CEC 2018 2.0 Remodel Program
The CEC 2.0 Remodel is a remodel of Chuck E. Cheese restaurants that has been ongoing since 2017. It is the first remodel to completely get rid of the animatronics, replacing them with a Dance Floor and completely redoing everything in the restaurants.
History
From 2016 to 2017 surveys were sent via email to see what parents would like to see in Chuck E. Cheese's locations. The survey resulted in the creation of a refresh of Chuck E. Cheese's as a whole.
A San Francisco design firm, Tesser, conceptualized three designs for CEC's use. All of these designs had the same concept but objectively different aesthetics. The designs in question were described as 'Modern', 'Warm', and the one chosen by CEC, 'Bold'.
The first locations to remodel to this look were the San Antonio, TX locations (Stone Oak, Military Drive, and Ingram) in July of 2017, which slowly spread from Texas to across the country within the first few months of its debut. However during the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020, CEC Entertainment halted several planned remodels until 2021.
On January 26, 2023, CEC stated that they officially completed their 200th new remodel with the Douglasville, GA location, and would be celebrating with a sweepstakes with 200 winners.
Design
Exterior
The bold design was chosen to keep Chuck E. Cheese's modern balance between a children's and family establishment. Each exterior features brown panels with a swiss cheese like pattern. The exterior's mix of darker and vibrant colors and the minimal usage of gray colors creates a fresh looking environment to attract guests to the building.
The main logo also received a redesign, opting for a lineless design. The Pizzeria's name also changed, dropping the "'S" after "Cheese" and giving it a new font. This modern font would only be used from 2017 to 2019 as they reverted into a similar version of the previous iteration.
Interior
The interior was redone by giving everything a fresh new coat of white paint, and using black undertones in certain areas of the restaurant to highlight decorative text. Parody artwork has since been dropped entirely, making the only pieces of artwork seen in the building is the various large text reading various phrases such as "High Five" or "Party". The usage of wooden planks were also prominent in earlier variations of this remodel, being used as booth dividers, wall panels, or substitute for tiling for customer use counters.
The Showroom, Now called the Birthday Area, is surrounded by artwork of the main five Chuck E. Cheese characters (Munch's Make Believe Band) with bios, which are also featured on the cups. 2017 2.0 Remodels featured a wall decal of the characters, while 2018 Remodels featured a slightly transparent poster (the only opaque areas are the silhouettes and the character bio's.). 2019 Remodels changed the posters again, making them completely opaque, with the formerly transparent area now being the standard color of the character, with the wall behind it also being colored the same.
Remodels Packages
Initially, locations that were eligible for this remodel got one of three packages: Gold, Silver, or Bronze. The Gold and Silver packages never left the first few remodeled stores from 2017 to 2018. In 2021 they made the addition of a Video Wall and updated fixtures and giving certain locations unique murals for the interior.
| Item | Gold | Silver | Bronze | 2021+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Complete exterior remodel | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Complete redo of front of house walls | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Facelift for counters | Yes | Limited | No | Limited |
| New fixtures | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| New booths | Yes | Yes | Limited | Yes |
| Open Kitchen | Yes | No | No | No |
| Dance Floor / Removal of animated show | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Unique Mural | No | No | No | Limited |
Gallery
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Showroom - San Antonio (2017)
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Dining area - San Antonio (2017)
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Counters - San Antonio (2017)
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Shot of the open kitchen - San Antonio (2017)
Mural locations
- Brandon, FL (1540 W Brandon Blvd)
- Baton Rouge, LA (7680 Andrea Dr)
- Pinole, CA (1470 Fitzgerald Dr)
- North Charleston, SC (7258 Rivers Ave)
- Miami (Kendall), FL (8701 SW 124th Ave)
- Humble, TX (124 E FM 1960 Bypass)
- Las Vegas, NV (7381 W Lake Mead Blvd)
- Novi, MI (44275 Twelve Mile Rd)
- Littleton, CO (7510 Parkway Dr)
- Tacoma, WA (4911 Tacoma Mall Blvd)
- Buffalo, NY (4408 Milestrip Rd)
- Chicago, IL (1830 W Fullerton Ave)
- Garden Grove, CA (13101 Harbor Blvd)
- Edison, NJ (1120 Route 1)
- St. Charles, MO (2669 Veterans Memorial Pkwy)
Reception
TODO