Showbiz Pizza Transformed: Chuck E. Cheese's Origin Story

Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre and ShowBiz Pizza Place were once competitors in the family entertainment centre and restaurant pizza chain industry. The former was founded by Nolan Bushnell, co-founder of Atari, in 1977, while the latter was founded by Robert L. Brock and Creative Engineering (CEI) in 1980. In 1984, Pizza Time Theatre filed for bankruptcy and was bought by Brock Hotel Corporation, which owned Showbiz Pizza. The two companies then merged and became Showbiz Pizza Time, Inc. In 1990, Showbiz Pizza Time began rebranding its locations as Chuck E. Cheese's, effectively ending the Showbiz Pizza brand.

Nolan Bushnell founded Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre in 1977

At Ampex, Bushnell befriended a co-worker named Ted Dabney, and the two began discussing starting a business together—a pizza parlour that incorporated Disney-like entertainment. They scouted locations to see if they could turn this concept into reality. It was during this time that Bushnell and Dabney visited the University of Stanford's computer laboratory (SAIL) to see Spacewar!, the world's first video game. Bushnell had the idea to create a cheaper version of the game that could be marketed at the consumer level. With the pizza parlour idea on hold, the two focused on developing a cost-effective Spacewar! clone, leaving Ampex Corp (having founded the company Syzygy to market the game they hoped to produce). In 1971, they successfully completed the game, which was titled Computer Space.

Although the game was not a flop, it was far from a success. Adding to their troubles, when attempting to incorporate Syzygy, they discovered that the name was already in use. Forced to adjust, they renamed their fledgling company Atari Inc. Thanks to the programming help of a new Atari employee, Al Alcorn, the game Pong is developed as a follow-up to Computer Space. Although Pong was hugely successful when it was tested in a Sunnyvale pub, Atari was unable to raise venture capital, forcing them to manufacture and market the game themselves. Although Atari soon found success, Dabney left the company in early 1973 after a falling out with Bushnell.

Profits at Atari exploded over the next few years, and finding no other way to remain competitive in the growing video game market, Bushnell sold Atari to Warner Communications in 1976 for $28 million. During the sale of Atari, Bushnell also signed a five-year non-competitive agreement. Bushnell remained as the head of Atari, but many of his ideas and pet projects were ignored by his new corporate bosses. However, one project had already been given the green light—the Pizza Time Theatre. Included in the sale contract to Warner, they agreed to fund the building of one restaurant featuring Bushnell's concept of animated entertainment.

Free to finally realise his pizza parlour dream, Bushnell began assembling a team of people to make it a reality. He created The Atari Restaurant Operating Division. This division explored several concepts, including using antique Wurlitzer organs and creating an antique store-themed restaurant. In the end, Bushnell decided to revert to his original idea—using audio-animatronic characters in a pizza restaurant. One of Bushnell's 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 Bushnell entrusted him to flesh out the pizza parlour concept. Armed with a current copy of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) directory, Landrum began seeking people to build the animated puppets 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, who was primarily a fabricator of mascot costumes. Although he wasn't exactly trained in building animated puppets, he believed he could figure it out as he went. When meeting with Bushnell and Landrum in Sunnyvale, he noticed they had a mannequin in the room wearing a rat costume—one he had last seen at IAAPA at the booth of a competitor. Bushnell had actually purchased this costume at IAAPA and, believing it was a coyote, had tentatively dubbed his new restaurant "Coyote Pizza". Once the costume was shipped and arrived at Atari, the long pink tail indicated it was actually a rat costume they had purchased. The costume had become a physical, tangible symbol of what Bushnell was hoping to create. Believing the restaurant would become so successful it would eventually compete with Disney, Bushnell named this costume Rick Rat, as "Rickey Rat" was a little 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 worked previously with Atari. Black had drawn several cutesy-looking cats, dogs, and other creatures—none of which passed muster with Bushnell. During a meeting with Black, a frustrated Bushnell grabbed the head of Rick Rat, set it on his desk, and said, "here, draw something that looks like this." During this time, Landrum was hard at work hammering out his vision of exactly how this new restaurant would be laid out, creating a presentational outline titled "The Big Cheese". It was not only one of the proposed restaurant titles, but also the name of the mascot rat. The name wasn't meant to be, however, as it was discovered that Marriott had already trademarked the name for its chain of restaurants. Even though the trademark was on the verge of expiring from non-usage, Atari's legal department decided a new and unique name was needed. The name "Chuck E. Cheese" was eventually chosen, as it was

Robert L. Brock and Creative Engineering founded ShowBiz Pizza Place in 1980

Robert L. Brock, an American businessman, founded ShowBiz Pizza Place in 1980, in partnership with Creative Engineering, Inc. (CEI). Brock, who was already known for his extensive portfolio of Holiday Inn hotels, was attracted to the concept of Pizza Time Theatre (PTT) by Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell, who had opened the first Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre in 1977.

