued by the company for use in their arcades exist in numerous varieties, and are collected by exonumia enthusiasts. The company once tested a card access method for use with their arcade and skill games in one location. The test location would no longer use tokens, and instead used a refillable card to access credits, which replace tokens, and points, which replaced tickets. However, this was later scrapped.

Known locations

Chile

Concepcion

• Mall Plaza Mirador BioBio

Santiago

• Av. Amrico Vespucio 7.500
• Av. Amrico Vespucio 1501
• Av. Monsenor Escriba de Balaguer 12352

Vina del Mar

• 14 norte 880 local 83

Guatemala

Guatemala City

• Blv Liberaciar 6-31 Zona 9
• Calzado Roosevelt Galerias Prima Local 208

Mexico

Mexico City

• Av. Prolongación Paseo de la Reforma

Monterrey

• Avenida Real San Agustin No. 222

Panama

• Multiplaza Pacific Via Israel

Peru

• Av. Alfredo Mendiola Nro. 1400

Saudi Arabia

Jeddah

• Corniche Road Al-Shati district
• Prince Mohammed Abdul Aziz Street Al Tahalia Street

Riyadh

• Al Olayah Street South of Kingdom Tower Saad Al Mousa Building
• Eastern Ring Road, Exit 14, Jammoly Center
• Exit 5-Rabi District-West

Trinidad and Tobago

• Site 3A Park Avenue, Brentwood Town Centre

United Arab Emirates

• Dubai Outlet Mall Al Ain Road

United States

Alaska

Anchorage

• 308 East Northern Lights Boulevard

Arizona

Mesa

• 7012 East Hampton Avenue Suite 104
• 856 South Alma School Road

California

Bakersfield

• 3760 Ming Ave.

Brentwood

• 6061 Lone Tree Way

Burbank

• 930 N. San Fernando Blvd.

Chino

• 5250 Philadelphia-Ste.K

Citrus Heights

• 6251 Sunrise Blvd.

Concord

• 1611 Willow Pass Road

Corona

• 191 N. McKinley

Costa Mesa

• 2300 Harbor Blvd.- Bldg. 25

Covina

• 601 Azusa Ave.

Cupertino

• 19805 Stevens Creek Blvd.

Diamond Bar

• 1900 S. Brea Canyon Rd.

Dublin

• 7448 Amador Valley Blvd.

El Centro

• 803 E. Danenberg Drive

El Monte

• 4567 Peck Road

Elk Grove

• 9161 E. Stockton Blvd. Pad B

Escondido

• 1126 W. Valley Pkwy.

Fairfield

• 1027 Oliver Road

Fontana

• 17069 Valley Blvd.- Ste. D

Foothill Ranch

• 26562 Towne Centre Drive

Fresno

• 7809 N. Blackstone
• 3117 W. Shaw- Ste. 107

Fullerton

• 1134 S. Harbor Blvd.

Garden Grove

• 13101 Harbor Blvd.

Gilroy

• 910 Renz Lane

Hayward

• 24039 Hesperian Blvd.

Hemet

• 2375 West Florida Avenue

Huntington Beach

• 15511 Edwards St.

La Mesa

• 5500 Grossmont Ctr. Dr. Ste. J-34

La Mirada

• 15100 Rosecrans

Laguna Hills

• 26538-H Moulton Parkway

Lancaster

• 44410 Valley Central Way

Long Beach

• 290 E. 4th Street

Modesto

• 3037 Sisk Road

Monrovia

• 558 W. Huntington Dr.

Moreno Valley

• 23160 Sunnymead Blvd.

Murrieta

• 25110 Hancock Ave Ste 101-106

National City

• 1143 Highland Ave.

Newark

• 39839 Mowry School Rd.

Oceanside

• 2481 Vista Way

Orange

• 1875 N. Tustin Street

Pasadena

• 3737 E. Foothill

Placentia

• 2300 N. Rose Dr.

Pinole

• 1470 Fitzgerald Dr.

Rancho Cucamonga

• 9339 Foothill Blvd.- Ste. E

Redding

• 910 Hilltop Drive

Redwood City

• 2541-43 El Camino Real

Rohnert Park

• 601 Rohnert Park Expressway

Roseville

• 9601 Fairway Dr.

Sacramento

• 1690-96 Arden Way

Salinas

• 1447 North Davis Rd.

San Bernardino

• 777 E. Hospitality Lane
• 955 South E St. Ste. G

San Bruno

• 1270-1272 El Camino Real

San Diego

• 3414 College Ave.
• 9840 Hibert St.
• 3146 Sports Arena Blvd.

San Jose

• 2445 Fontaine Road
• 1371 Kooser Rd.

Santa Maria

• 2254 S. Bradley Road

San Mateo

?

Stockton

• 6436 Pacific Avenue

Sun Valley

• 8375 Laurel Canyon Blvd.

Thousand Oaks

• 130 W. Hillcrest Dr.

Torrance

• 2821 Pacific Coast Hwy.

Valencia

• 25955 North The Old Rd.

