Charlotte, NC (7701 Pineville-Matthews Rd)
The 90's Exterior of Charlotte "Pineville," NC (c. August 2008)
7701 Pineville-Matthews Rd, Store #64 was a ShowBiz Pizza Place located in Charlotte, North Carolina. It opened in October 1982 and was the second ShowBiz to open in the Carolinas following Charleston, South Carolina.
History
Charlotte (Pineville), NC opened its doors in October 1982 at the Carmel Commons Shopping Center with a Rock-afire Explosion show. It was originally a franchise-owned store, under the ownership of "Adventure Restaurant Corporation," which owned other SPP locations in the area during the time. Like many other ShowBiz locations, it had a typical SPP layout seen in many other stores across the United States and would eventually receive the 1988 remodel years after it would open. Although very little documentation exists back in the ShowBiz days, it can be determined that Pineville was one of several locations to receive an Uncle Klunk show package (and a Santa Claus retrofit package as well) sometime after opening with the few photos available online and what would remain of the "Abombination" drop-down sign mechanic slot on Stage Right. Like many ShowBiz locations in the late 1980s, Pineville received the Showbiz Pizza Campground upgrade.
Concept Unification
In the year 1991, Concept Unification was in full swing and Pineville would be one of a majority of SPP locations to undergo it that year. An advertisement coupon from a newspaper clipping would show that (while not specified) the CU conversion was complete by mid-late 1991 (possibly November) as the coupon's expiration date was December 31st of that year. However, in January 1993, Adventure Restaurant Corp. would shutter the store after just owning it for 10 years.
Reopening
This closure would've remained permanent until Showbiz Pizza Time, Inc. would acquire to license to operate Pineville from its previous franchise owner the same month, thus the location would reopen as a corporate-owned store practically unchanged from how it was at the time and has remained a corporate store since. The corporate reopening would also mark the official rebrand of Pineville from ShowBiz to Chuck E. Cheese's at the same time as former SPP locations were rebranding to CEC completely.
1990's
In this point of Pineville's operation, the store would receive the 1993 remodel sometime by 1995 at the earliest, complete with: an Obstotron (later SkyTubes); 1991 Platinum CD Award posters (Bad Dog, Saturday Night Retriever, Yellow Submarine Sandwich, I've-Gotta-Da-Pizza and Flabby Road); Mt. Chuckmore poster; 1991 Postcard posters (Pasqually's Italy and Jasper's Wild West); Cheese Guitar sign; 1993 Salad Bar, Beverages and Round Vest Chuck signs; 1991 Confetti Portraits; and other misc signage. Pineville also had the common black + green booths new to the 1993 remodel.[1]
2000's
Sometime in the 2000's, the original Munch Jr. would be removed from the 3-Stage and a Toddler Zone would be installed near the showroom. Pineville would receive a general game package mirroring other CECs that included Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 Pinball by Stern, Chuck E.'s Choo Choo, Kiddie Coaster, Rock N' Moon Rally, Chatty Chuck E. out of many. This decade would also be when the location would receive the 2005 update to the 2003 "Cool Chuck" Reconfiguration / Major Remodel Initiative with newer booths, posters, and purple walls prior to around 2008. However, (between this time and the early 2010's) the 90's exterior would remain along with the early 90's Chuck E. Cheese Roll Skee-Balls, not entirely modernizing the store quite yet. Though, by 2010, Chuck E.'s tuxedo would be replaced with the Avenger attire.
2010's
In 2013, a number of changes would come to Pineville. The game package would change once again, removing several (including Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 Pinball and the 90's Chuck E. Cheese Rolls) in favor of more simpler games. The stage would see Chuck E.'s eyebrows and triangular base removed unexpectedly (with Pineville's Chuck E. becoming infamous for not having eyebrows for a long period of time this decade) as well as the stage base trim being repainted from brown to black. Pizzacam was removed prior to these updates and his mechanism was placed in storage underneath Stage Left. Several purple walls as a product of the original 2005 remodel were painted back to white, only keeping existing purple walls in the showroom and front of the store. Finally, the remodel would come with a store expansion in a former Carmel Commons tenant off to the right (where games and booths would be placed) as well as a major overhaul to the exterior, removing the checkers and Sweater Thumb Chuck signs in favor of the standard 2004 Avenger Thumb Chuck signage along with an entire plaza repaint (done shortly before the signage change). The store will get the 2.0 dance floor remodel in September 2023.
Stages
| Stage | Installed | Removed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rock-Afire Explosion | October 1982 | 1991 | First Showbiz Pizza Store in North Carolina. |
| 3-Stage | 1991 | Still In Use | One of Six North Carolina Showbiz Stores to undergo Concept Unification. |
Modern Updates
In modern times, Pineville in general would be unchanged since the 2013 expansion. However, when technician and fellow CEC fan miltondrivewaysignal would step in to work at the location between 2021 and 2022, the show at Pineville would receive multiple updates and fixes never before seen on most 3-Stages. These would include but are not limited to:
- Newly reinstated eyebrows for Chuck E. as well as a replacement right arm bracket.
- A repaint given to the base of Chuck E.'s star and Pasqually's backdrop flood cover.
- A yellow feather boa for Helen's hair and mask/eyelid repaint.