In 1979, Brock signed a multi-million-dollar franchising agreement with Bushnell's Pizza Time Theatre Inc., planning to open as many as 280 Chuck E. Cheese's locations across 16 states. However, Brock soon became concerned that competitors would emerge with better animatronic technology. Brock noticed that companies such as CEI were designing more advanced animatronics, and he decided to void his agreement with Bushnell and form a partnership with CEI, creating ShowBiz Pizza Place, Inc. in December 1979.

The first ShowBiz Pizza Place location opened to the public in Kansas City, Missouri, on March 3, 1980. The Brock Hotel Corporation, of which Brock was chairman, assumed 80% control of the company, while CEI held the remaining 20% stake. CEI was responsible for producing the chain's animatronics show, The Rock-afire Explosion.

ShowBiz Pizza Place and Pizza Time Theatre quickly became competitors, both finding early success due to the rising popularity of arcade games in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The type of animatronics used in the ShowBiz Pizza chain distinguished it from its rival, despite the two companies offering many of the same services. ShowBiz Pizza restaurants entertained guests with arcade games, coin-operated rides, and animatronic stage shows.

In 1984, Pizza Time Theatre filed for bankruptcy, and its assets, including the Chuck E. Cheese's restaurant chain, were purchased by Brock Hotel Corporation. The two pizza restaurant subsidiaries merged, forming ShowBiz Pizza Time, Inc., a combination of the two previous company names. Despite the merger, the two restaurant chains continued to operate as separate entities.

The two companies became competitors, with similar offerings

The two companies, Chuck E. Cheese and Showbiz Pizza, became competitors in the early 1980s, with both offering a similar combination of pizza, video games, and animatronic entertainment. The rise in popularity of arcade games in the late 1970s and early 1980s contributed to the success of both companies. However, there were some key differences in their offerings.

Showbiz Pizza, founded by Robert L. Brock and Creative Engineering (CEI) in 1980, featured The Rock-afire Explosion, an animatronic band that included a wise-cracking polar bear, an alcoholic bird, a wolf ventriloquist, and a country bear named Billy Bob Brockali. The animatronics at Showbiz Pizza were considered more advanced and lifelike, with subtle movements and changing facial expressions. The entertainment at Showbiz Pizza was also perceived as more grown-up and geared towards an older audience.

On the other hand, Chuck E. Cheese, founded by Nolan Bushnell in 1977, featured a cast of animatronic performers led by their namesake, Chuck E. Cheese, a robotic "New Joisey Rat." Other characters included Jasper T. Jowls, a hound dog; Crusty, a cat; Madame Oink, a pig; the Warblettes, three magpies; Pasqually, a pizza chef; and Mr. Munch, a purple monster. While the animatronics at Chuck E. Cheese were less advanced, the pizza was considered slightly superior. Chuck E. Cheese's entertainment was also seen as more kid-friendly.

As the two companies competed, they rapidly expanded and opened new locations across the country. However, the video game crash in the mid-1980s impacted both businesses, with Chuck E. Cheese being hit harder due to the financial decisions of its founder. Eventually, Chuck E. Cheese filed for bankruptcy in 1984, and Showbiz Pizza merged with the struggling franchise, forming ShowBiz Pizza Time, Inc. Despite the merger, the two restaurant chains continued to operate as separate entities for a period of time.

ShowBiz Pizza Place and Pizza Time Theatre merged in 1984, becoming ShowBiz Pizza Time, Inc

ShowBiz Pizza Place and Pizza Time Theatre were competitors in the family entertainment centre and restaurant pizza chain industry. Both companies were founded in 1980 and offered a similar package of food and entertainment, including arcade games, coin-operated rides, and animatronic stage shows. However, they were distinguished by the types of animatronics used in their respective chains.

