Huntsville, AL (1220 Jordan Lane)
1220 Jordan Lane, Store #705 was a Showbiz Pizza Place that opened on June 8, 1982 with a Rock-Afire Explosion, which is still open to this day.
This location received Concept Unification in the early 1990's, and has many custom things added to the stage, as well as having the last Pizzacam animatronic.
History
Huntsville opened on June 8th, 1982 as the 2nd ShowBiz Pizza store in Alabama (2nd after Mobile, AL (710 Downtowner Loop)) with a Rock-afire Explosion show. It was originally and currently, a corporate owned store. They would later end up receiving the 1988 Remodel removing the old Showbiz decor, and adding newer decor. In 1991, Huntsville received Concept Unification which removed the Rock-Afire for the 3-Stage and removed all Showbiz decor, added new decor, and a change to the exterior. Huntsville underwent another remodel in 1996/1997 which involved the removal of the Neon Signage, Blue and White Awnings, some checkers around the store, another exterior change. In 2001-2002, Huntsville would undergo a minor Phase 3 remodel which involved the removal of the Balcony Seating & the Showroom Walls. In 2006-2007, Huntsville received the 2005 Update to the 2003 "Cool Chuck" Reconfiguration / Major Remodel Initiative which removed all 1990's store art, dim lighting and adding purple walls. In around 2011-2012, Huntsville received the 2010 Update which involved redoing the front counter, repainting the exterior, adding another set of Emergency Exit Doors to the exterior, and expanding the store. As of March 2023, Huntsville is receiving the 2.0 remodel and has the Dance Floor and Video Wall. The stage, according to tech, is likely going to be moved to a retro store in North Carolina.
Stages
Originally when the store opened, they had a Rock-Afire Explosion, as all other Showbiz locations did, and it stayed till they got a Billy Bob interactive at a unknown date, later it would have recive concept unifacation during 1991, this was the process used to turn the RAE into Chuck E. Cheese and Munch's Make Believe Band. There has been many additions to the stage through the years, such as Munch's organ getting a custom front, Jasper keeping Beach Bear's guitar (painted red, white and blue), Helen having her cheerleader outfit and yellow hair (it was changed to her normal dress and hair in 2022), Pasqually having a custom bass drum head, as well as adding a tom-tom drum in 2022, Moon being painted white with an American flag on top (Huntsville is known for NASA), Pizzacam, who is also is called "Retro-Cam" which was the last one, had custom black plastic cosmetics, and a metal emblem on the back that states that the Huntsville location has the first black plastic Pizza/Retro-cam instead of the standard blue cosmetics , and Building was removed in 2021, but his spotlight remains functional, as well as the Wink being painted red white and blue. Sometime in 2022, the lights on the organ legs were changed to Red, Yellow, and Green from the original all red. They were the last 3-Stage in the state of Alabama. On March 29th, 2023 the 3-Stage was removed with it being replaced with a 2021 Model Dance Floor.
