The Sad Rise and Fall of Chuck E. Cheese and Showbiz Pizza Place

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In the 1980s and 90s, Chuck E. Cheese and Showbiz Pizza were household names, known for their animatronic shows, arcade games, and pizza parties for kids.
But what happened to these beloved family entertainment centers?
In this video, we take a deep dive into the sad rise and fall of Chuck E. Cheese and Showbiz Pizza Place, exploring the business strategies, competition, bankruptcy, and rebranding efforts that led to their downfall.
We also examine the role of Nolan Bushnell, the founder of Atari who played a key role in the development of Chuck E. Cheese.
Join us as we explore the nostalgia, consumer trends, and pop culture behind Chuck E. Cheese and Showbiz Pizza Place, and learn why they were unable to keep up with changing times and consumer tastes. If you grew up in the 80s or 90s, or are interested in the history of the entertainment and restaurant industries, order yourself a Pasqually's Pizza and watch!
SOURCES:
en.wikipedia.o...
en.wikipedia.o...
www.mentalflos...
www.showbizpiz...
showbizpizza.co...
en.wikipedia.o...
www.npr.org/20...
archive.compute...
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[@ShawnEnge]

Chuck E Cheese was the place to go every quarter for report cards. They would provide free quarters based on your grades, and arcades were still huge before home video game consoles took over. I had so many fond memories of games at Chuck E Cheese that I was disappointed to go to a friends child's birthday party, only to find all the ticket based games.

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

Yeah, the only trip I ever took was when I was probably 15 or some thing for my then stepmothers niece’s i’m gonna say birthday. There were some games which I definitely played, but there was way too much ticket based stuff. In the mid to late 90s here and it was already well down the road to what it is these days.

[@cainofthejungle]

I was there for that too. Thank you for referencing that this happened.

[@websurferblue]

I remember that lol I would cheat ,by making a fake report card

[@darrylwashington3672]

Back in the 80's it was called Showbiz Pizza and the report card was a thing

[@smeagle3295]

@@darrylwashington3672 Not exactly. They were separate companies that eventually merged.

[@Akivaran]

My family was team Showbiz. My dad worked for them repairing the robots. I used to get to go with him in the weekends, watch the show, then play games for a few hours. It was awesome.

[@aaronsarchive82]

Did your dad work at the store itself or for Creative Engineering?

[@Akivaran]

@@aaronsarchive82 The store itself, in Springfield, OH. He has an Associate's degree in engineering, used that to repair the robots and move up in the company.

[@imnitguy]

@@Akivaran I worked at Showbiz in high school. Very fond memories.

[@BrettShadow]

The one in Dallas played I can't get no satisfaction, hey jude, and mojo hand (I think.... pretty sure it was a Howlin Wolf song)

[@nextdimensionmedia3196]

Thanks for sharing that Akivaran. You brought back some memories for me... I worked as a game room attendant for Showbiz in VA during high school and I reported to our on-site engineer like your dad. Although my boss' name was Elliot, he cussed like a sailor but that was part of his charm. Fond memories of those days.

[@deathsnitemaresinfullust2269]

Haa! "Las Vegas for 3rd graders." Is an absolutely brilliant way of describing Chuck-E-Cheeses. 😄👍

[@usernameaz602]

🎯🤣💯

[@drewood]

Wow. I had no idea Atari and Chuck E. Cheese were so connected! That's why I love this channel. Always something new to learn from my childhood.

[@AgentNevets]

Good point! I never knew about the Atari connection, and never knew the full story on how Showbiz became Chuck E Cheese’s.

[@bdo7765]

Came here to make the same comment. Both companies were huge parts of my childhood (Atari more) but I had no idea the same guy started both. MIND BLOWN by this channel... again.

[@Pocketrocket-pj1us]

It's a fun piece of trivia. Nolan was a smart guy, who could see the new trends, before they hit! Don't forget about Al Acorn and Pong too.

[@Pocketrocket-pj1us]

@@bdo7765 That's the cool thing about the channel. For you, it's NEW! For me, it's NOSTALGIA. Cheers from Canada

[@sgrodummy]

Chuck E Chode

[@deathsnitemaresinfullust2269]

I'll never forget being 8 years old at a friend's birthday party thrown at Chuck-E-Cheeses, my friend and i each tugged on his tail while he was out and when he saw me do it the second time after my friend did it the first we ran off and hid behind one of the little rides. Chuck-E-Cheese found us, he leaned in real close to my face and said "If you do that again I'm going to kick your ass you little shit." That was the last time I messed with Any mascot. 😆👍

[@rig85]

And then everyone clapped.

[@SoulStarSketchin]

Charles Entertainment Cheese turned into Charles Bronson that play day.

[@mjwbulich]

There was probably a 17 year old kid making $3.75 an hour in that suit.

[@deathsnitemaresinfullust2269]

@@mjwbulich it definitely wasn't a teenagers voice, it was a deep man voice and quiet impactful for a thing i thought was always silent or mute. 😅👍

[@OldManTheseDays]

I remember seeing a 2-3 year old kid following Chuck E Cheese around,continualy picking up his tail and chewing on it. My dad laughed at that for years when he told the story.

[@d3ath8ybac0n4]

Showbiz was THE place as a kid in my town in the 80's. Decades later when I took my kid, now Chuck, it lost its magic. No ball pit, they replaced the arcade gaming with ticket based money black holes, and the food was the nail in the coffin for me. Man, but at least I got to experience when it was great.

[@solan7978]

Dang near everything was great in the 80's. Best. Decade. EVER!

[@Mikedegot]

I agree, 70s and 80s were pretty solid for us kids. Had a Showbiz in my town and a really nice arcade at the local mall. Arcade games were everywhere it seemed. Even Pizza Hut was a place to hang out. We had an ice cream place that was tucked away behind a strip mall and it was always packed, people sitting at picnic tables in the summer eating ice cream. You'd run into classmates and your parents would spot co-workers. I remember going to a drive-in way out in the middle of nowhere and soon as I got there I found two of my classmates were there and we took off running, don't even think we watched the movie we just played.

