The Emergence Of Chuck E. Cheese: A Historical Perspective

Chuck E. Cheese, the American family entertainment centre and pizza restaurant chain, first opened its doors in 1977. The brainchild of Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell, the restaurant was the first of its kind to combine food, arcade games and animated entertainment.

The first location, known as Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre, opened in San Jose, California, in May 1977. The restaurant was an immediate success and Bushnell soon began expanding the business, opening additional units and attracting franchisees.

Over the years, the chain has undergone several name changes and rebrandings, including dropping 'Pizza Time Theatre' from its name in 1985, and becoming simply Chuck E. Cheese in 2019.

The first Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre opened in 1977 in San Jose, California

The first Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre opened on May 17, 1977, in San Jose, California. It was the brainchild of Nolan Bushnell, the co-founder of Atari, who wanted to create a family-friendly restaurant with video games, inspired by his work in amusement parks and his fondness for certain attractions at Disneyland.

Bushnell's vision was to combine food with arcade games and animated entertainment. The Pizza Time Theatre was the first restaurant of its kind, pioneering the "family entertainment centre" concept. The restaurant was an immediate success, with its unique animatronic show – life-sized critters placed in faux picture frames that entertained guests for free throughout the day. The restaurant also offered over 100 video games, pinball machines, and other types of games, making it the country's largest pizza parlour upon opening.

The name "Chuck E. Cheese" was chosen because it forced people to smile when they said it. The character was an instant hit with children, and the restaurant quickly expanded, with a second location opening in San Jose soon after. The chain's name is taken from its main character and mascot, Chuck E. Cheese, whose full name was Charles Entertainment Cheese.

The chain was founded by Nolan Bushnell, co-founder of Atari

Nolan Bushnell, the co-founder of Atari, founded the first Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre in 1977. Bushnell grew up in Utah and studied electrical engineering at the University of Utah, where he worked as a games division manager at the Lagoon Amusement Park. During this time, he learned about the business side of the entertainment industry, studying consumer leisure habits and marketing strategies. After graduating, Bushnell moved to California, hoping to work for Disney as an engineer. When this didn't work out, he took a job at Ampex Corp, a video equipment maker in Redwood City, California.

It was at Ampex Corp that Bushnell met his Atari co-founder, Ted Dabney. The pair hit it off and began discussing the possibility of starting a business together—a pizza parlour that incorporated Disney-esque entertainment. They scouted locations and visited local pizza parlours to see if they could turn their concept into reality. During this time, they also visited Stanford University'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 the back burner, Bushnell and Dabney focused on developing a cost-effective Spacewar! clone, leaving Ampex Corp and founding Syzygy to market the game. In 1971, they successfully created Computer Space. Although the game was not a huge success, it led to the development of PONG, a follow-up game that became hugely popular when tested in a Sunnyvale pub. However, Atari was unable to raise venture capital and had to manufacture and market the game themselves. Despite the game's success, Dabney left Atari in early 1973 after falling out with Bushnell.

In 1976, Bushnell sold Atari to Warner Communications for $28 million and signed a five-year non-competitive agreement. As part of the sale contract, Warner agreed to fund the building of one restaurant based on Bushnell's concept of animated entertainment. Bushnell assembled a team to make his pizza parlour dream a reality, creating the Atari Restaurant Operating Division. The division explored various concepts before ultimately deciding on using audio-animatronic characters in a pizza restaurant. Bushnell hired 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, and the only company that responded to his request was Fantasy Forest Manufacturing, a small outfit located in the high desert of California. Owned by Harold Goldbrandsen, a fabricator of mascot costumes, Fantasy Forest was hired to create the costume and animated puppets. Bushnell also brought on Robert (Bob) Allen Black, an artist who had previously worked with Atari, to design the characters.

The first Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre opened on May 17, 1977, in San Jose, California. The 5,000-square-foot former brokerage building was the first restaurant of its kind, offering a combination of pizza, animated entertainment, and an indoor arcade. The restaurant was an immediate success, and Bushnell quickly began working on opening additional units. In June 1978, he bought the restaurant and concept ownership from Warner Communications for $500,000, incorporating the business into Pizza Time Theatre, Inc. He placed himself as Chairman and hired Landrum as President and the company's first employee.