| Stage | Installed | Removed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rock-Afire Explosion | June 1982 | 1991 | 2nd Showbiz Pizza store to open in Alabama. |
| Billy Bob Interactive | Unknown | Unknown | Zero documentation but is confirmed to have once been at the location by the manager 'Kirt Moore' |
| 3-Stage | 1991 | One of 7 Showbiz locations in Alabama to undergo Concept Unification. Formerly the last 3-Stage in the state of Alabama. | |
| Dance Floor + Video Wall | March 29, 2023 | Still In Use | 2021 Model. Also, this is the first Corporate store to remodel to 2.0 not because of damage to the store (Birmingham got 2.0 because of flood damage and Sheffield was remodeled to 2.0 under the choice of the store's Franchisee). 2nd location to undergo a full 2.0 exterior remodel (Sheffield yet again kept the logo from it's previous remodel) |
Animatronics
| Animatronic | Serial Number | Whereabouts |
|---|---|---|
| Chuck E. Cheese / Rolfe DeWolfe | 10-81 1-1 | Taken to Showbiz Pizza Time Distribution Center (Topeka, KS) |
| Pasqually / Dook Larue | 10-81 2-1 | Taken to Showbiz Pizza Time Distribution Center (Topeka, KS) |
| Mr. Munch / Fatz Geronimo | 10-81 3-1 | Taken to Showbiz Pizza Time Distribution Center (Topeka, KS) |
| Jasper T. Jowls / Beach Bear | 10-81 4-1 | Taken to Showbiz Pizza Time Distribution Center (Topeka, KS) |
| Helen Henny / Mitzi Mozzarella | 10-81 5-1 | Taken to Showbiz Pizza Time Distribution Center (Topeka, KS) |
| Billy Bob | 10-81 6-1 | Unknown / Destroyed |
| Retro-Cam / Looney Bird | 10-81 7-1 | Mech destroyed. Cosmetics owned by Kirt |
| Munch Jr. / Choo Choo | 10-81 8-1 | Unknown / Destroyed |
| Building / Sun | 10-81 10-1 | Owned by Kirt Moore |
| Moon | 10-81 11-1 | Removed 3/29/23. Taken to Showbiz Pizza Time Distribution Center (Topeka, KS) |
| Antioch | N/A | Unknown / Destroyed |
| Wink | N/A | Removed 3/29/23. Taken to Showbiz Pizza Time Distribution Center (Topeka, KS) |
Gallery
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Closeup of Chuck E (2000's) (PC:showbizpizza.com)
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Another Street View of the store's Exterior in February 2008 (PC: Google Maps)
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The store's 3-Stage decorated during the Holidays back in 2017 (12/1/2017) (PC: Adam Woodle)
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The store's 3-Stage back in January 2020 before the COVID-19 Pandemic (1-23-2020) (PC; robin st john)
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Another Street View of the store's Exterior in January 2023 (PC: Google Maps)
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Videos
| Link | Description | Filming Date | Published Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Link | Huntsville's 3-Stage in the Early 1990's. | Early 1990's | March 6, 2017 |
| Link | Some footage showcasing the store, games, and 3-Stage back in November 2002. This was one of the first stores with a 3-Stage to remove their Showroom Walls alongside Savannah. | November 16, 2002 | March 20, 2023 |
| Link | Some footage showcasing the store, games, and 3-Stage back in 2005. | 2005 | March 8, 2023 |
| Link | A birthday being celebrated at Huntsville. | May 31, 2010 | May 31, 2010 |
| Link | April 2013 Segment 1 being performed on Huntsville's 3-Stage. | April 18, 2013 | April 27, 2013 |
| Link | Huntsville's 3-Stage being featured in a collaboration video. | 2015 | June 15, 2015 |
| Link | "Chuck E.'s Place 2017" from Show 3 2017 being performed on Huntsville's 3-Stage. | May/June 2017 | June 2, 2017 |
| Link | "All I Want for Christmas" from Show 7 2018 being performed on Huntsville's 3-Stage. | December 2018 | December 15, 2018 |
| Link | Store Tour from December 2018. | December 2018 | December 27, 2018 |
| Link | Tour of the Showroom back in August 2019. | August 2019 | August 25, 2019 |
| Link | "My Family" from Show 3 2019 being performed on Huntsville's 3-Stage. | August 2019 | August 27, 2019 |
| Link | "Out of this World from Show 5 2016 being performed on Huntsville's 3-Stage. | August 2019 | September 6, 2019 |
