Chuck E. Cheese Pizza Time Theatre: Still Standing Strong

Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre was an American family entertainment centre and pizza restaurant chain founded in 1977 by Nolan Bushnell, the co-founder of Atari, Inc. The first location opened in San Jose, California, on May 17, 1977, and was the first family restaurant to integrate food with arcade games and animated entertainment. After filing for bankruptcy in 1984, the chain was acquired in 1985 by Brock Hotel Corporation, the parent company of competitor ShowBiz Pizza Place. The merger formed a new parent company, ShowBiz Pizza Time, Inc., and the Pizza Time Theatre name was retired for the name Chuck E. Cheese's.

The first location opened in San Jose, California, in 1977

Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre, the first of its kind, opened its doors on May 17, 1977, in San Jose, California. The brainchild of Atari, Inc. co-founder Nolan Bushnell, the restaurant was the first family-friendly establishment to integrate food, arcade games, and animated entertainment. The concept was born out of Bushnell's desire to expand video-game arcades beyond adult-oriented locations like pool halls. His experience in the amusement park industry and fondness for Disneyland's Country Bear Jamboree and Enchanted Tiki Room influenced the development of Pizza Time Theatre.

The pilot location, housed in a 5,000-square-foot former brokerage building, was an instant success. It featured a unique combination of pizza, animatronic entertainment, and indoor arcade games. The animatronics, in particular, were a standout feature, with life-sized critters placed in faux picture frames, entertaining guests throughout the day. The restaurant also introduced the "NOTALOG" system, an improved pizza ordering system developed by Bushnell's former Atari partner, Ted Dabney.

The success of the first location spurred Bushnell to expand, and he soon incorporated the business as Pizza Time Theatre, Inc. He hired a team, including Gene Landrum, who became the company's first employee and president. A second, larger location was opened in San Jose on Kooser Road, featuring more games, new attractions, and a change in the cast of characters.

The concept attracted high-profile clients, including Robert L. Brock, known for his extensive portfolio of Holiday Inn hotels. In 1979, Brock signed a multimillion-dollar franchising agreement, planning to open numerous locations across 16 states. However, Brock later decided to void the agreement and partnered with Creative Engineering, Inc. (CEI) to form ShowBiz Pizza Place, Inc. in December 1979, creating a competitor for Pizza Time Theatre. This led to a bitter legal battle between the two companies, which was eventually settled out of court in 1982.

Despite its initial success, Pizza Time Theatre faced financial troubles by the end of 1983, and Bushnell resigned in February 1984. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the fall of 1984 and was subsequently purchased by Brock Hotel Corporation, the parent company of ShowBiz Pizza Place. This merger formed a new entity called ShowBiz Pizza Time, Inc., which operated both brands before eventually converting all ShowBiz locations to the Chuck E. Cheese brand.

The chain was founded by Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell

Chuck E. Cheese, formerly known as Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre, is an American entertainment restaurant chain founded on May 17, 1977, by Atari, Inc.'s co-founder Nolan Bushnell. Bushnell grew up in Utah and pursued a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Utah. While in school, he worked as a games division manager at the Lagoon Amusement Park, where he learned the business side of the entertainment industry. After graduating, Bushnell moved to California with the hopes of working for Disney. When that plan fell through, he took a job at Ampex Corp, a video equipment maker in Redwood City, California.

At Ampex, Bushnell met a co-worker named Ted Dabney, and the two began discussing the possibility of starting a business together—a pizza parlour that incorporated Disney-esque entertainment. They visited local pizza parlours and scouted locations to see if they could turn their concept into reality. During this time, they also visited the University of Stanford's computer laboratory (SAIL) and saw Spacewar!, the world's first video game. This inspired Bushnell to create a cheaper version of the game that could be marketed at the consumer level. With the pizza parlour idea on hold, the pair focused on developing a cost-effective Spacewar! clone. They founded a company called Syzygy to market the game, which they named Computer Space. Although the game was not a complete flop, it was far from a success.