[@solan7978]

@@Mikedegot Such good times!

[@dustinneely]

The pizza is disgusting. 🍕

[@princessmarlena1359]

Right?

[@Marc_Araujo]

Back around 2005, while in college, a few friends and I wanted to eat some pizza and play some games but were turned away because we were "too old" and had no kids with us. The funny thing is that the place was completely empty. It literally had no one in there and they were turning customers with money away. I pointed that out and the employee just sighed and said "yeah, I know." I think they closed that location less than a year later.

[@xBINARYGODx]

think of the children!!!

[@debbylou5729]

Imagine not allowing young adults into a children’s space. Crazy, right? You’ve gained acceptance, though. Now men with their ducks hanging out can use the women’s bathrooms (where kids normally go) as long as they have a wig and a pound of makeup. Of course those places are becoming empty as well…….

[@floydsemlow8253]

This world 🌎 is pathedic 💯

[@josephmayfield945]

@@debbylou5729 Jesus lady, time to get off the internet. 😂

[@debbylou5729]

@@josephmayfield945 oh, you flatter me! I’m not a Jesus lady! And to think you wasted your time thinking someone like me would care about what someone like you thinks……I mean that WAS your attempt at thinking, right?

[@herrickmenry]

I worked at my Chuck E Cheese location in MA for close to 6 years. It was my first real job. I had incredible management for almost all of that time and I genuinely enjoyed working there hosting parties every shift. I’m a performer by trade so it was a natural fit for me. I was proud of the work I was doing by making parents and especially their birthday stars happy. I always had to be quick on my feet and, ironically, I matured a lot in that place. I even got to meet the new corporate owners of the company in 2014 when they went all over the country checking out every store! I was sad to hear my location was closing down in 2020 not necessarily for me but for the kids who won’t get to have those experiences anymore. I was still working there at that point but it was time for me to move on anyway. CEC will always be a part of my DNA. Thanks so much for sharing the story of this place. This channel continues to deliver.

[@Pissgremlin5964]

Was it the one up by the eastfield mall?

[@herrickmenry]

@@Pissgremlin5964 Whitney Field Mall!

[@anthonyplanzo1082]

​@@Pissgremlin5964 lol I was wondering the same. It's gotta be that one.

[@amandaengelman5168]

OMG! I loved hosting parties at CEC. We would get really into the dances. The kitchen crew would even come out. I can still do the birthday star dance 25 years later.

[@herrickmenry]

@@amandaengelman5168 some things just never leave your body!

[@matts6607]

Man growing up in the 80's seems more and more special every day. just seeing how bland the decor of the new stuff has become makes me sad.

[@KentKaliber]

EVERYTHING is now bland and minimal. Hell even Taco Bell restaurants had CHARACTER in the 80's, now they are grey rectangles.

[@Banjo-Oz]

I never heard of Chuck E Cheese in Australia but I was a child of the 80's and have such fond memories of McDonalds and how it looked in the 80's and even early 90's. "McDonaldland" characters and decor (our local restaurant had a huge paddlesteamer indoor playground in the middle of the second story!) right down to the chairs. i also miss Pizza Hut and KFC having such iconic buildings; even now, when I drive past one that is now something else (dry cleaners, other restaurant, etc.) I think of those original; chains. Now all those places are lifeless and boring.

[@positivecynik]

We absolutely threaded the needle between the old and the new. What a time to grow up.

[@Jason_Voorhees.]

Yeah, I feel bad for kids these days. Everything is just an online competition. No real experience of life anymore.

[@lanceknightmare]

All modern arcades have embraced the scumbag exploitation model of the modern day. Ticket Traps were always a scumbag model in Arcades. These days you have a card which is loaded up with credits with literal $5 each play rides which children keep running back to. A $20 bill will not last them an hour while a $20 bill in my day was 40 to 80+ plays with some exceptions.

[@OldManTheseDays]

There was a time in my life that a birthday party at a Chuck E. Cheese's or Showbiz Pizza put you on the map. And anyone else remember that room tucked away where they served beer and how it was "off limits"? It was the room where dads usually hung out.

[@ClassicTVMan1981X]

Not me, personally... but it's true anyone at any age can go to CEC; however, anyone under 18 must be accompanied by his/her parents or other guardians.

[@Footballer007-lz8pg]

The sports room!

[@TimmehJay]

Growing up in the south, Showbiz was the only game in town and Chuck E Cheese was a mythical place only heard of in legend.

[@katenunyabizness9221]

We had Shakey's then along came this massive place called Pipe Organ Pizza which was awesome. Then Showbiz which was always a good place to go and smear your greasy fingers on the controls and monitors of the games. Then one day I stopped going and years later went back but despite the sign saying Showbiz outside, it was CEC inside and I was all wtf? Pizza tasted different to me so I just stopped going all together. But Chuck is doing well nearby nowadays.

[@TimmehJay]

@@katenunyabizness9221 I loved Shakeys. I forgot we had one for a brief time but they didn't last long.

[@weareeverywhere6677]

What do you mean? I grew up in Denton, Tx and we had both in DFW. In Denton, it was a Chuck E Cheese. Both me and my brother had parties there. It was amazing. I LOVED the design of the building. You came in, stood in line, ordered your pizzas and food, then proceeded into the main showroom, found a table and waited for your pizza while enjoying a show. Only after you waited patiently for the pizza to arrive, and after having shoved it down your throat did your parents say: "Okay, now you can go play games." That one statement will ALWAYS be forever engrained into my subconscious as straight Chuck E Cheese.

[@shakur481]

We had ShowBiz in Michigan, and I had my 7th birthday party there, back in 1983

[@risel56]

Everyone always talks about how terrifying the animatronics were, but never about the people walking around in costume. I remember hiding under the tables as a kid everytime the curtains fell and Charles Entertainment Cheese himself walked out onto the dining area.