Ventura

• 4714 Telephone Rd.

Visalia

• 4345 W. Noble Avenue

Victorville

• 12790 Amargosa Rd.

Vista

• 1861 University Drive

Colorado

Colorado Springs

• 5156 North Academy Boulevard
• 2925 Geyser Drive

Connecticut

Manchester

• 82 Buckland Street

Newington

• 3075 Berlin Turnpike

Orange

• 82 Boston Post Road

Waterbury

• 650 Wolcott

Delaware

Dover

• 1275 North DuPont Highway

Wilmington

• 3601 Silverside Road

Florida

Altamonte Springs

• 541 West Highway 436

Boca Raton

• 21699-A State Road 7

Boynton Beach

• North Congress Avenue

Bradenton

• 905 44th Avenue West

Brandon

• 1540 West Brandon Boulevard

Clearwater

• 25921 US Highway 19

Fort Myers

• 5020 Cleveland Avenue

Hialeah

• 3805 West 20th Avenue Bay

Jacksonville

• 9820 Atlantic Boulevard
• 6065 Youngerman Circle

Lakeland

• 3558 US Highway 98 North

Miami

• 8701 Southwest 124th Avenue
• 20335 Biscayne Boulevard - Suite L-1
• 18575 South Dixie Highway

Louisiana

Monroe

• Pecanland Mall

Maryland

Annapolis

• 2333-A Forest Dr.

Baltimore

• 5912 Baltimore National Pike
• 8354 Eastern Ave.

Bel Air

• 5 Bel Air South Parkway - Ste. N-1447

Frederick

• 7210 Guilford Drive

Gaithersburg

• 516 N. Frederick

Glen Burnie

• 6637 Governor Ritchie Hwy.

Hagerstown

• 17618 Valley Mall Blvd.

Largo

• 1100 Shoppers Way

Laurel

• 936 Fairlawn Ave.

Parkville

• 8886 Waltham Woods Rd.

Rockville

• 5270 Randolph Road

Salisbury

• 2300 N. Salisbury Blvd.

Silver Spring

• 13807 Outlet Drive

Takoma Park

• 1127 University Blvd East

Waldorf

• 3241 Plaza Way

Massachusetts

Attleboro

• 287 Washington St. South

Burlington

• Ten Wall St. (Hwy. 95/3A)

Danvers

• 139 Endicott

Everett

• 29 Mystic View Rd.

Leominster

• 132 Sacks Blvd.

Lowell

• 199 Plain St. Unit 5

Methuen

• 90 Pleasant Valley Rd.

Natick

• 801 Worcester

North Dartmouth

• 412-418 St. Rd. 6

Springfield

• 1716 Boston Rd.

Worcester

• 50 Southwest Cutoff

New Hampshire

Manchester

• 1525 S. Willow

Newington

• 30 Fox Run Rd.

New Jersey

Brick

• 56 Chambers Bridge Road

East Hanover

• 145 Route 10

North Bergen

• 8101 Tonelle Avenue

Paramus

• At The Shoppes on IV shopping center, 275 Route 4 West

Union

• 1660 US-22

Wayne

• 1639 Route 23 South

New York

Amherst

4994 Harlem Road

Bronx

• 1816 Gunhill Road
• 700 Exterior Street at Bronx Terminal Market Mall

Brooklyn

• 139 Flatbush Ave. at the Atlantic Terminal Mall

Buffalo

• 4408 Milestrip Road

Flushing

• 40-20 College Point Blvd. at The Shops at Skyview Center

Harlem

• 280 St. Nicholas Ave.

Hempstead

• 162 Fulton Ave.

Hicksville

• 11-15 Hanover Place

Latham

• 601 Troy Schenectady Road

Nanuet

• 250 West Route 59

Poughkeepsie

• 1895 South Rd

Rochester

• 3130 West Ridge Rd

• 1000 Hylan Drive

Staten Island

• 1775-P South Ave.

West Islip

• 155 Sunrise Highway

Vestal

• 3901 Vestal Pkwy East

Texas

Houston

• 4432 North Freeway
• 5535 Weslayan Avenue
• 6787 Highway 6 North
• 12523 Westheimer Road
• 17780 Tomball Parkway

McAllen

• 1200 Trenton Road, Building 100
• 3300 Expressway 83 Building 1000

San Antonio

• 6874 Ingram Drive
• 1403 North Loop 1604 East
• 238 SW Military Drive
• 11735 Bandera Road

West Virginia

Charleston

• 2846 Mountaineer Boulevard

Wisconsin

Brookfield

• 19125 West Blue Mound Road

Grand Chute

• 4671 Michales Drive

Green Bay

• 1273 Lombardi Access

Janesville

• 2500 Milton Avenue

LaCrosse

• 4444 State Road 16

Madison

• 438 Grand Canyon Drive

Milwaukee

• 2701 Chase Avenue

Racine

• 5612 Durand Avenue

West Allis

• 2990 South 108th Avenue

Links

Official site

References

This chain was featured in June, 2017.