Gigglebee's
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Gigglebee's was a chain started by Piccadilly Circus that broke off and became it's own entity. The pizza place offered arcade games, laser tag, bumper cars, and skeeball.[1] The main attraction of the restaurant however was the pizza serving animatronics on tracks that could hold conversations with guests. [2]
History
Founding
In 1985 the company Piccadilly Circus set up a pizza restaurant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota called Pizza Peddler.
Splitting Off
In 1989 after losing a contest of some sort Pizza Peddler split off from Piccadilly Circus and became it's own independent restaurant labelled Gigglebee's.
Closing
After heavy competition from other pizza places such as Chuck E Cheese the company was forced to sell their land roughly around July 18, 2008. [3] An auction was held on October 25th of that same year.[4] The plot was then converted into an office space and a bank.
Characters
While Wilbur was the main character of Gigglebee's, the restaurant had many characters over the years it would phase in and out.[5]
Wilbur
Wilbur the coyote was the face of Gigglebee's, and also the main server of pizza. There were 3 different animatronics of Wilbur with the second version replacing the first sometime before the restaurant's closure, and a third version appearing sometime before April 2019.[6] His character was voiced and controlled by Brian Schultz.[7]
Dilly
Dilly was a lion character, not much is currently known about them
Dolly
Dolly was a lion character likely around the same time that Dilly was around.
Dexter
Dexter was a bear character, not much is currently known about them.
Peppy
Peppy was a dinosaur character called a pizzasaurus.
Pixie
Pixie was a dinosaur character and was likely around the same time that Peppy was.
Rocky
Rocky was a raccoon character, not much is currently known about them.
Roxy
Roxy was a raccoon character likely similar and around the same time Rocky was. This is likely the character that shows up in the Gigglebee's commercial.
Jeremiah
Jeremiah was a bullfrog character, not much is currently known about them.
Installed Locations
South Dakota
Sioux Falls, SD (519 S Minnesota Ave)
Current Whereabouts
Wilbur
After the restaurant's closing in 2008, an auction was held and Wilbur was sold to George Hahn. Wilbur would disappear for a while before returning in 2017 on a radio show to announce his return.[8] Wilbur was still on his second version at this point. After this Wilbur would show up around town from time to time for events like conventions, charities, parties, and more. To this day Wilbur is seen as a local celebrity and can still be seen around town attending events.
Videos
| Link | Description | Filming Date |
|---|---|---|
| Link | Wilbur announces his return to Sioux Falls on the KSOO AM Radio | May 31, 2017 |
| Link | Advertisement for Gigglebee's, also shows Roxy Raccoon in it. | Early 90s |
| Link | Video of a guest holding a conversation with Wilbur | February 4, 2006 |
| Link | Wilbur sings Happy Birthday to a guest. | February 4, 2006 |
| Link | Wilbur tries to figure out whose food he has. | February 4, 2006 |
| Link | Wilbur makes an appearance at Argus Leader to talk about what he's been up to, likely shortly after conversion to his V3 animatronic.[9] | July 18, 2019 |
| Link | Video of some people visiting Gigglebee's. | 2005 |
| Link | Wilbur singing Happy Birthday with flashing eyes. | Unknown |
| Link | George Hahn announces his plans to bring back Gigglebee's in the future | March 6, 2012 |
| Link | Video with Gigglebee's auction going on in the background | October 25, 2008[4] |
Gallery
References
- ↑ https://hot1047.com/whatever-happened-to-gigglebees-in-sioux-falls/
- ↑ https://www.e-flux.com/architecture/workplace/430311/performing-automation/
- ↑ https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/2019/07/18/sioux-falls-solved-wheres-wilbur-the-coyote-gigglebees/1573523001/
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 https://coreyvilhauer.com/2008/10/28/goodbye-to-gigglebees/
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/wilburthecoyote/posts/pfbid02o73QaNdMxcd1kuqcY8vszSviuL22hKDeYqKUss6XRVxJKt3nSasjEy5hGywVdccPl
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/wilburthecoyote/posts/pfbid0K497qgt1JzQBbykxezQhhdLBAHaLnQXV719UE3XcxNMaxHX9FwRGyo6gpGtEqehBl
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/wilburthecoyote/posts/pfbid024NdQeGK5Nze1X4i55dxmUV8yUNwHNoYj7Gsyxfh2HakunSfvb8DfSazhbNLdSdvPl
- ↑ https://youtu.be/Ba9UbujAU5k
- ↑ https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/2019/07/18/sioux-falls-solved-wheres-wilbur-the-coyote-gigglebees/1573523001/