Chuck E. Cheese's: Difference between revisions

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Chuck E. Cheese (Formerly known as Chuck E. Cheese's, Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza, Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre) is the continuation of the original Pizza Time Theatre company after its first bankruptcy and subsequent merger with ShowBiz Pizza Place in 1984, which is still around to present day.

CEC operates family entertainment centers focused on live entertainment, birthday parties, arcade games, animatronics, and a menu centered around pizza offerings. The company has around 600 Chuck E. Cheese stores across North America and other countries, alongside over 120 Peter Piper Pizza locations in the United States.^[1]

General History

Detailed History & Events

2023

October

On October 17th CEC would announce a collaboration with Raging Waters Sacramento Water Park to have a CEC branded section of the waterpark be made to debut in the parks re-opening as California Dreamin'. The site planned to include branded water rides, slides, and splash zones. An on-site arcade, CEC branded retail shop, and Pasqually's Pizza physical location would also be in the area. All current walkarounds, including Pasqually and Bella, would be seen at the park. Additional cross-promotions with Sacramento and Northern California CEC stores would also be planned.^[2]

November

The Chuck E. Cheese and Friends Party Cookbook would receive a cover and be available for pre-order on November 3rd.
In early November the Hot Topic Chuck E. Cheese Token Pin and BoxLunch CEC Portrait Ringer T-Shirt would be spotted selling in-stores and online.
From November 5-7th, CEC would attend the Global Restaurant Leader's Conference in Miami, FL.^[3]
On November 7th Mark Kupferman would be appointed Chief Insights & Marketing Officer. Like other corporate executives at the company, he would be a former Six Flags Entertainment executive.^[4]
On November 27th Chuck E. Cheese Winter Show 2023 would go live, featuring a revamped birthday show that included new support for American Sign Language.

2024

January 2024

On January 11th, CEC would announce plans to open a location in Australia with company Royale Hospitality.
On the 16th they announced a gameshow collaboration with the company Magical Elves based around adults playing on supersized arcade machines.
North Las Vegas, NV (755 W. Craig Rd Suite 144) would open on January 19th.

February 2024

Valley Stream, NY (750 Sunrise Highway Suite 105) would open on February 5th.
Sheik Zayed City (Royal Mall), Egypt would open on February 10th.

March 2024

Arlington, TX (2216 S Fielder Rd) would close on March 17th after 44 years of service.
Fargo, ND (1202 Nodak Dr) would close on March 18th after 40 years of service.
Metairie, LA (7008 Veterans Blvd) would open on March 20th.
On March 25th, Mark Kupferman would post a survey on Reddit for customers and fans of CEC to vote on the future of the company. Thousands of submissions from fans would make it in by just the first few days.
Sioux Falls, SD (2600 Louise Ave) would close on March 30th after 22 years of service.
Monroeville, PA (3800 William Penn Hwy) would close on March 30th after 31 years of service.
Joplin, MO (101 N Range Line Rd) would close on March 30th after 20 years of service.

April 2024

Bridgewater, NJ (600 Promenade Blvd) would close on April 7th after 24 years of service.
Hagerstown, MD (17618 Valley Mall Blvd) would close on April 7th after 18 years of service.
Davenport, IA (903 E Kimberly Rd) would close on April 7th after 43 years of service.
On April 12th, CEC employees would receive an exclusive discount for CEC shirts sold on 80sTees.
Some time in early April, Florida locations would be instructed to remove all napkin holders from tables, presumably to cut costs. Napkins would still be available in other parts of the store. This would then be rolled out to more locations during the month.
In early April low volume stores would be told to reduce their hours of operation and to cut their salad bar indefinitely.^[5]^[6]
On April 15th, CEC would announce a partnership with the American Society for Deaf Children to provide a more inclusive experience for deaf guests. This would include more American Sign Language support media, staff training, fundraisers, and various helpful programs for deaf kids.^[7]
On April 18th CEC would post a survey on its website for a new redesign of the Ticket Blaster.
The annual Summer of Fun event would begin on April 29th. From then through September 2nd, CEC employees would be allowed to wear any Summer of Fun T-shirts or appropriate generic Hawaiian shirts at work. The new Strawberry Lemonade drink would be added permanently to the lineup. The first new food item of 2024 would be included, the limited-time Summer of Fun item of Strawberry Lemonade Cotton Candy.

May 2024

On May 5th Tallahassee, FL (2810 Sharer Rd), one of the last stores holding a Concept Unification Stage, would receive the CEC 2018 2.0 Remodel replacing the animatronics. Only 3 more stages would remain after this.
On May 11th CEC would announce the CEC 2018 2.0 Remodel Program would be wrapping up by the end of 2024. Only one other store with animatronics would be kept other than Northridge, CA (8425 Reseda Blvd), that being Nanuet, NY (250 West Route 59)- a Studio C Beta store with a Chuck E. Cheese 16m (Animatronic).^[8] Employees being interviewed for the announcement were told they were prohibited from mentioning anything positive about the animatronics to prevent bad press about their removal.^[9] In the same article CEC would also mention the stamps used to mark visitors for safety would instead soon be replaced with pictures taken of the family as they entered the establishment.
On May 12th, Mark Kupferman would answer a few questions about the prior announcement. He would confirm Nanuet, NY (250 West Route 59) would be a "hybrid store" like Northridge, CA (8425 Reseda Blvd), not any of the themed stores from the previous month's survey. On a question on if the Nanuet Studio C Beta bot would be worked on to finally be compatible with Navori System shows, Mark would sidestep the answer to instead say that CEC had "something cool planned" for the store. He would finally state that Nanuet being chosen does not have any affect on what future stores may also be chosen. This would imply that this decision was made prior to the survey releasing.^[10] However, Kupferman would later reach out to a moderator from a Chuck E. Cheese forum on Reddit and tell them that Nanuet was a post-survey decision, and that the only store chosen pre-survey was Northridge, CA. He would then go on to express that Corporate is listening to the fans, however "other considerations" are involved. ^[11]
On May 13th Altoona, PA (3415 Pleasant Valley Blvd), one of the last stores holding a Concept Unification Stage, would receive the CEC 2018 2.0 Remodel replacing the animatronics. Only 2 more stages would remain after this.