[@reapersritehand]

I worked at one back when I was 16, it's alot creepier when you walk in the cooler and he's standing in there to cool off and there's steam coming from the eyes and mouth

[@Grom-rl8bm]

I watched a horde of kids descend upon Chuck E and basically start beating his ass. One smacked him in the the family jewels. Kids are vicious

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

@@reapersritehand That actually sounds kinda awesome. I have to say though that 1999 live action straight to video nightmare, looked awful. The fact that there was ever a market for anything like that even at Chuck E. Cheese itself is really disheartening.

[@reapersritehand]

@@JohnDoe-wq5eu it definitely catches u off guard the first time u see it

[@sonic23233]

​@ravencoh I feel bad for the person who has to wear that

[@benjaminmuratore9341]

You guys finally covering this place just makes me realize how long it took for it to actually happen.

[@roypalmer69]

My thoughts exactly

[@dangevin]

There's not a lot of merchandising to cover, so under the channel's original name was not a great fit.

[@EvaFull]

For myself and whole generation of Kids it will always be Showbiz Pizza. It wasn’t until going on vacations as kid that I learned about Chuck E. Cheese Pizza. Crazy that the brand(s) have lasted in one form or another for so many decades now.

[@Belgand]

Sometimes it depended heavily on where you grew up. Kansas City, for example, was the heart of the Showbiz enterprise without a Chuck E. Cheese to be seen until they merged the brands.

[@fallenhobbit6554]

Showbiz was ever present in the Midwest for sure.

[@EvaFull]

@@fallenhobbit6554 Most definitely. Hence my comment 😉 👍

[@jenniebrotz1570]

I grew up in Buffalo NY and we had Showbiz here too

[@Lastjustice]

@@fallenhobbit6554 I remember going to showbiz as a kid living in the Chicagoland area in the 80s. I don't recall see any Chuck E Cheese's in the area till the merged the companies.

[@darthv72]

My brother worked for a local pizza place that was looking to expand. The owner bought an old abandoned CEC location and my brother asked if i wanted to help with the cleanup and restoration. It was cool to see the old robot band and we managed to get things all fixed up as best we could but sadly the area the resturant was in was not really into this sort of thing anymore and the location closed about a year later. I still have the banjo that the jasper jowels played.

[@Cecnorthernohio]

What location was that?

[@jarlwhiterun7478]

Took my daughter there a few months ago and it was an absolute shell of the place it was in the late 80's- mid 90's.

[@bassage13]

Yeah, it's really worthless today. I don't understand why it's still in business.

[@Pissgremlin5964]

@@bassage13 it's probably being buried in debt by a faceless investment corporation and will be filing bankruptcy after they can't bleed another dollar out of it. That would be my guess.

[@princessmarlena1359]

Right? So sad! I used to love it when I was a little kid in the ‘80s.

[@rafacastillo9611]

Showbiz Pizza was so popular, it arrived to other countries before Chuckster did. My country had a Showbiz pizza decades ago, which then was turned into the first Chuck E Cheese after Showbiz bought them out. They clearly won that war.

[@EricGranata]

Same. Was “Showbiz Pizza” for me before Chuck E. Cheese.

[@abpsrp2000]

Showbiz was my favorite too, great place and I remember getting a record with a couple of songs on it for my birthday; great memories.

[@kenrogers107]

Loved Showbiz, was far better than the mouse.

[@charlesufarley5962]

I have never heard of Chucky E Cheeses until 2004 when my city only got a remodeled version of the late Showbiz Pizza place when I took my niece for her birthday. Showbiz Pizza had 5 locations here in my city in the 80's and being in my mid 20's Not paying an entrance fee to Showbiz was the place to go for the Best Arcade in town 👍👍To this day Showbiz is still better! I can still taste their Pizza as I refer to all the time Best Pizza I have ever had EVER!

[@imnitguy]

@@kenrogers107 Indeed. The games were way better too. Actual video games not redemption games.

[@otakubullfrog1665]

Fortunately, there are still Dave & Busters and all sorts of other barcades around for all of us Chuck E. Cheese kids who grew up (but not really).

[@johngavin1175]

It's good that they are around,but the barcades are missing something

[@yungthorough]

I'm 35 & still go to play in chuckee cheese tunnels

[@willroberts3991]

Chuck E Cheese, Photon Arena, Mideval Times and Saturday morning cartoons; growing up in the 80's was awesome

[@jeffschaefer4827]

Medieval Times is still around!

[@WhispyWoods.]

I love seeing the tv commercials in each episode. Easy to take for granted but a really nice touch 👍

[@grapeshot]

Oh the brawls at Chuck-E-Cheese could get quite legendary.

[@lamartherevenger]

Shootings at the local ones around us.

[@TitularHeroine]

Damn, guys....!! I'm surprised, but I know I really shouldn't be.

[@lamartherevenger]

It was one of the reasons 2 of them closed up.

[@bassage13]

@@lamartherevenger Move somewhere else.

[@lamartherevenger]

@bassage13 Fact of life these days. Anyway, there's no CEC in this area to go to. BUT! There is a Dave & Buster's, and that's just a bit better.

[@tddenham7]

My brothers and I were definitely Showbiz kids. I remember making up songs with them about going to Showbiz in the back seat of the car on the way to Showbiz. It was dark and kinda scary, like a theater putting on a play that had concessions and arcade games. It's almost like you were doing something you weren't supposed to.

[@busterdual]

I loved this as a kid and am so glad I never had to sit through it as an adult

[@SoulStarSketchin]

So many memories of this place. Back in the day (90s for me) This was the #1 place all kids wanted to have their birthdays held in. Never had a bad time not even once and ditto for Showbiz Pizza Time. Plus these places really strengthened my love for arcade games too.

[@jinpei05]

I only went to Showbiz Pizza/Chuck E. Cheese a few times as a kid, but man...what memories. No way it could exist today as it once did, with beer and cigarette smoke mixed with kids and pizza.

[@NintegaDario]

It's hilarious because they still serve beer 🤣

[@imnitguy]

Yeah, ours had a "sports room" with a big screen TV and smoking was allowed. Heck I worked there as a teen and sometimes we'd fill up pitchers of beer and drink them in the walk in. LOL! The good ole days!

