Dallas, TX (13125 Montfort Dr)

Dallas, TX (13125 Montfort Dr) Store #580 was a Showbiz Pizza Place that opened on January 26, 1983, with a Rock-afire Explosion, which closed and relocated in December 2001.

This store is notable for being the very first store to undergo Concept Unification and later the only Awesome Adventure Machine stage. Throughout the 90s the location was featured in many training tapes and showtapes for Chuck E. Cheese restaurants.

Stages

Shortly after opening, the Rock-afire Explosion was minorly updated to have a customized backdrop on center stage, then, later on, would also receive "Showbiz Pizza Campgrounds" before undergoing Concept Unification in 1989.

The 3-Stage would fall into disrepair in the mid-1990s and began being replaced with the Awesome Adventure Machine concept on August 11, 1996. By August 21, which is the initial in-store premiere. The Awesome Adventure Machine is believed to be the next big step for Showbiz Pizza Time into the new millennium.^[1] However, once completed, the show would ultimately end up in operation for only one year due to budget and technical concerns. The concept would be scrapped completely in favor of one of the first Studio C shows.

Although little is known of the location's Studio C, it has been discovered in January 2023 that the Studio C Chuck animatronic was relocated to Moreno Valley, CA location post closure.

History

The Montfort Showbiz Pizza Place opened on January 26th, 1983 as the 23rd corporate-owned store in the United States. The space the store would occupy initially was a Target Foods that was later converted to a Kroger grocery store, which is located next to Target T-13 (which opened in 1969) After Kroger's closure, the pizza establishment remained mostly unchanged, leaving the former Chuck E. Cheese's exterior as one of the only pieces of evidence of Kroger's existence.^[2]

On November 28, 1983, the location became the first of four SPPs to premiere the Showscan Theater for Showbiz Pizza and Brock Hotel Corp executives.^[3] The concept lasted until the merging of Pizza Time Theatre and ShowBiz Pizza Place, with a lack of funding being a possibility.

on October 3, 1988, the location would be unified with CEC under the 1986 remodel initiative and would remodel once again around 1993. The former Sports Room present inside the Showbiz would be converted into a regular dining space following the first major remodel. The location would also receive Phase I in 1995 and Phase II upgrades in 1997. It is unknown if they've ever received Phase III.

In December 2001 the location relocated to 13364 Montfort Dr, a free-standing location closer to a nearby mall, and left the building to be partially redeveloped by Target.

The location was empty until 2010-2011 when Target bought the space for office and storage usage. Target would also replace the entrance's red doors with generic white doors and repaint parts of the exterior later on.

The Showroom and kiddie area was left mostly intact although both areas are being used as storage now. The showroom still has what remains of Studio C, along with the dinner light fixtures still in the ceiling. The rest of the former Chuck E. Cheese's is currently used for Target office space.

Currently, there are 2 exterior photos of it as a Showbiz Pizza Place, with Chuck E. Cheese exterior photos being lost media.

Arcade Machines

Identified 1998 Machines

Skeeball
Chuck E.'s Hoops
The Simpsons
SEGA Super GT
Chuck E. Cheese's Circus
Chuck E. Cheese's Photo Ride
Helen Henny Car

Videos


Link	Description	Date
https://youtu.be/-18SLJ6EXq0	Showscan Feature on KKAS	February 4, 1984
https://youtu.be/n1a-okR19Fw	Footage of the store as a Showbiz Pizza	February 1988
https://youtu.be/WgHL-OZ8ybY	Concept Unification Premiere Demo	1989
https://youtu.be/AG_S8DtkZug	Taking Care Of Business Demo	1991
https://youtu.be/92D3qT6j8pI	Land Of 1,000 Dances Demo	1991
https://youtu.be/MLKH7vdUlns	Walking On Sunshine Demo	1991
https://youtu.be/Et7dASk23-Y	Games 91 and CU Live 90	Summer 1991
https://youtu.be/92D3qT6j8pI	Havin' A Party/Chuck E.'s Place Demo	1992
https://youtu.be/hrbvNxw_xbI	Brief location footage featuring the show	May 1995
https://youtu.be/0QseidcG-Qo	Last known video of the 3-Stage in operation	February 1996
https://youtu.be/0zqMGkGV9xc	AAM installation	August 11, 1996
https://youtu.be/Or8yZUYdvxA	Feature in "Tokens To Ride"	1998

Gallery

The exterior as a Showbiz Pizza.
November 27, 2007
February 2021
Rock-afire Explosion Center Stage
Beach Bear and Mitzi
A photo of the CU development team and a newspaper clipping on the show
The Awesome Adventure Machine shortly after installation
Studio C Chuck E. Animatronic
Lighting
AAM generators in June 2019.
2021
2021
2021
2021
2021
2021
2022
2022

Animatronics


Animatronic	Serial	Whereabouts
Chuck E. Cheese / Rolfe DeWolfe	7-82 1-5	Used for parts / Destroyed
Pasqually / Dook Larue	7-82 2-5	Used for parts / Destroyed
Mr. Munch / Fatz Geronimo	7-82 3-5	Used for parts / Destroyed
Jasper T. Jowls / Beach Bear	7-82 4-5	Used for parts / Destroyed
Helen Henny / Mitzi Mozzarella	7-82 5-5	Used for parts / Destroyed
Billy Bob	7-82 6-5	Unknown
Pizzacam / Looney Bird	7-82 7-5	Used for parts / Destroyed
Munch Jr. / Choo Choo	7-82 8-5	Used for parts / Destroyed
Building / Sun	7-82 10-5	Used for parts / Destroyed
Moon	7-82 11-5	Destroyed
Antioch	N/A	Destroyed
Wink	N/A	Destroyed
AAM Chuck E. Cheese	N/A	Destroyed
Brain-I-Vac (Animatronic)	N/A	Unknown
O.R.B.I.S (Animatronic)	N/A	Unknown
Dusty (Animatronic)	N/A	Unknown
Chuck E. Cheese 32m (Animatronic)	002	Sent to Moreno Valley, CA (23160 Sunnymead Blvd), then destroyed.
Bird (Animatronic)	N/A	Unknown
Pizza Time Clock (Animatronic)	N/A	Destroyed
Pizza Phone (Animatronic)	N/A	Destroyed

References

[1] File:AAM Clipping

[2] ttps://i.pinimg.com/474x/46/ff/c5/46ffc50e0012be167c2be29c56d70f9e--retail-signs-vintage-signs.jpg

[3] ttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Showscan

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