Durham, NC (3724 Mayfair St)
3724 Mayfair St, Store #380 is a Chuck E. Cheese location in Durham, North Carolina.
This location opened on March 7, 1994, with a 1-Stage.
History
Durham opened on March 7th, 1994 as one of two North Carolina locations with a Cyberamic Munch's Make Believe Band Stage (the other is Charlotte, NC (5612 Albemarle Rd) which opened in November 1991 with a Road Stage on an unknown day). They opened with the now unique version of the 1-Stage called the Mini-Unit, which is smaller than the average 1-Stage, and has a unique curtain valence, only installed in a few other locations between 1993 and 1994. It is the last 1-Stage and one of two Cyberamic Stages in the Carolinas.
The store opened up in Beacon Ridge Plaza, which was a shopping center, with most of the businesses lying across the street. While little is known about the plaza, and no remnants of it by name exist, we know the Chuck E. Cheese was part of it due to the opening advertisement in a local Durham newspaper, The Herald-Sun, from December 1993, (seen below) and public property records. A little-known fact about this store is according to the same advertisement, the location was originally planned to open five days earlier, on March 2, 1994. Throughout the later years of its life, the plaza would become dumpy and less active, leading to the businesses becoming vacant and abandoned. Starting in the late 2000s/early 2010s, half of the plaza was torn down, with the rest following soon after in 2016. The lots across the street would remain vacant and used as parking occasionally until around 2019, when a new complex, University Hill, with retail and apartments, was built. It is still active and standing to this day.
Despite opening in 1994, this location opened with a 1992 version of the interior styling from the 1990s Major Remodel, and 1988 exterior signage. Around the mid to late 90s, they replaced the exterior signage with Coach Chuck, and large awnings which would cover the checkers up until their removal in 2013. At sometime around 2006-2007, they remodeled to the 2005 Update of the 2003 "Cool Chuck" Reconfiguration / Major Remodel Initiative; which involved the removal of the showroom walls, 90s Decor (Except the Bathroom Sign and 90s bathrooms, and one 1999 Chuck poster.), & painting the walls purple; surprisingly, they kept the dim lighting and 90s exterior. In late 2013, Durham received the 2013 Rockstar signage and removed the awnings to reveal the checkers underneath them. You can still see slight fade from where the old "Chuck E. Cheese's" text was when it was centered on the sides of the building before 2013.
Stages
Like all 1-Stages at the time, Chuck wore his tuxedo & derby outfit. Durham never received the Cool Chuck outfit, although by 2009, Chuck's outfit was replaced with the Avenger outfit. Sometime in late 2010 or early 2011, the CRT behind Munch was removed, and in 2013, the Munch's Make Believe Band sign was placed there, and with an obvious change of adding purple over the original sign. Around this time, they removed the Dinner Lights & the extra CRTs that were not in the showroom, they replaced Chuck & Pasqually's masks with new ones, and the two CRTs in the showroom were replaced with flat screen TVs. Around 2012 or 2013, the curtains were removed. In September 2013, Chuck's avenger cap was removed, and some ticket and token wall decorations were removed. Around 2016, Jasper's 1993 shirt was replaced with a more modern one along with his mask. Helen's mask was replaced around this time. For a brief period of time in 2021, Jasper's nose fell off, which was later put back on again. Since 2020-21, some of the movements of the bots have broken, Munch getting lower air pressure, and Chuck & Helen's eyelids getting removed due to apparently scratching the eyes. On an unknown date around early April 2023, somebody switched one of Jasper and Pasqually's shoes between each other, so they have mismatched shoes on both characters. (One red shoe on one foot and black on the other.) Munch's working condition is even less than before, as of April 2023, as his eyelids do not open and flows are off. As of April 30, 2023, Munch is pretty much fully functional again, but the flows are still slightly off. At some point between late April and early May 2023, Chuck's eyes are broken and do not move together, plus one of his eyes is off center from the other, and occasionally has gone behind the head. Later that month, Chuck's eyes were fixed. Sometime in late May or early June, new, brighter lights were installed in the showroom area.
