Union, NJ (1660 US-22)

1660 US-22, Store #3006/542 was a Pizza Time Theatre/Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza/Chuck E. Cheese's that operated from 1984 to 2019. It opened as a franchised owned Pizza Time Theatre and closed as a corporate owned Chuck E. Cheese's in 2019.

History
Union opened as store #3006 on August 6, 1984 under Animated Family Restaurants franchise ownership. The building it occupied was originally a movie theater that closed in 1982. Union had Chuck E. Cheese, Mr. Munch, Jasper, and Pasqually walkaround costumes when they opened. Union survived PTT's 1984 bankruptcy and stayed under franchise ownership. Following the closure of the two other New Jersey PTT's East Brunswick and Wayne in 1986, who were also under the same franchise ownership, Union was the only operating store in the state of New Jersey for 5 years until the opening of the Deptford, NJ (1500 Almonesson Rd) store in 1991. They received the 1986 SPT Remodel in the early 90's and installed their first MMBB stage (2-Stage) in 1992. They remained this remodel throughout the 90's (and received Parody Posters in the late 90's). Longtime CEC fan and mascot performer Richard Concepcion (1957-2017) was hired to be a walkaround performer in 1994 and was all-day Chuck there in monthly rotation. They also had Helen and Jasper 90's walkarounds that would often make appearances throughout the day alongside Chuck E.

They remodeled to get the Phase 3 game package in the early 2000's. This remodel included relocating skill games (skee-ball, basketball, etc.) that were previously next to the showroom entrance in front of the stage to another area and replacing it with the kiddie games area. In addition, they also received new wall art and Phase 3 decor around the restaurant, new speakers and bigger screens to the left and right of the stage, and painted the area surrounding the 2-Stage (that was previously painted black throughout the 90's) white.

In November 2003, corporate took ownership of the store after nearly 20 years of it being under AFR ownership and was now officially known as store #542. This would also mean no more walkarounds other than Chuck E. and limit the guests seeing the walkaround Chuck since he would not come out as often under new management. In Early 2005, the store would also undergo the 2005 Update to the 2003 "Cool Chuck" Reconfiguration / Major Remodel Initiative remodel removing the 2-Stage for a Studio C Beta, removing showroom walls, balcony, and replacing wall art with new CEC wall art as well as keeping some early 2000's posters. They also relocated the ordering and prize area to the front of the restaurant where the Sky Tubes originally were and relocated the showroom to where the balcony area originally was which added more gameroom space where the 2-Stage used to be. The exterior was changed to the "Cool Chuck" logo design by Peeler Rose and a street sign with the purple sweater thumb chuck. Union was one of the first (if not the first) stores to receive the full 2005 Update of the 2003 "Cool Chuck" Reconfiguration / Major Remodel Initiative with the kid posters and "Cool Chuck" exterior. The Studio C bot wore the Cool Chuck outfit and curtains were operational when the Studio C was installed in March 2005. Curtains were disabled likely over the summer of the year it was installed and enabled again in Summer 2008.

Over the years, Chuck received the Avenger shirt in Summer 2008, green shorts in Early 2010, and cap in late 2013 a few weeks before all hats were removed for the new Rockstar look. The ticket blaster was put in place of the blue screen camera in September 2014. The curtains stopped being operational and were removed in Early 2017. The three screens and lighting above were replaced with flat screens in 2018 and the blue screen was also removed around the same time.

In Late 2018, plans started to emerge regarding the redevelopment of the area where the closed Garden State Motel next door stood and the Chuck E. Cheese due to the impending lease expiration. In April 2019, it was announced that both the Garden State Motel AND CEC would be demolished for a new Wawa convenience store, gas station, restaurant and a new storage facility. However, being a high volume profitable store and the closest to a lot of major North Jersey cities, they decided they would relocate in the future and close their current location when the lease expires at the end of the year. The Union Chuck E. Cheese closed on November 17, 2019 after 35 years of operation. The building that occupied the Union Chuck E. Cheese was demolished in July 2020.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and CEC falling into bankruptcy in 2020, talks on opening a new CEC in Union were put to pause. Construction to a new location down the highway started in 2022. The new Union, NJ CEC opened on May 15, 2023.

Stages
Union opened with a Balcony Stage and The Beagles. Many recall "The King" also being at this location. They received Chuck E.'s House Facade stage around 1989 and switched to a 2-Stage in 1992. After undergoing the 2005 Update of the 2003 "Cool Chuck" Reconfiguration / Major Remodel Initiative, they installed a Studio C Beta removing the animatronics that performed at the location for 20 years since opening. The Beta was saved by private collectors following the store's closure in November 2019.

Gallery
Union's Grand Opening in 1984