[@texasbeast239]

Given the subject matter, I half expected those masks over your shoulder to start moving and singing! I had a Showbiz nearby. Loved it every single time, which was for someone's or the other's birthday or a church youth group outing. But most of the commercials that aired on TV were for Chuck E. Cheese's. This created the illusion that CEC was somehow fancier or more desirable. Somehow neighbor kids brought home prizes and memorabilia from CEC, but my family never went once. This makes me think our area wasn't so saturated as others back in the '80s. I distinctly remember trying to earn enough tokens to buy an Optimus Prime from the gift shop. But by the time I was nearly there, they sold out and replaced their premium gift with something else I had zero interest in. I gave my tokens away to my brothers, and they promptly lost them. I always loved the food and the games. The show was a big draw initially, but the robots started creeping me out over time. A decade later or so, the local SB became a CEC, and I was interested in trying it out to see how much had changed. Never did though, and the place shut down for good. It's a shame they failed to keep the same basic business model, and just desaturate. Kids would probably enjoy the old set-up still today. I went into a Dave and Busters business on a business trip a few years back as an adult, and nearly all the excitement from my childhood SB trips came flooding back. So I know that kids of that old generation could certainly still enjoy the old business model.

[@TitularHeroine]

Wait -- you mean nobody else is seeing the masks move and sing?!?! Must'a taken more head injuries than I thought

[@texasbeast239]

@@TitularHeroine Or they put some of that funny oregano and parmesan on your pizzas...

[@TitularHeroine]

@@texasbeast239 Yeah I don't think so; tastes just like everything else I've *ever* eaten..... ;)

[@mjwbulich]

I'm sure people have fond memories of later years but Chuck E Cheese in the early eighties was when it was at its peak. After the arcade/video game crash of the mid eighties and the advent of Nintendo and better home gaming systems it just wasn't the same. The floorplan or layout also changed drastically and took a lot of the fun out of the experience. There were dark rooms full of video games. Much more like a traditional arcade. There were little nooks where you could get away from the pizza, animatronics, ski ball, etc, and just play video games. Now it's all open floor plans and bright lights. God forbid a parent take their eyes off their child for more than ten seconds. Just another on a long list of things that were much better in the 70s and 80s.

[@digiprez77]

We didn't need vaccines when we had ball pits to give us all super-immunity lol. I used to dig down to the bottom and kinda hang out. I could hear the muffled voices of the other kids and feel them moving around. Once in a while I would get stepped on. One of the locations near me had a dark blacklit tunnel in the back and if you were a little kid you were risking your life going in there with the big kids. They would shake you down, rough you up, and kick you out. I have a Chuck E Cheese near me now and they don't even have real video games, just stupid ticket games. Luckily a real arcade opened up here a few years ago so my kid can get some of that experience at least.

[@Luigitime2015]

Me too arcade games

[@retrofan4963]

When it comes to CEC, yeah, the 80's is where Chuck E Cheese is at its peak. But as a whole, Showbiz Pizza is even better. It has great games and pizza like CEC, but Showbiz has a much better animatronic show the Rock afire Explosion. Rock afire Explosion is the best animatronic show of all time in my opinion.

[@charlieblimey]

The research and production in this episode would make Dick The Birthday Boy proud.

[@scorpiusjones5436]

Americans are so strange about the way we internalize capitalism. These businesses were just that, stone and metal buildings meant to elicit spending. The thing we LOVED about them was the memories we made with loved ones. Same for lots of pop culture consumerism.

[@Larry]

Out of curiosity, was Five Nights at Freddy's responsible for Chuck E. Cheese removing their animatronics? We never had any restaurants like it in the UK, but my local theme park, Thorpe Park purchased a Capt. Andy’s RiverTowne Restaurant to be a theatre stage play as an attraction, no food involved though. IT was a fever dream of mine for years, did I imagine it? :D EDIT: From what I've read online, Capt. Andy’s RiverTowne Restaurant was like the bronze medallist of the animatronic restaurant wars.

[@crimsonwerecat]

Oh, hey Larry!

[@bassage13]

Five nights at Freddy's came out decades after most Chuck E Cheese locations lost the animatronics. Some still kept them, but not many, at least in the U.S.

[@happybuttersblast8334]

Growing up in Paducah Kentucky (western Kentucky) it was showbiz in the 80's before it eventually changed to chuck E Cheese. very fond memories. Took my son to chuck E cheese here in st louis a few times before the pandemic and he loved it too.

[@angryscholar8450]

I was obsessed with CEC. One time the most unexpected, wondrous thing happened: a game (ski-ball?) broke and dispensed hundreds of tickets. I was able to get a Transformers Generation 2 Deluge. It was, safe to say, the greatest day of my life up to that point. That weird water gun-toting race car will forever hold a special place in my heart.

[@wstine79]

Even though we have a Chuck E Cheese in my hometown growing up, many kids preferred Putt Putt Golf for hanging out or birthdays.

[@benjaminsmith3151]

It's fun to use our grown up brains to figure out what was going on in those completely kid-oriented memories. I only ever ate at our semi-local Showbiz, but we had heard of "Chunky Cheese" on tv. After a few years the Rat showed up as a walk around character and all of us kids just didn't get it. It was like a 9 year old WTF moment, as if the Cubs brought in Larry Bird as a relief pitcher. I still have 3 rock-a-fire explosion discs on vinyl, earned with ski-ball tickets, and a showbiz token in my coin collection. I honestly can't imagine how I didn't use it, because I remember every single Showbiz event going pretty much the same way: Watching the shows while waiting for pizza, everyone eating like they were Joey Chestnut, then a mad dash to the video games area, but mostly ski-ball because kids weren't good enough at the video games to make that worth the time. You NEVER wanted to be the first kid to run out of tokens and be stuck playing in the balls until the birthday boy got finished.