As of Auguset 2023, Durham still has the 1-Stage, 2005 Update (With the 1993 Bathroom Sign & 1993 bathrooms), 1992 Remodel checkers on the exterior, and 2013 Rockstar signage. While the 2.0 remodel was originally expected to have happened in April 2023, the store is now scheduled for 2.0 in mid 2024.
| Stage | Installed | Removed |
|---|---|---|
| 1-Stage | March 1994 | Still in use |
Animatronics
| Animatronic | Manufacturing Date | Status | Condition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chuck E. Cheese (Cyberamic) | 1993 | In store. | Functional, no eyelids |
| Helen Henny (Cyberamic) | 1993 | In store. | Functional, no eyelids |
| Mr. Munch (Cyberamic) | 1993 | In store. | Functional, flows slightly off |
| Jasper T. Jowls (Cyberamic) | 1993 | In store. | Functional, hands don't move and head kind of slams |
| Pasqually (Cyberamic) | 1993 | In store. | Functional |
| Wink (Cyberamic) | 1993 | In store. | Functional |
Gallery
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Exterior in 2006
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Exterior in 2010
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Exterior in December 2022 (PC: saan1ty)
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The 1-Stage, sometime in the 90s
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Chuck E. at Durham with his Tuxedo in the early 2000s
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Helen, Munch, and Jasper in the early 2000s
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Munch, Jasper, and Pasqually in the early 2000s
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Chuck E. in a tuxedo walkaround with a Cool Chuck hat
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The Chuck E. Cheese and Helen Henny animatronics at Durham, NC sometime in 2006 or 2007
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The stage in March 2010
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Showroom and 1-Stage in March 2011
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The stage around the late 2000s or early 2010s
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The stage in the early 2010s with an Avenger walkaround
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The stage around 2011 with Chuck E. having a bleached snout
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Chuck E. in early 2013 with hat
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The whole band in 2013
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Ditto.
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Durham's 1-Stage with still with 1993 Jasper shirt in 2015
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Showroom view in 2020 (PC: RyansRetail on Flickr)
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The 1-Stage in 2020 (PC: RyansRetail on Flickr)
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A photo of the Ordering Counter & Prize Counter on March 23rd, 2021 (PC: RyansRetail on Flickr)
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A photo of the Beverage on March 23rd, 2021 (PC: RyansRetail on Flickr)
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A photo of the 1-Stage on March 23rd, 2021 (PC: RyansRetail on Flickr)
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The 1-Stage in December 2022 (PC: saan1ty)
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The 1-Stage in April 2023
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Chuck E. Cheese animatronic (PC: saan1ty)
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Helen Henny animatronic (PC: saan1ty)
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Mr. Munch animatronic (PC: saan1ty)
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Jasper T. Jowls animatronic (PC: saan1ty)
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Pasqually P. Pieplate animatronic (PC: saan1ty)
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Advertisement for the newly opening Chuck E. Cheese's in Durham, NC from December 1993, showing the originally planned opening date of five days earlier.
Videos
(W.I.P)
| Link | Description | Filming Date |
|---|---|---|
| Link | "Chuck E Cheese singing Happy Birthday" Shows the Stage in 2009 with Avenger outfit. | October 5, 2009 |
| Link | "Chuck E Cheese Durham Deck The Halls - 2013" The show performing Deck the Halls in 2013 | December 23, 2013 |
| Link | "Birthday Star Spectacular" being performed on Durham's 1-Stage | March 3, 2021 |
| Link | "Finding Mr. Munch’s air leak🍕" The tech of the store fixing an airleak in the Munch animatronic. | August 18, 2022 |
| Link | "Chuck E. Cheese’s Durham, NC Store Tour 2022" Store tour taken in November 2022. | November 26, 2022 |
| Link | "Chuck E. Cheese Durham, NC" - The Holiday Party. Shows the Stage in December 2022. | December 18, 2022 |
| Link | "Closeup of the Durham, NC 1-Stage" Stage close-up. | December 18, 2022 |
| Link | "Lend a Helping Hand - CEC Durham, NC" Shows the 1-Stage's condition in April 2023. | April 9, 2023 |