Brandon, FL (1540 W Brandon Blvd)

1540 W Brandon Blvd, Store #420 was a franchised Pizza Time Theatre that opened in August 1981 with a Balcony show. This store is the fifth ever Pizza Time Theatre to open in the state of Florida.

Stages
This store debuted with the Balcony Stage with guest character Harmony Howlette. They would receive Madam Oink in the spring of 1982. The Cabaret debuted with Dolli Dimples and shortly after, Artie Antlers.

From 1989 to 1990 they would retrofit their Balcony Stage to Chuck E.'s House Facade.

From 1993 to 1994 Chuck E.’s House Facade is replaced for a 2-Stage but still using the original masks. The 2-Stage they received was close to being 6 feet tall but would be remedied in 2011 when the showroom is relocated to face the front of the building and completely remodeled along with the rest of the building.

The show sat in major disrepair but occasionally had changes done. Two examples can be how Chuck E.'s original Pizza Time Theatre mask was swapped out for a brand new one after 2012. Another one of the changes was how the tech lights are always left on even when work is not being done to the show. Chuck E's Cap would be removed in September 2013.

For the majority of 2020 the show just stopped working until September of 2020 when issue was fixed but Chuck E. and Pasqually's air lines were flooded with water, making them paralyzed until their demise on April 15, 2021 the 2-Stage was finally removed, with everything being destroyed minus the Cyberstar and Munch's keyboard front

Lounge
Brandon, FL's lounge area originally had Beagles, but later replacing it with The King in January 1982. At an unknown period they received the Beach Bowsers, which stayed in the area until they remodeled in 1993/94. In the 2000s, possibly 2002, they converted a corner of the room into a Blue Screen area. Its unknown why they did this but it was a well addition of the Studio C concept into a 2-Stage store, but in 2011 they removed the area in place of two monitors and seating.

"Helens Hangout" was the party area that debuted with their 2.0 remodel. The remodel turned their former lounge area into a smaller version of the showroom that was nearby. It had a video wall, even complete with seating and character posters. The only difference was that there was no dance floor.

History
1540 W Brandon Blvd, Brandon, FL was a originally a franchised Pizza Time Theatre that opened in August 1981. Like many Pizza Time theatres, this one was located in the same shopping plaza as a K-Mart and was in the former K-Mart Foods section of the building, so the building had a canopy over the front of the building until its eventual remodel. This store was one of the three stores to have an ice cream emporium in 1982. Exact details are unknown but its common knowledge that in each one there was an animatronic Barber Shop Quartet called The Four Little Shavers. This was one of the few that survived PTT's bankruptcy and was bought on October 22, 1984 along with many other locations by Corporate.

Remodels
It is unknown if the location ever had remodeled while it was a Pizza Time Theatre, but it did remodel at a point in time from 1988 to 1991. By 1994, they remodeled again to Phase 1 and remained that way until 2011 when they remodeled to the 2010 Update to the 2003 "Cool Chuck" Reconfiguration / Major Remodel Initiative in which they redid the entire building. The remodel caused two pieces of art to go extinct in the US: Giant Pizza Mirror and Munch w/ Empire State Building.

The building remained untouched remodel wise until 2020 when the Shopping Plaza it was in remodeled. This effected the original exterior by causing it to be demolished and rebuilt to fit the Plaza's standards.

From April to May 2021 they would remodel into 2.0 which was an interior only remodel. The store's grand reopening was on June 3, 2021. The remodel made this the first location to have a mural and the second location to have a video wall. Because of Brandon's size, multiple pieces of art had to be remade to accommodate for its size. As of 2022, this is the only location to have two video walls and two pizza pickup windows side by side.

Crime
Brandon was always prone to having crime happen in their location. In 2015 and 2016 combined, the deputies were called 54 times. The crimes ranged from fights, robberies, and thefts.

The latest to have occur was during September 24, 2022, when a car crashed into the front of the building with gunfire following. The local Sheriff, Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, has said that there has not been any evidence of anyone being shot. Four suspects were taken into custody.

Afterwards CEC stated this: "We are aware of the incident that occurred on Saturday, September 24, at our Brandon, FL location, where a vehicle crashed into our storefront.  We want to assure our guests that we take great measures to protect the experience children and families have in our venues. The safety of our guests and employees is our number one priority.  The General Manager onsite and our team members acted quickly to alert local authorities and secure medical attention for those involved.  We are thankful for the dedicated service of community law enforcement and the swift actions of our alert team members and security. We are cooperating with the police during their ongoing investigation and cannot offer additional details at this time."

Gallery
1981 2008