[@doingtime20]

There was one Showbiz here in Mexico City, I loved it. It's so weird to think how it all looked through the eyes of a child, that dark theatre with a lot of tables, those strange "robots" in the stage that would seem to take hours to show up, not many places like this today.

[@jacklindsey8400]

I was always more a discovery Zone kid than Chuck E Cheese... they never had great arcade games and skee ball bored me, I used to love running around that 2 story DZ play place! Sad story, final year of their business I hit the jackpot on one of their games and got like 300 tickets, couldn't find anything I really wanted so I held onto them for next year.... this turned out to be a mistake as they went out of business.

[@brandonandcharlene9527]

I went to one of the first Chuck E Cheese on a field trip in Kindergarten in 1980 in Hayward CA. For the entire decade of the 80s, the place was great for games, but the pizza was terrible. After starting highschool the format changed and I only went a couple of times as an adult for parties of other family members who were younger than I. For my own kids there is a local place with Pizza and games that's way better, and cleaner. Chuck E Cheese is just a mythical place my kids have never been to despite having one still close by

[@bobjoemac1]

Grew up in the 90s (born 86) and Chuck E. Cheese was the ultimate special occasion probably only went half a dozen times in my life but man were they amazing. Breaks my heart that my kid will never be able to experience one since all the ones where I live shut down.

[@adamwebb8114]

The late 80s were the best days of Chuck e cheeses

[@Robalini1]

I grew up in Cupertino, right next to San Jose and home of course of Apple Computers. There was some great competitors in this fad, most notably Bullwinkle's, which had Rocky and the gang as mascots! Loved this one!

[@MrMice...]

And a water show!

[@MistaJonz]

I was so jealous my younger cousin got to have almost all his birthday parties at Showbiz Pizza but my parents would never let me go. Wasn’t till I was much older and my cousin had one of her son’s birthdays at Chuck E Cheese’s that I realized I wasn’t missing much, or maybe I was and Showbiz was better and I was deprived…we’ll never know.

[@davewhitmore1958]

Dan's laugh at the end: "You're never seeing that picture!!!"

[@AaronZOOM]

There was a time when our city had a THIRD animatronic pizza theatre experience, and it was called Bullwinkle's. Yes, that Bullwinkle. The moose. It was a much nicer establishment than Chuck E. Cheese if I remember correctly, both from my childhood memories as well as much later when the building it was in was converted into a sports bar. Even that bar has since closed, but the old Bullwinkle's location still sits decaying away behind a McDonald's. Maybe some rich lunatic will decide to resurrect the franchise some day, and that old Bullwinkle's token I have will be good in the arcade once more. As for my credentials regarding robot pizza restaurants, I went to Chuck E. Cheese for my 3rd, 5th, 6th and 30th birthdays.

[@brushstroke3733]

I remember seeing a Bullwinkle's once. Don't think we went inside, but I can testify that it did exist.

[@tipulsar85]

I still have a 1995 token, which I picked up in the late 90s to play gems like Frogger and Gauntlet Legends. The later was not in the restraunt, but in a nearish arcade called Funtasia. Instead they did have Pinbot and other pinball tables.

[@Wildcat_Media]

I went to a fair number of Chuck E Cheese birthday parties in my day. But what really surprised me was to hear the founder used to work at Lagoon in Utah. That’s my local amusement park - we went every summer when I was growing up. It’s still going strong, but it’s been a few years since I’ve been able to go. Good memories, though. 😊

[@Abyssinian121]

I remember that park as well, growing up in the SLC area between the ages of 6 and 11,, in the 70's. I'd forgotten about the place until it was mentioned in the video. I do remember good times there, when my mother's employer chose to have a company picnic there. As for Chuck E. Cheese, I have REALLY mixed feelings about the place. I was really too old for it when we moved from UT to CO in the early 80's, and it held no allure as the decade progressed, and I entered college. The ultimate deterrent turned out to be the 1993 murders of Chuck E. Cheese employees, and the wounding of a fifth, after hours at the franchise closest to my home at the time. The place was empty for a long time after that, and the strip mall seemed to have a pall cast over it. A niece of mine recently had her 4th birthday party at the Colorado Springs restaurant, and I will confess that I still felt a bit squirmy while hanging out and eating seriously 'meh' pizza with my in-laws. Can't help it. The brand will always have that hanging over its head in Colorado, probably long after the perp (who is still incarcerated) goes belly-up in prison.

[@InfectiousGroovePodcast]

We had SO much fun at Chuck E Cheese as a kid. I was born in 75, so I was at exactly the right age to enjoy the golden years. We had all the usual animatronics but I was especially happy that we had the Elvis / Lion one. He had his own room, which I loved. I think the Dolly Parton one had her own room at our location north of Detroit, too.

[@00ga-booga]

I once had a group project in a speech class where we were supposed to do a presentation comparing and contrasting adult and child versions of... something. Anything. So our group decided to get together and spend one day at Chuck E Cheese, and then meet up one night at Dave and Busters. At both places we took pictures, played games, ate food, interviewed employees, etc... Only one member of our group had a child, and it never occurred to us that going into Chuck E. Cheese would be a problem. They let us in, but we found out that four guys with backpacks really stood out. All the parents kept a wide berth. For all they knew our backpacks were full of chloroform, rope, duct tape, etc... We sent the one parent among us to go get his kid and bring him back so we could TRY to fit in. It helped, but not much. I don't recommend this idea for a project. Pizza was surprisingly ok!

[@joeschmoe5231]

😁🤣🤣🤣😁 'wide berth' ??? 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@sleepinglionarchives]

Before it was Chuck's, ours was a Showbiz Pizza. My memories of it are fantastic and I love seeing the old photos my folks took. So thanks for this look back, man. Very cool

[@jaynukem1929]

Being an 80's kid, I had fond memories of Chuck E Cheese. They had a huge collection of all these 80's arcade games that I loved to play. About a year or 2 ago I revisited the same Chuck E Cheese from my Childhood, and was sad to see all those 80's arcade machines were gone and replaced with newer, bulkier, and fancier monstrosities. The Ball Pit was even gone.