References

[1] ttps://www.chuckecheese.com/investor-relations/

[2] ttps://www.pizzamarketplace.com/news/chuck-e-cheese-inks-deal-with-california-water-park/

[3] ttps://www.linkedin.com/posts/chuck-e-cheese-franchising_grlc2023-chuckecheese-restaurantindustry-activity-7118218817616453634-0vhk?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

[4] ttps://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cec-entertainment-appoints-mark-kupferman-as-new-chief-insights--marketing-officer-for-chuck-e-cheese-brand-301977544.html

[5] File:Lowvolumesignageimage.png

[6] File:Riptothesaladbarsmh.png

[7] ttps://www.chuckecheese.com/blogs/inclusive-fun-chuck-e-cheese-x-asdc/

[8] ttps://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/11/business/chuck-e-cheese-animatronic-band.html

[9] File:Interviewlogmay11.png

[10] ttps://youtu.be/hkUMv4EqH6E?si=rmH5jkbpdO-IJjSE

[11] ttps://docs.google.com/presentation/d/17Jzs0lmEr0ZciI47xb3Zk_Rmyu9YXjoXDR4PiMocdjQ/edit#slide=id.p

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@@ Line 60: / Line 60: @@
 * On May 5th [[Tallahassee, FL (2810 Sharer Rd)]], one of the last stores holding a [[Concept Unification Stage]], would receive the [[CEC 2018 2.0 Remodel Program|CEC 2018 2.0 Remodel]] replacing the animatronics. Only 3 more stages would remain after this.
 * On May 11th CEC would announce the [[CEC 2018 2.0 Remodel Program]] would be wrapping up by the end of 2024. Only one other store with animatronics would be kept other than [[Northridge, CA (8425 Reseda Blvd)]], that being [[Nanuet, NY (250 West Route 59)]]- a [[Studio C Beta]] store with a [[Chuck E. Cheese 16m (Animatronic)]].<ref>https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/11/business/chuck-e-cheese-animatronic-band.html</ref> Employees being interviewed for the announcement were told they were prohibited from mentioning anything positive about the animatronics to prevent bad press about their removal.<ref>[[:File:Interviewlogmay11.png]]</ref> In the same article CEC would also mention the stamps used to mark visitors for safety would instead soon be replaced with pictures taken of the family as they entered the establishment.
-* On May 12th, Mark Kupferman would answer a few questions about the prior announcement. He would confirm [[Nanuet, NY (250 West Route 59)]] would be a "hybrid store" like [[Northridge, CA (8425 Reseda Blvd)]], not any of the themed stores from the previous month's survey. On a question on if the Nanuet [[Studio C Beta]] bot would be worked on to finally be compatible with [[Navori System]] shows, Mark would sidestep the answer to instead say that CEC had "something cool planned" for the store. He would finally state that Nanuet being chosen does not have any affect on what future stores may also be chosen. This implies this decision was made prior to the survey releasing.<ref>https://youtu.be/hkUMv4EqH6E?si=rmH5jkbpdO-IJjSE</ref>
+* On May 12th, Mark Kupferman would answer a few questions about the prior announcement. He would confirm [[Nanuet, NY (250 West Route 59)]] would be a "hybrid store" like [[Northridge, CA (8425 Reseda Blvd)]], not any of the themed stores from the previous month's survey. On a question on if the Nanuet [[Studio C Beta]] bot would be worked on to finally be compatible with [[Navori System]] shows, Mark would sidestep the answer to instead say that CEC had "something cool planned" for the store. He would finally state that Nanuet being chosen does not have any affect on what future stores may also be chosen. This would imply that this decision was made prior to the survey releasing.<ref>https://youtu.be/hkUMv4EqH6E?si=rmH5jkbpdO-IJjSE</ref> However, Kupferman would later reach out to a moderator from a Chuck E. Cheese forum on Reddit and tell them that Nanuet was a post-survey decision, and that the only store chosen pre-survey was Northridge, CA. He would then go on to express that Corporate is listening to the fans, however "other considerations" are involved. <ref>https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/17Jzs0lmEr0ZciI47xb3Zk_Rmyu9YXjoXDR4PiMocdjQ/edit#slide=id.p</ref>
 * On May 13th [[Altoona, PA (3415 Pleasant Valley Blvd)]], one of the last stores holding a [[Concept Unification Stage]], would receive the [[CEC 2018 2.0 Remodel Program|CEC 2018 2.0 Remodel]] replacing the animatronics. Only 2 more stages would remain after this.