| Link | "Rockin' Robot" from the The Chuck E. Cheese Show being performed on Huntsville's 3-Stage. | August 2019 | September 9, 2019 |
| Link | "Holiday Fiesta" from Show 5 2019 being performed on Huntsville's 3-Stage. | December 2020 | December 17, 2020 |
| Link | Party Place from Chuck E's Rockin' Rhymes being performed on Huntsville's 3-Stage. | December 2020 | December 21, 2020 |
| Link | A tour of the Private Party Room. | December 2020 | February 6, 2021 |
| Link | "Holiday Fiesta" from Show 5 2019 being performed on Huntsville's 3-Stage. | December 2020 | February 8, 2021 |
| Link | "Dog Days of Summer" from Show 3 2021 being performed on Huntsville's 3-Stage. | June 2, 2021 | June 2, 2021 |
| Link | Huntsville featured on the Sets, Streets & Eats YouTube channel. | April 2022 | April 24, 2022 |
| Link | A video showcasing the Huntsville 3-Stage during the Holidays. | December 2022 | December 23, 2022 |
| Link | A clip of my Family (Show 3 2019) & Ves Al Ratoncito (Show 2 2019) being performed on Huntsville's 3-Stage. | February 25, 2023 | February 25, 2023 |
| Link | Store Tour of the Store in March 2023. | March 7, 2023 | March 16, 2023 |
| Link | "Join the Party" from Chuck E. Cheese Summer of Fun 2022 Show being performed on Huntsville's 3-Stage. A lot of editing has been put into this video. | March 7, 2023 | March 16, 2023 |
| Link | "Trio" from Show 3 2017 being performed on Huntsville's 3-Stage. | March 7, 2023 | March 16, 2023 |
| Link | "Game On" from Show 1 2020 being performed on Huntsville's 3-Stage. | March 7, 2023 | March 16, 2023 |
| Link | "Ves Al Ratoncito" from Show 2 2019 being performed on Huntsville's 3-Stage. Chuck E was being maintained in this video because of an air leak that occurred on that day. | March 7, 2023 | March 16, 2023 |
| Link | "I Dare You Not To Laugh" from Show 3 2021 being performed on Huntsville's 3-Stage. Chuck E was being maintained in this video because of an air leak that occurred on that day. | March 7, 2023 | March 16, 2023 |
| Link | "Stay Positive" from Show 2 2021 being performed on Huntsville's 3-Stage. | March 7, 2023 | March 16, 2023 |
| Link | "Disco Dancing Dinosaur Party" from Show 1 2020 being performed on Huntsville's 3-Stage. | March 7, 2023 | March 16, 2023 |
| Link | "My Family" from Show 3 2019 being performed on Huntsville's 3-Stage. | March 7, 2023 | March 16, 2023 |
| Link | "Disco Dancing Dinosaur Party" from Show 1 2020 being performed on Huntsville's 3-Stage. One of the final videos before the 2.0 Remodel. | March 24, 2023 | March 28, 2023 |
| Link | "Ves Al Ratoncito" from Show 2 2019 being performed on Huntsville's 3-Stage. One of the final videos before the 2.0 Remodel. | March 24, 2023 | March 30, 2023 |
| Link | "Stay Positive" from Show 2 2021 being performed on Huntsville's 3-Stage. One of the final videos before the 2.0 Remodel. | March 24, 2023 | April 2, 2023 |
| Link | "I Dare You Not To Laugh" from Show 3 2021 being performed on Huntsville's 3-Stage. One of the final videos before the 2.0 Remodel. | March 24, 2023 | April 2, 2023 |
| Link | "Trio" from Show 3 2017 being performed on Huntsville's 3-Stage. One of the final videos before the 2.0 Remodel. | March 24, 2023 | April 6, 2023 |
| Link | "My Family" from Show 3 2019 being performed on Huntsville's 3-Stage. One of the final videos before the 2.0 Remodel. | March 24, 2023 | April 6, 2023 |
| Link | A Tribute to the store in the wake of the 2.0 Remodel. | March 29, 2023 | March 29, 2023 |
Trivia
- Huntsville was the second ShowBiz Pizza Place in Alabama with Mobile opening less than 4 months earlier.
- Huntsville was one of seven ShowBiz locations in Alabama to be converted into Chuck E. Cheese. The other six are Mobile, Montgomery, Birmingham, Birmingham (Roebuck), Dothan, & Sheffield. The other three ShowBiz locations Tuscaloosa, Cullman, & Midfield closed in December 1985 (Tuscaloosa), & April 1986 (Cullman & Midfield) respectively as they were the only three not to make it to Concept Unification. Midfield's show however ended up undergoing Concept Unification when it was installed at the Tallahassee location for the store's opening.