Austin, TX (502 W Ben White Blvd)
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The store's exterior in June 2011 (PC: Google Maps)
502 W Ben White Blvd, Store #935 was a Showbiz Pizza Place/Chuck E. Cheese's which opened on March 24th, 1982, and closed on May 12th, 2013.
Stages
This location originally opened on March 24th, 1982, with the Rock-afire Explosion stage. Not much information is known about its stage when it was a Showbiz Pizza Place,
Around 1991/1992, this location underwent Concept Unification, converting the stage into a Munch's Make-Believe Band stage. It would undergo a few changes over the years. One of the highlights of this stage which made it unique was that Pasqually's drum had a black background instead of the usual white color.
On May 12th, 2013, after this store's closure, all 5 of the main bots were sent to the San Antonio, TX (6874 Ingram Rd) location before the stage was replaced with a Color of Lights stage in 2014.
History
This location opened on March 24th, 1982, as a Showbiz Pizza Place with the Rock-afire Explosion stage, like many other Showbiz Pizza Place locations. Little documentations exist of this location during its Showbiz Pizza Place years.
In 1986, Ben White became the very first location to undergo the 1986 SPT Remodel Program.
Around 1991/1992, this store underwent Concept Unification and was converted into a Chuck E. Cheese, receiving a few remodels over the years.
On May 12th, 2013, this location would close down as they relocated to 9811 S I-35, which opened on May 27th, 2013, with the old location becoming vacant.
Around February 2015, the site of this former location would begin its redevelopment into a home improvement discount store, having its soft opening around late October 2015,[1] which the building currently remains as today.
Videos
| Link | Description | Filming Date |
|---|---|---|
| Link | Footage of the arcade and stage in 1996 | February 6th, 1996 |
| Link | The animatronics performing in 2001 with some of the animatronics having latex masks | 2001 |
| Link | A store tour of this location and it's stage. | April 1st, 2008 |
| Link | An up close and personal with the stage in 2008. | September 3rd, 2008 |
| Link | The stage performing Segment 1 from the Summer 2007 Show. | September 3rd, 2008 |
| Link | The removal of the animatronic stage after the store's closure | May 12th, 2013 |
Gallery
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The store's exterior after closure.
Animatronics
| Character | Serial | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Chuck E. Cheese / Rolfe DeWolfe | 7-81 1-12 | Sent to San Antonio, TX (6874 Ingram Rd), Status Unknown |
| Pasqually / Dook Larue | 7-81 2-12 | Sent to San Antonio, TX (6874 Ingram Rd), Owned by a private collector |
| Mr. Munch / Fatz Geronimo | 7-81 3-12 | Sent to San Antonio, TX (6874 Ingram Rd), Status Unknown |
| Jasper T. Jowls / Beach Bear | 7-81 4-12 | Sent to San Antonio, TX (6874 Ingram Rd), Owned by a private collector |
| Helen Henny / Mitzi Mozzarella | 7-81 5-12 | Sent to San Antonio, TX (6874 Ingram Rd), Owned by a private collector |
| Billy Bob | 7-81 6-12 | Unknown/Destroyed |
| Pizzacam / Looney Bird | 7-81 7-12 | Unknown |
| Munch Jr. / Choo Choo | 7-81 8-12 | Unknown |
| Building / Sun | 7-81 10-12 | Mask sent to Houston, TX (5535 Weslayan St), then to corporate's programming stage. Mask currently owned by a private collector. |
| Moon | 7-81 11-12 | Unknown |
| Antioch | N/A | Unknown |
| Wink | N/A | Unknown |