Forced to adjust, Bushnell and Dabney renamed their fledgling company Atari Inc. Thanks to the programming help of a new Atari employee, Al Alcorn, the game Pong was developed as a follow-up to Computer Space. Although Pong was hugely successful when tested in a Sunnyvale pub, Atari was unable to raise venture capital, forcing them to manufacture and market the game themselves. Atari soon found success, but Dabney left the company in early 1973 after having a falling out with Bushnell.

Profits at Atari exploded over the next few years, and in 1976, Bushnell sold the company to Warner Communications for $28 million. As part of the sale contract, Warner agreed to fund the building of one restaurant featuring Bushnell's concept of animated entertainment. Bushnell assembled a team to make his pizza parlour dream a reality, creating the Atari Restaurant Operating Division. This division explored several concepts, including using antique Wurlitzer organs and creating an antique store-themed restaurant. Bushnell ultimately decided to use audio animatronic characters in a pizza restaurant. One of his first moves was to hire Gene Landrum to become the Atari Consumer Division President and general manager of the Atari Restaurant Operating Division. Landrum had recently worked with Atari doing a market study for the Atari VCS (2600) and was tasked with fleshing out the pizza parlour concept.

Landrum began seeking people to build the animated puppets that they needed. The only company that responded to his request was a small outfit located in the high desert of California called Fantasy Forest Manufacturing. Fantasy Forest was owned by a man named Harold Goldbrandsen, a fabricator of mascot costumes. Although he wasn't trained in building animated puppets, he believed he could figure it out. When meeting with Bushnell and Landrum, Goldbrandsen noticed they had a mannequin wearing a rat costume—one that he had last seen at the booth of a competitor. Bushnell had purchased the costume, believing it was a coyote, and had tentatively dubbed his new restaurant "Coyote Pizza". Once the costume arrived, the long pink tail indicated it was actually a rat costume, and Bushnell named it Rick Rat.

Believing the restaurant would become so successful that it would compete with Disney, Bushnell chose the name Rickey Rat, as it was too close to "Mickey Mouse" for legal comfort. After bringing Goldbrandsen on board to create the costume and animated puppets, Landrum hired Robert (Bob) Allen Black, an artist who had previously worked with Atari. Black drew several cutesy-looking cats, dogs, and other creatures, but none passed muster with Bushnell. During a meeting, a frustrated Bushnell grabbed the head of Rick Rat and said, "here, draw something that looks like this."

Landrum was also hard at work hammering out his vision of how the new restaurant would be laid out, creating a presentational outline titled "The Big Cheese". The name wasn't meant to be, as it was discovered that Marriott had already trademarked the name for its chain of restaurants. A new and unique name was needed, and "Chuck E. Cheese" was eventually chosen. It was both alliterative of Mickey Mouse and a three-smile name—just saying it forced a person's mouth to smile. Along with refining their mascot, a group of supporting characters was also developed. Crusty the Cat, a black and white baseball-playing cat; Billy "Banjo" Boggs (soon renamed Jasper T. Jowls), a hillbilly hound dog; Pasqually, the Italian chef; and the Warblettes, a trio of singing magpies. These characters were the original Pizza Time Players and were soon fabricated into animated form by Goldbrandsen. To handle the technical side of animating the animatronics, Landrum hired Larry Emmons and the team at Cyan Engineering (often referred to as Atari Grass Valley) to design the control system to make the show work.

It was the first family restaurant to integrate food with arcade games and animated entertainment

Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre was the first family restaurant to integrate food with arcade games and animated entertainment. The first location opened in San Jose, California, on May 17, 1977, and was the brainchild of Atari, Inc. co-founder Nolan Bushnell. Bushnell's vision was to create a family-friendly environment that combined food with entertainment, specifically video games, which at the time were mostly found in adult-oriented locations like pool halls and bars.

The Pizza Time Theatre featured arcade games, amusement rides, and musical shows, in addition to serving pizza and other food items. The restaurant's name was derived from its main character and mascot, Chuck E. Cheese—a mouse (formerly a rat) who is the lead singer and guitarist of the band. The animatronic characters, including Chuck E. Cheese, were a key part of the dining experience, performing free shows for guests throughout the day.