In 1984, Pizza Time Theatre filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. ShowBiz Pizza Place then purchased the assets of its rival, including the Chuck E. Cheese's restaurant chain, for $500,000, thus merging the two companies and forming ShowBiz Pizza Time, Inc. The new company was a combination of the two previous company names, and both restaurant chains continued to operate as separate entities.

The financial decline of ShowBiz Pizza Time began to turn around following the efforts of Richard M. Frank, who became president and COO in 1985 and chairman and CEO in 1986. Based on customer research, Frank instituted a number of changes to appeal to younger children and parents. Specific measures included increased lighting, a redesigned food menu, table service, self-serve fountain drinks, a revamped ride selection, and distinct toddler areas.

In 1989, ShowBiz Pizza Time became a public company with its launch on the stock market. The following year, it severed all ties with Creative Engineering and began restructuring the restaurant chains under "Concept Unification". This involved removing the Rock-afire Explosion animatronic show from their restaurants and converting it into a new show called "Chuck E. Cheese & Munch's Make Believe Band", featuring characters from Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre. Over several years, ShowBiz Pizza locations were rebranded as Chuck E. Cheese's, effectively ending the "ShowBiz Pizza" brand.

The company was renamed to CEC Entertainment, Inc. in 1998

The history of Chuck E. Cheese's begins with Nolan Bushnell, who grew up in Utah and worked as a games division manager at the Lagoon Amusement Park while earning an electrical engineering degree from the University of Utah. After graduating, Bushnell moved to California with the hopes of becoming an engineer for Disney. When that didn't work out, he went to work for Ampex Corp, a video equipment maker in Redwood City, California. It was there that he befriended a co-worker named Ted Dabney, and the two began discussing starting a business together—specifically, a pizza parlour that incorporated Disney-esque entertainment.

Bushnell and Dabney's plans were put on hold when they visited Stanford University's computer laboratory and saw Spacewar!, the world's first video game. They decided to create a cheaper version of the game that could be marketed at the consumer level. With the pizza parlour idea on the back burner, they focused on developing a cost-effective clone of Spacewar!, and in 1971 they successfully completed the game, which was titled Computer Space. Although this game was not a huge success, it led to the founding of their company, Atari Inc.

Atari soon found success with the game Pong, but Dabney left the company in early 1973 after a falling out with Bushnell. Profits at Atari continued to grow, 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.

The first Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre opened in San Jose, California, in 1977. In addition to pizza and arcade-style video games, it featured a live show starring a cast of animatronic performers, led by their namesake Chuck, a robotic "New Joisey Rat" with an attitude. The combination restaurant and entertainment centre was an immediate success, and Bushnell purchased the Pizza Time restaurant from Atari for $500,000 in 1978, stepping down as chairman and forming Pizza Time Theatre Inc.

Bushnell then teamed up with Bob Brock, chairman of the Brock Hotel Corporation, one of the largest franchisees of Holiday Inns. Brock promised Bushnell financial support, and Bushnell, in return, promised Brock the best animatronic technology in the world. However, in 1979, Brock met a young inventor named Aaron Fechter, whose company, Creative Engineering, Inc. (CEI), was designing more advanced animatronics. Brock cancelled his deal with Bushnell and teamed up with Fechter to start the ShowBiz Pizza franchise.

The first ShowBiz Pizza location opened in Kansas City in 1980, offering a similar combination of pizza, video games, and performing robots. The ShowBiz show featured the Rock-afire Explosion, an animatronic band that included a wise-cracking polar bear, an alcoholic bird, a wolf ventriloquist, and "Billy Bob Brockali," a good-natured "country bear" named for ShowBiz founder, Bob Brock.

The two companies became competitors and found early success, partly due to the rise in popularity of arcade games during the late 1970s and early 1980s. However, in 1984, Pizza Time Theatre declared bankruptcy, and ShowBiz merged with the struggling franchise to settle a former court settlement mandate, forming ShowBiz Pizza Time. Following a severing of ties with CEI in 1990, ShowBiz Pizza locations were rebranded as Chuck E. Cheese locations, which took several years to complete.

In 1994, Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza underwent a redesign, changing to Chuck E. Cheese's by 1995. Finally, in 1998, ShowBiz Pizza Time, Inc. was renamed to CEC Entertainment, Inc.

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