[@BluesElwoo2]

As a kid, I loved Showbiz Pizza! The animatronics were slightly scary, yet so super cool! When the show wasn't going, raising the curtain to see them all frozen in place in the dark was creepy as heck! I remember kids raising Mitzi mouses dress to reveal a robotic looking midsection. And then I had my birthday there. They would have someone in a booth be Billy Bobs voice and control him. They would have the birthday kids go up to him and give him a hug. When i was called up, It scared me so bad. I was afraid to give a robot a hug! I didn't want my finger to get caught in a gear when doing so (they didn't have any gears). But I got the courage to go up and give animatronic Billy Bob a hug. I thought it was awesome, and will never forget it! Then all Showbiz turned into Chuck E Cheese. They reskinned the Rockafire Explosion to Munchs Make Believe band. It just wasn't nearly as good. Not to mention they weren't keeping the bots in as good of condition. I had no desire to keep going. Either way, Showbiz has made me just generally interested in animatronics, and a memory I am so glad I got to experience!

[@imnitguy]

Yes, this! I worked at SB in high school and we would do lock ins, and we would control the characters in the booth as well as dress up and CEC and Billy Bob. It was a fantastic high school job and the arcade was PACKED with non-redemption games.

[@NevTheDeranged]

This is wild, I had no idea Nolan Bushnell and Atari had anything to do with CEC/SBP. Great episode!

[@UninvitedGhost]

Surprised at one take? You’re probably the only one. You’re so good at your job, Mr. Larson!

As someone who lives just a couple hours from the border, I got to go the US a couple of times when I was a kid, but only once we got to go to Chuck E Cheese. I still remember every second of it.

[@scottcampbell9515]

Where did the kid at the 9:57 mark learn to play Ski-Ball? Holy crap!

[@done.6191]

I remember the first time I ever went to a CEC for a birthday party (I assume many kid's first foray into CEC). I never quite understood the appeal of the animatronics, but a CEC party was ALWAYS going to be a good party because of the games. I have kids of my own now, and CEC has hosted several birthdays for us too; it's also a great getaway if you need a safe place for the kids to play unsupervised with good access control. A recent move has been to sell TIME versus coins, which is great when you have little kids who would lose or waste the tokens otherwise.

[@reagandow850]

The only problem is their “new” healthier pizza. From what I remember, it’s terrible.

[@rig85]

@@reagandow850 dunno where you’re from, or if they use different pizza providers, but their pizza is great. My 4 year old had her birthday party there, and all the adults were surprised at how good their pizza was.

[@imnitguy]

@Maddox2021 - Comedy and More Alternate I still take my daughter to the same CEC I worked at when I was in high school in Charlotte, NC (was converted from Showbiz to CEC while I worked there in 1991, my senior year of high school.) Our location still has the entire Munch's make believe band which is is surprisingly good condition all things considered. I imagine new stores don't have the band and animatronics.

[@MindTrickedX24]

ShowBiz was the place to go to in the early 80s (Hastings Ranch, east of Pasadena, CA). My father was absolutely entertained by Fatz Geronimo, so we went whenever he was in the mood. I loved that place. As an aside, I had NO idea Nolan Bushnell started all this - that's crazy to me.

[@patrickmcguire451]

You're doing more than just old shows now. I love this channel

[@ttintagel]

I went to Chuck E. Cheese once, on a family vacation in the mid-1980s. I remember you had to go through an empty second dining room to get to the restrooms, and there was an entire second stage full of robots in there. Both the robots and the stage lights were turned off, but every few minutes the robots would twitch as if they were trying to rouse themselves. It was super creepy. The pizza wasn't the worst I've ever had. It was kind of like a thin-crust version of school lunch pizza.

[@TheACanning]

The creator of The Roc-aFire Explosion still has his warehouse in Downtown Orlando. He was also the creator of Wack a Mole. Years ago there was a massive explosion at the warehouse, we all think the robots started revolting and tried to kill their father. This is over a decade before 5 Nights at Freddy’s was even thought of.

[@silverrenard]

I actually worked for Chuck E Cheese for about a year and a half. Most of that time was spent trying to balance keeping store equipment and games running, and fighting with my manager about budgets and why I am doing things a regular crew member should be (I was the assistant tech for about 3 months before taking over a separate location as tech manager). Had decent fun at times, but also many headaches - mostly with the adults. Most of the kids that were "problems" were just being too rough on a machine, and most would calm down when spoken to about it. Adults on the other hand..... Also of note, as an attempt to keep adults more drawn into taking their kids there and relaxing while they played, many locations had alcohol offered (mostly draft and light beer), with a two drink limit.

[@FTChomp9980]

I remember going to ChuckECheese in the early 2000s best time ever! Loved the Pizza and definitely getting the prizes to good times!

[@itzzzsss]

As a kid, it was the best place to go. They use to have a small crawling maze under the animatronics stage. As a dad with a then toddler, my kid also loved going there. I spend so many times there watching over her. I'd watch her grow up from there, and relax

[@michaelk8860]

We didn't have a Chuck E. Cheese in our area when I was growing up, but we did have a Showbiz. My brother and I had many a birthday party there, alternating between there and roller skating rinks. Eventually, it changed from Showbiz to Major Magic's (sp?), same concept, different branding. That eventually closed, but by then we had moved on. Still have a lot of great memories of the arcade games, parties, and animatronic stage shows.

[@grizzlybarrows4390]

In southern California in the 80s, we had a place called Bullwinkles. Had my Super Mario Bros 3 themed birthday party there. It was so much cooler than Chuck E Cheese. I think there is one Bullwinkles left in the country, somewhere in Washington state.

[@Joshua-uw7wm]

Growing up in the 80's and the 90's that place was like heaven on earth

[@theshadow2171]

Awesome video! Never new about the connection with Atari. I grew up with Show Biz Pizza, early 80s in Virginia. Always wondered how/if Showbiz and CEC were connected. My favorite was Beach Bear, the guitarist for The Rock-afire Explosion!