The concept was an immediate success, and Bushnell quickly began expanding the business. He hired a team of talented individuals to help bring his vision to life, including Gene Landrum, who became the president of the Atari Consumer Division and general manager of the Atari Restaurant Operating Division. Landrum was responsible for seeking out people to build the animated puppets, ultimately partnering with Harold Goldbrandsen, a fabricator of mascot costumes, to bring the characters to life.

The Pizza Time Theatre was an innovative and groundbreaking concept, offering a unique combination of food, entertainment, and arcade games that had never been seen before in a family restaurant setting. Its success paved the way for the "family entertainment center" concept, and it continues to be a beloved destination for families even today, under the name Chuck E. Cheese.

The success of the Pizza Time Theatre also led to the development of similar concepts, such as ShowBiz Pizza Place, which became a competitor and later merged with Pizza Time Theatre to form ShowBiz Pizza Time, Inc. in 1985. The merger retired the Pizza Time Theatre name, and the combined company operated under the Chuck E. Cheese's brand.

It filed for bankruptcy in 1984 and was acquired by Brock Hotel Corporation

Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre, the original name for Chuck E. Cheese, was founded by Nolan Bushnell in 1977. Bushnell was also the co-founder of Atari, Inc. and created the first Pizza Time Theatre as a place where kids could eat pizza and play video games. It was the first family restaurant to integrate food with arcade games and animated entertainment.

In 1984, the chain filed for bankruptcy. This was due to a number of factors, including the video game market crash in 1983, Bushnell's resignation, and the company's focus on new ventures and subsidiaries. Bushnell had also become frustrated with Warner Communications' management and conservative market responses, and his ideas were often ignored.

Following the bankruptcy filing, Brock Hotel Corporation, the parent company of competitor ShowBiz Pizza Place, acquired the chain in 1985. This merger formed a new parent company, ShowBiz Pizza Time, Inc., and the Pizza Time Theatre name was retired for the name Chuck E. Cheese's.

The merger of the two companies was a mutually beneficial move, as it allowed ShowBiz to settle a former court settlement mandate with Pizza Time and purge its debt. The new company operated restaurants under both brands before converting all Showbiz locations to the Chuck E. Cheese's brand. This process, known as ""Concept Unification", involved removing the Rock-afire Explosion animatronic show from ShowBiz restaurants and replacing it with characters from Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre.

The acquisition of Pizza Time Theatre by Brock Hotel Corporation marked a significant turning point in the history of the chain, leading to its eventual rebranding as Chuck E. Cheese's and shaping its future direction in the family entertainment and restaurant industry.

The chain is still operating under the name Chuck E. Cheese

Chuck E. Cheese, formerly known as Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre, is still operating under the name Chuck E. Cheese. The chain was founded on May 17, 1977, by Nolan Bushnell, the co-founder of Atari, Inc. The first location, Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre, opened in San Jose, California, in 1977 and was the first family restaurant to integrate food with arcade games and animated entertainment.

The chain has undergone several name changes over the years. In 1989, the name was shortened to Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza, and in 1994, it was shortened again to Chuck E. Cheese's. In 2019, the name was shortened further to Chuck E. Cheese.

The chain has also gone through several mergers and acquisitions. In 1985, Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre filed for bankruptcy and was acquired by Brock Hotel Corporation, the parent company of competitor ShowBiz Pizza Place. The merger formed a new parent company, ShowBiz Pizza Time, Inc., and the Pizza Time Theatre name was retired. ShowBiz Pizza Time, Inc. began unifying the two brands, renaming every location Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza.

In 1998, ShowBiz Pizza Time became CEC Entertainment, Inc. to reflect the remaining chain brand. The company has continued to expand and, as of 2024, owns and operates approximately 465 Chuck E. Cheese locations in the United States and Canada, with 96 franchised locations worldwide. The chain has also expanded internationally, with locations in countries such as Chile, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Trinidad & Tobago.

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