- A keep of stage sign on chuck e.'s feet.
- The return of Munch Jr. as a custom replica and the return of Mr. Munch's hat (originally from Charlotte Albemarle Rd);
- Mr. Munch being cosmetically and mechanically restored along with added strobe lights to his organ and band sign.
- A custom organ front reading "CEC" in the style of a custom organ front at Huntsville, AL.
- A cosmetic and mechanical repair of Jasper complete with a new, custom shirt pattern design and added fur to the mask.
- Pasqually's base receiving new, pink glitter trim as well as mechanical adjustments to his arms for more lively "drumming."
- The reinstating and repair of the Fiber Optic Star Curtain after not being used for some time.
- Updating the backdrop and overhead floods with bright and colorful LEDs.
- The replacement of several characters' MAC valve banks with Baomain valve banks.
- The red and white stripes on the Wink being removed revealing "In Pizza We Trust" once more.
- Exchanging the previous blue valance with green valance from the now-closed Charleston, South Carolina location.
- Avenger Ticket signage being reapplied to some walls throughout the store for display.
- A garage door motor installed for the Center Stage curtain track.
- Curtains that were salvaged from Lynchburg, VA (312 Border St) were installed on Center Stage for a brief period of time before being replaced by generic store-bought curtains moved over from Stage Right and Stage Left.
- A new, restored mask for the Building character prop taken from the Columbia, SC location (the Building character previously was missing its mask due to age and deterioration).
Animatronics
| Animatronic | Serial | Whereabouts |
|---|---|---|
| Chuck E. Cheese / Rolfe DeWolfe | 1-82 1-23 | In Store. |
| Pasqually / Dook Larue | 1-82 2-23 | In Store. |
| Mr. Munch / Fatz Geronimo | 1-82 3-23 | In Store. |
| Jasper T. Jowls / Beach Bear | 1-82 4-23 | In Store. |
| Helen Henny / Mitzi Mozzarella | 1-82 5-23 | In Store. |
| Billy Bob | 1-82 6-23 | Unknown |
| Pizzacam / Looney Bird | 1-82 7-23 | Unknown |
| Munch Jr. / Choo Choo | 1-82 8-23 | Unknown. Custom replica produced in March 2022. |
| Building / Sun | 1-82 10-23 | In Store. Currently using mask from Columbia, SC location. |
| Moon | 1-82 11-23 | In Store. |
| Antioch | N/A | in store(not in use) |
| Wink | N/A | In Store. |
Gallery
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ShowBiz Pizza Place Grand Opening (1982)
-
Munch's Make Believe Band Coupon (1991)
-
Chuck E. Cheese's Reopening (1993)
Videos
| Link | Description | Filming Date | Published Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Link | A video showcasing the store, games, & 3-Stage in Between January-March 1995 | January-March 1995 | March 31, 2020 |
| Link | A slideshow showcasing some of the 3-Stage in 2005 | 2005 | June 1, 2022 |
| Link | Some compiliation footage and photos of Charlotte (Pineville)'s 3-Stage. | May 20, 2010 | September 19, 2020 |
| Link | A vlog where they play Chuck E. Cheese Sakte Universe and then they visit Charlotte (Pineville). | July/August 2014 | August 6, 2014 |
| Link | A family vlog where they visit Charlotte (Pineville) and have a birthday party there. | 2014 | September 26, 2018 |
| Link | A vlog where they visit Charlotte (Pineville). | August? 2016 | September 2, 2016 |
| Link | A family vlog where they visit Charlotte (Pineville). | March 2019 | March 28, 2019 |
| Link | The store featured on the Sets, Streets, & Eats YouTube channel. | October 26, 2022 | November 1st, 2022 |
| Link | Store Tour of the store in December 2022 | December 2022 | December 28, 2022 |
| Link | Store Tour of the Store in March 2023 | March 8, 2023 | March 25, 2023 |
| Link | "Join the Party" from Chuck E. Cheese Summer of Fun 2022 Show being performed on Charlotte (Pineville)'s 3-Stage. | March 8, 2023 | March 25, 2023 |
| Link | "Trio" from Show 3 2017 being performed on Charlotte (Pineville)'s 3-Stage. | March 8, 2023 | March 25, 2023 |
| Link | "Game On" from Show 1 2020 being performed on Charlotte (Pineville)'s 3-Stage. | March 8, 2023 | March 25, 2023 |
| Link | "Ves Al Ratoncito" from Show 2 2019 being performed on Charlotte (Pineville)'s 3-Stage. | March 8, 2023 | March 25, 2023 |
| Link | "I Dare You Not To Laugh" from Show 3 2021 being performed on Charlotte (Pineville)'s 3-Stage. | March 8, 2023 | March 25, 2023 |
| Link | "Stay Positive" from Show 2 2021 being performed on Charlotte (Pineville)'s 3-Stage. | March 8, 2023 | March 25, 2023 |
| Link | "Disco Dancing Dinosaur Party" from Show 1 2020 being performed on Charlotte (Pineville)'s 3-Stage. | March 8, 2023 | March 25, 2023 |
| Link | "My Family" from Show 3 2019 being performed on Charlotte (Pineville)'s 3-Stage. | March 8, 2023 | March 25, 2023 |