Bushnell's vision for Chuck E. Cheese was influenced by his experience in the amusement park industry and his fondness for the Enchanted Tiki Room and the Country Bear Jamboree at Disneyland. He wanted to expand video game arcades beyond adult-oriented locations like pool halls and create family-friendly venues. In an interview, Atari co-founder Ted Dabney said, "Chuck E. Cheese was always his [Bushnell's] passion project, even before Atari was a thing... He wanted to start a business of family-friendly restaurants with amusement park midway games."

Chuck E. Cheese was originally called Coyote Pizza

Chuck E. Cheese, the American family entertainment center and pizza restaurant chain, was founded in 1977 by Nolan Bushnell, the co-founder of Atari. The first location, called Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre, opened in San Jose, California, in 1977 and was the first interactive entertainment restaurant for families.

Bushnell's original idea for the restaurant was for it to be called Coyote Pizza, named after the coyote costume he had purchased for his main character. However, when the costume arrived, Bushnell realised it was actually a rat costume, so he changed the name of his new restaurant to Rick Rat's Pizza. Bushnell's marketing team believed this name would not be appealing to customers and proposed Chuck E. Cheese instead. The company adopted the rat as their mascot, and the name was chosen as it forced people to smile when they said it.

The mascot was renamed from Rick Rat to Charles Entertainment Cheese

The mascot of Chuck E. Cheese was originally known as Rick Rat, but his name was changed to Charles Entertainment Cheese, or Chuck E. Cheese for short. The name Rick Rat was chosen because the costume for the mascot, which was purchased by Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell, turned out to be a rat, not a coyote as Bushnell had originally believed. The name Rick Rat was chosen because it was similar to Mickey Mouse, but different enough to avoid legal issues. However, it was later decided that the name was too close to Mickey Mouse, and a new name was needed. The name Chuck E. Cheese was chosen because it was alliterative with Mickey Mouse, and because it forced people to smile when they said it. The full name Charles Entertainment Cheese was likely chosen to emphasise the entertainment aspect of the restaurant chain.

Chuck E. Cheese was bought by rival Showbiz Pizza in 1984

Chuck E. Cheese, the American family entertainment centre and pizza restaurant chain, was founded in 1977 by Nolan Bushnell, the co-founder of Atari Inc. The first location, known as Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre, opened in San Jose, California, in 1977 and was the first interactive entertainment restaurant for families.

In 1984, Pizza Time Theatre filed for bankruptcy. The company was then bought by its rival, Showbiz Pizza, in 1985, forming a new parent company, Showbiz Pizza Time Inc.

The merger of the two companies led to the unification of the brands, with all locations being renamed Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza in 1990. This was shortened to Chuck E. Cheese's in 1994 and, most recently, to Chuck E. Cheese in 2019.

The new parent company, Showbiz Pizza Time, also became CEC Entertainment in 1998.

The merger of the two companies was the result of a long-standing rivalry. Nolan Bushnell had founded Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre in 1977, but in 1979, one of his franchisees, Robert Brock, broke away from the company. Brock had signed an exclusive franchising agreement with Bushnell, giving him the rights to open Pizza Time Theatres in sixteen states across the Southern and Midwestern US. However, Brock was unhappy with the idea of being a franchisee and wanted to venture out on his own.

In November 1979, Brock became aware of Aaron Fechter's work in animatronics and decided to develop a new company with him, Showbiz Pizza Place Inc. Showbiz Pizza Place was conceptually identical to Pizza Time Theatre, except for the animation, which would be provided by Fechter's company, Creative Engineering. Showbiz Pizza Place opened its first location in March 1980, in Kansas City, Missouri.

Upon the opening of Showbiz Pizza Place, Bushnell sued Brock over a breach of contract, and Brock counter-sued, citing misrepresentation. The court case dragged on for two years, and the courts eventually ruled in Bushnell's favour. However, by 1984, Pizza Time Theatre was struggling financially and filed for bankruptcy. This presented an opportunity for Brock to acquire the company, which he did in May 1985, merging the two companies into Showbiz Pizza Time Inc.

Frequently asked questions