[@joshpayne4015]

I had my 30th birthday party at a Chuck E Cheese along with about 15 adult-age friends. They welcomed the business! All my friends thought it was a bizarre choice but we all really enjoyed it!

[@JohnKelly2]

Team Showbiz! Rock-a-Fire was clearly the superior band. Also, if you went to either place during the animatronic days, make sure you schedule your colonoscopy.

[@syxepop]

My hometown in Puerto Rico has had 2 CEC locations (never a Showbiz one), one opened in a mall that was so BIG that when it closed in the '90s became the mall's whole Food Court. The second one IS STILL OPEN in a larger strip mall where it has a Little Caesar's besides it and hadn't affected the CEC.

[@graefx]

Chuck e Cheeses was always this 90s fever dream that we all wanted to do but was too far away to go to. We had a couple birthdays at a local equivalent. Every couple of years I stumble across an old token squirreled away in a cabinet or box of old toys. I think I was more interested in the metal tokens than anything I could get with tickets or even playing most of the games.

[@michaelturner2806]

Worth noting that the internal training video on converting Showbiz animatronics to CEC ones, called "Concept Unification", is worth springing on a friend group some evening. Experience is enhanced if under the influence. It's not the act of tearing down and rebuilding that does it, it's the voice over directions that make it a truly memorable experience in light horror.

[@imnitguy]

OMG this video... Now, remove Fatz's head and put the Munch head on. Sigh. I miss the Rock-a-fire band!

[@JonTripp115]

I've been inside a Chuck E. Cheese's exactly once, obviously for a friend's birthday party. I think it was around 5th-6th grade, which made us just too old to be there; my main memory is that only one of us was below the maximum height for the ball pit.

[@LarryXLR]

Some of the restaurants still have the full animatronic band. I was able to take my toddler to the Chuck E Cheess by us and her face lit up when she saw the animatronics move. It was awesome. She loved Jasper the most. Called him "The Big Doggy."

[@jaredneal3463]

When I was a kid my parents told me that if I could count to 10 then we would go to Chuck E. Cheese. Eventually when I just rattled off the numbers they refused to take me. They told me years later that the real reason we never went again was because they hated the pizza and just couldn't stand eating it any more.

[@gohjohan]

That's a downer. I hope that they made it up to you.

[@BobbyLips]

From what I can remember we only had a Chuck E Cheese. One of my best memories was around the time MK1 was in the arcade. I don't recall how it was arranged, but they had a doors locked all night shindig. I must have played MK1 100 times basically having it all to myself while everyone passed out. All you can eat pizza too. There were at least 100 kids/young teenagers. Sleeping bags were brought but IDK if I slept at all. There wasn't any trouble either.

[@jonasquinn7977]

A powerful rat, called Charles Entertainment Cheese

[@mariic2]

I see you're a user of good taste.

[@MatthewJeanes]

Team Showbiz. I would love to see a video about the large format film theaters that some Showbiz locations had in them. Pretty niche topic but really fascinating corner of movie history.

[@bassage13]

We didn't have that in mine.

[@margannaful]

As an adult, I worked at a pretty awful retail job in a strip mall in Colorado Springs back in the 80s. But I would go over to Chuck E Cheese for my lunch break every day to bask in the chaos. After lunch, I'd walk out of there very aware that there were WORSE jobs I could be working that dealt with the public. Made my job a little easier.

[@MelissaNLord]

OMG I'm from Duval as well and we used to go to that Showbiz all the time in the 80s. I miss those animatronic shows. Rock-a-fire explosion was better than Chuckie. That location was later converted into a Chuck E. Cheese. I was sad when they got rid of the OG robots. Small world though. I didn't know you were from Jax. That's awesome. Another person from the 904. Love your channel and your videos. Its great you're keeping a history of all these things as they are important to pop culture.

[@kurtinfl]

Also from Jax. Grew up in Arlington and went to a couple parties at Show Biz near Recency. Now I'm wondering where Dan lived/went to school around that time. Strange coincidence.

[@Forcemaster2000]

The last time I went to a Chuck E Cheeses, it was in the late 90's, my wife and I took our son there. It was an adult nightmare...screaming kids running everywhere, pizza cheese and sauce coating nearly every surface. 🤢

[@Scott.Sandifer]

I had zero idea that Chuck E Cheese had any relation to Atari. I love this channel!

[@blackhogarth4049]

I worked at a Chuck E. Cheese from 1999-2001. The work was fast paced and enjoyable. Playing with kids in the Chucky suit was a blast. Man, do I have a lot of crazy stories.

[@darktetsuya]

funny enough we were actually having pizza tonight, so this was perfect! I do remember going there once or twice in my youth. I was raised in california so Team Chuck e. Cheese, nautrally! sank so many tokens into the classic arcade games!

[@idmonster4383]

I have never set foot inside a Chuck E. Cheese (no locations in eastern KY, where I grew up) and had never heard of Showbiz Pizza before, but I know the experience well from Billy Bob's Wonderland, which I just learned was a local offshoot which started as a former Showbiz Pizza location. For eight-year-old me, it was one of the coolest places imaginable. The novelty of the animatronic show wore off pretty quickly, but the irresistible combination of pizza and video games could not be denied. Good memories.

[@milestrombley1466]

"Most moms took their kids to Chuck E.Cheese, but my mom took me to Hooters!!!" 🤣🤣🤣

[@kennyblankenship3710]

It was a dark day when The Rat took over the local Showbiz in Laurel, MD. Most the games were replaced with infant rides and redemption games. The pizza went to crap, too. In the least, Rock-afire remained intact until I moved a few towns over.

[@farfrompoo]

We had both Chuck E. Cheese and Showbiz near me. I had my 10th birthday party at CEC. My brother had a birthday at Showbiz. I was definitely team Chuck. The ball pit was always a highlight. I was always tall for my age, and I unfortunately outgrew the size limit for the ball pit relatively quickly. Interestingly, we also used to have a pizza chain named "Pasquale's."

