Chuck E Cheese's Sudden Closure In West St. Paul Explained

The Chuck E. Cheese location at 1422 South Roberts in West St. Paul, Minnesota closed in the fall of 2019 due to declining business. The building was gutted and replaced by an AutoZone store. This particular location had a long history, opening as a ShowBiz Pizza Place in 1982, then becoming Circus Pizza in 1988, before finally transforming into Chuck E. Cheese in 1999.

The West St. Paul location closed due to declining business

The West St. Paul location of Chuck E. Cheese closed in the fall of 2019, with the building being gutted and replaced by an AutoZone. The closure of the family-friendly entertainment venue, known for kids' birthday parties, pizza, and arcade games, was due to declining business.

The site has had a long history of housing entertainment venues for children. The location first opened as ShowBiz Pizza Place in 1982, which closed down in 1985. It then became Circus Pizza in 1988, which lasted until the mid-90s. After a brief period of closure, the site reopened as Chuck E. Cheese in 1999.

Over the years, the location underwent several remodels, including an interior remodel between 2006 and 2007, which removed the showroom walls and balcony seating, relocated the salad bar, and removed some arcade machines. In 2013, the location received the Rockstar walkaround. Despite these changes, the business continued to decline, ultimately leading to its closure in 2019.

The former Chuck E. Cheese space on Robert Street was taken over by AutoZone, an auto parts store, which planned to remain in its current location through October 2020 before relocating due to the upcoming Robert Street tunnel construction. The zoning changes that allowed AutoZone to move into the former Chuck E. Cheese space were approved by the Planning Commission and the City Council in November 2019.

The building was gutted and replaced by AutoZone

The Chuck E. Cheese location at 1422 South Robert Street in West St. Paul, Minnesota, closed in the fall of 2019. The building was then gutted and replaced by an AutoZone auto parts store. The relocation of AutoZone to the former Chuck E. Cheese space was due to the planned Robert Street tunnel, which required shifting Crawford Drive into the current AutoZone parking lot.

The West St. Paul Chuck E. Cheese location had a long history of different tenants before it became a Chuck E. Cheese in 1999. It originally opened as a ShowBiz Pizza Place in 1982, which closed in 1985. It then became Circus Pizza in 1988, which operated until the mid-1990s. After Circus Pizza, the store was acquired by CEC Entertainment and converted into a Chuck E. Cheese.

The closure of Chuck E. Cheese in West St. Paul was attributed to declining business. The building remained vacant for a short period before AutoZone moved into the space. AutoZone's relocation to the former Chuck E. Cheese site was dependent on a zoning change, which was approved by the Planning Commission and the City Council in November 2019.

The zoning change allowed auto parts stores to be located in stand-alone buildings, whereas previously they were only permitted in shopping centers and strip malls. This change was initially made in 2008 to limit the number of automobile-related businesses in the area. However, it appears that this restriction was no longer necessary, leading to the approval of the zoning change for AutoZone to occupy the former Chuck E. Cheese building.

With the relocation of AutoZone, the building that once housed a Chuck E. Cheese was transformed into a space for automotive needs, marking a new chapter for the site on Robert Street in West St. Paul.

The closure was preceded by a history of rebranding

The Chuck E. Cheese location at 1422 South Roberts in West St. Paul, Minnesota, closed in the fall of 2019. The closure came after a long history of rebranding for the location. The site was originally a Showbiz Pizza Place, which opened in 1982 and closed in 1985. It then became Circus Pizza in 1988, which lasted until the mid-1990s.

During Circus Pizza's run, new Chuck E. Cheese stores began opening nearby. In an attempt to compete, Circus Pizza removed its signature Rock-afire Explosion show from some locations, replacing it with an interactive video wall featuring a new character, Marty Monkey. However, this strategy was not successful, and Circus Pizza sold out to CEC Entertainment in 1999. The West St. Paul location was converted to Chuck E. Cheese that same year.

As a Chuck E. Cheese, the West St. Paul location underwent several remodels, including the SPT 1992 Remodel Program, the CEC 2005 Remodel Program, and the Rockstar walkaround in 2013. Despite these changes, the location ultimately closed in 2019 due to declining business. The building was gutted and replaced by an AutoZone store.

The closure of the West St. Paul Chuck E. Cheese marked the end of a nearly 40-year history of the site as a family-friendly entertainment venue, with various formats and branding trying to make the location work over the years.

The location had undergone several remodels

The Chuck E. Cheese location in West St. Paul, Minnesota, underwent several remodels during its existence. The site was initially a ShowBiz Pizza Place, which opened in 1982 and closed in 1985. The location then became Circus Pizza in 1988, which featured a classic Rock-afire Explosion show. Circus Pizza closed in the mid-1990s, and the building was remodelled once again to become Chuck E. Cheese in 1999.

As a Chuck E. Cheese, the store re-opened with the SPT 1992 Remodel Program, which included character posters and fixtures from the 1998/1999 art packages. The location received another remodel between 2006 and 2007, this time focusing on the interior. The interior remodel resulted in significant changes, such as the removal of the showroom walls and balcony seating, the relocation of the salad bar, and the removal of some arcade machines.

In the summer of 2013, the location received yet another update, this time with the Rockstar walkaround. The showroom continued to evolve over the years, with changes to the stage setup, including disabling the curtains in 2005 and removing Chuck E.'s cap in 2013. The West St. Paul location was unique in that it was the only site to feature the Studio C Alpha 3-Stage, utilising the original footprint of the existing stage.

Despite the various remodels and updates, the Chuck E. Cheese location in West St. Paul ultimately closed in the fall of 2019 due to declining business. The building was gutted, and an AutoZone store replaced it.

The site was previously Circus Pizza, which lost out to CEC Entertainment

The site at 1422 South Roberts in West St. Paul, Minnesota, was previously a Circus Pizza, which opened in 1988 and closed in the mid-1990s. Circus Pizza was a Minnesota-based restaurant chain with locations in both Minnesota and Wisconsin. The West St. Paul location featured The Rock-afire Explosion alongside a clown mascot named Bumper the Clown.

In the late 1990s, brand new Chuck E. Cheese stores started opening near Circus Pizza locations. Circus Pizza attempted to compete with CEC Entertainment by removing The Rock-afire Explosion from some locations and replacing it with an interactive video wall featuring a new computer-generated character, Marty Monkey. However, this attempt was short-lived, and Circus Pizza sold out to CEC Entertainment in 1999.

The West St. Paul Circus Pizza location was converted to Chuck E. Cheese in 1999. The restaurant reopened with the SPT 1992 Remodel Program, including character posters and fixtures from the 1998/1999 art packages. The West St. Paul location closed in the fall of 2019 due to declining business. After it closed, the building was gutted and replaced by an AutoZone store.

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