[@frogganna]

Got my first job at a chuck e cheese in 1998 when I turned 16. Quit when I was 18. The place has always held a place in my heart ❤️❤️. I hope they stay in business for a long time to come. Thank you for sharing this story.

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

Back in the mid to late 90s I went to a Chuck E.Cheese for my first and only time ever. My then stepmother’s niece was having a birthday or something along those lines and we were given a bunch of tokens to try to win enough tickets to get her something good. Suffice it to say I played a lot of video games before focusing on getting actual tickets. The prices were ridiculously high ticket items (literally) as I think even with a concerted effort by at least four if not five adults (or later teens in my case) we still only made enough tickets with probably $20-$40 to get a bank or something cheesy that was definitely only worth I’d say most $5. (honestly not even that) I’ve never been back since and honestly I’ve never even had any kind of desire to do so. Current Chuck E. Cheese sucks worse than anything ever. If I wanna go to an overpriced arcade with decent pizza. I have plenty of options thank you.

[@adewilson132]

Yea I grew to hate chuck e cheese for the same reason. You spend all this money to buy tokens to try and win tickets to buy super cheaply made prizes which costed alot of tickets to buy. I've always thought a traditional arcade is way more enjoyable because you actually have fun playing the games instead of focusing on winning tickets from what are essentially casinos for kids. Unfortunately I was born in 1992 and by the time it was 2000 most traditional arcades were already out of business and gone forever. Fortunately there are alot of barcades that have risen in popularity in recent years so I can enjoy those.

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

@@adewilson132 Yeah, I'm glad to see the rise of barcades and I'm glad I still see arcade machines out in the wild from time to time. I mean mostly it's in places like laundromats that I'll actually see them but here and there you still see some. It makes me glad to know they're not just gone.

[@mikebison]

I was born in 1984. I first went to Showbiz as a baby but we moved and I went to Chuck E Cheese after that. I loved the pizza so much. My favorite pizza. I played a lot of iconic arcades there for the first time. Many birthdays there. Can’t say enough good things. I don’t have kids so I can’t go there now but I heard they changed the pizza anyway.

[@neilhannan5112]

Next Video The Rise and Fall Of Freddy Fazbear Pizza

[@imnitguy]

I worked at Showbiz Pizza Place in high school. I remember when CEC took over and everything was converted. Showbiz was awesome. We had easily 150 games, and our location was a test site for Brady Distributing. So we got ALL the newest video games and pinball machines as soon as they came out. This location I worked at in 1991 is still open and I take my 8 year old there often. It is crazy to walk around the building remembering what it USED to be. CEC is definiately in the "birthday party business" at this point. I remember when I worked at Showbiz we had coupons that were $15.99 for a large pizza with one topping, a pitcher of soda and 25 game tokens. The tickets were and still are pretty useless. A ticket is worth a penny and they give you 3-4 "tickets" per game. Which is 3-4 CENTS.

[@MaximumWarp2099]

Thanks for solving a mystery for me. I went to ShowBiz for a birthday party when I was 8 or 9 and had a blast. Always wondered what happed to the ShowBiz name after that and figured it must have been a buy out. However, I have always thought ShowBiz was a better name than having a rodent as your restaurants mascot.

[@NintegaDario]

The band from Showbiz is still alive and kicking, they've been in some music videos these past few years.

[@ChrisUnlimitedGames]

You should watch the documentary on showbiz pizza. The guy who actually created the showbiz characters was told once they bought out Chuck e cheese that he had a choice. He could sign over his rights the the showbiz characters for no money, or they would be stop using them in the new restaurant. He chose not to let his creations go for no money, and that is why we have Chuck e. Cheese instead of showbiz pizza. The CEOs actually wanted to keep showbiz, but already owned the rights to Chuck.

[@luvaboy772]

I went to Showbiz Pizza for the first time a couple times in summer of 89 when I visited my aunt in Dothan, Alabama. I remembered the commercials but my folks never took me, my brother or sister.

[@JohnnyDisco-bg7si]

Chuck E Cheese all the way! I remember getting Snake Mountain there. Or a friend did. I remember fawning over the box with the animatronic band playing in the background at any rate. Back in a time when I wasn't grossed out by the ball pit.

[@imnitguy]

If you like CEC better than Showbiz then you HAVE to be between 30 and 40 years old. There is NO QUESTION that Showbiz was the better mouse-trap. None at all. I worked at Showbiz in 1989-1990 and went to college right before the "concept unification." A part of me died after that.

[@JohnnyDisco-bg7si]

@@imnitguy Yeah, I'm not sure that there was a Showbiz in my area at the time. I think they came around closer to the time that they all became one company.

[@DanCohoon]

the last time I saw my friend before I moved from Texas was at a Chuckie Cheese. I loved that place as a kid. I am horrified by it now.

[@BigEOT3]

A powerful rat named Secret Entertainment Galaxy

[@radwolf76]

I was looking for a comment like this so I wouldn't have to make it myself. Also in a bit of Bushnell serendipity, I recently ordered an "Art of Atari" coffee table book and it arrived today.

[@BigEOT3]

@@radwolf76 I wanted to do a spin on that bit.

[@de-fault_de-fault]

I somehow never set foot inside a Chuck E Cheese’s until about 4 months ago when my daughter was invited to a party at one. I’m almost 38 so this defies all logic, but all I can say is there were so many knockoffs of it when I was prime kid-birthday-party age that the parties all seemed to be somewhere else. Oh and at 10:05 one of the Showtime Pizza Places listed was right by my house when I was growing up, but I only remember it as an abandoned white building with the red and orange stripes painted on it. It stayed like that until I was about 10.

[@warmachine9846]

I was team showbiz. I was truly saddened to see Billy Bob leave and be replaced by a rat. My brother for his 21st birthday wanting to go to Showbiz drink beer and jam with the band. Only to find out with the revamp into Chuck-E-Cheese they no longer serve beer

[@jinpei05]

Fun fact: Logan Arcade in Chicago managed to purchase and restore a Showbiz Pizza/Chuck E. Cheese animatronic band but reskinned to hide their former place of employment. It's pretty awesome.