Joliet, IL (1965 W Jefferson St)

Joliet in the early 2000’s.

1965 W Jefferson St, Store #94 was a Showbiz Pizza Place/Chuck E. Cheese's that opened on July 13th, 1983 with a Rock-afire Explosion, which got concept unification in 1991/1992 and closed in 2006 and relocated to the current location on January 29th 2007 as Chuck E. Cheese's with a Studio c Beta and is still open with 2.0.

Stages

Joliet opened with a Rock-afire Explosion and later on received the Showbiz Pizza Campground Upgrade in 1988-1990. Joliet then got Concept Unification in 1991/1992, removing the Rock-afire Explosion for a 3-Stage. In the early 2000s, the latex masks were replaced with plastic masks. By 2005, the curtains were disabled. Joliet's 3-Stage would stay like this until the January 2007 closure.

Stage	Installed	Removed	Notes
The Rock-afire Explosion	July 1983	1991/1992	One of the last SPPs in Illinois to open.
3-Stage	1991/1992	January 2007	Show sent to Mishawaka, Indiana after closure.

History

Before the location opened, the spot was once a Kmart Foods and then a A&P Groceries Store before it became a Showbiz Pizza Place.

Joliet opened on July 13, 1983 as a Showbiz Pizza Place with the Rock-afire Explosion. Sadly, information on Joliet as a SPP is very scarce. In between 1988 and 1990, they received the 1988 remodel removing older decor for new decor, added blue and white awnings on the counters, added checkers inside and outside of the store, and received the Showbiz Pizza Campground Upgrade. In 1991/1992, Joliet fell victim to Concept Unification, changing the Rock-afire Explosion into one of the 150+ 3-Stages. In the mid-late '90s, they received the 1993 remodel, removing all traces of the 1988 remodel, changed the exterior, and changed the decor. Joliet's owners relocated 4.6 miles away to Chicagoland Circle in January 2007. The new location opened on January 29, 2007, but as for the old location, it remained vacant for approximately 15 years. The likely reason why it closed had to do with a rodent infestation, people complaining about how the ballpit smelled awful, and the rats themselves came from the Kmart. All of this was why they decided to move. The Showroom walls and the SkyTubes lettering was left inside too. In 2011/2012, the building and the Big Kmart next to it was repainted to light colors. The Big Kmart next door would also close in December 2016 leaving the entire Kmart Plaza shuttered. Not long after, the front entrance were boarded up. 2021, Planet Fitness took up the former space. As of November 2023, Planet Fitness is still there.

Gallery

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  The exteior before becoming SPP in 1965. (PC: Vintage Aerial)
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  Joliet as a ShowBiz Pizza Place in the 1980’s.
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  Joliet’s Mitzi and Beach Bear.
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  Joliet’s Rock-afire Explosion.
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  Joliet’s Rolfe and Earl.
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  Joliet’s street sign in March 2005.
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  Joliet’s exterior in the early 2000's when open
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  Joliet’s Chuck E. in the early 2000’s.
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  Center stage in the early 2000’s, with Jasper’s latex mask.
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  Center stage in the early 2000’s, but after the replacement of Jasper’s latex mask.
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  Joliet’s exterior in the late 2000’s after closure.
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  Joliet in the 2010’s, with the exterior painted over.

Animatronics

As previously mentioned, the animatronics from Joliet were sent to Mishawaka, IN. Mishawaka then replaced their original animatronics with Joliet’s, meaning their original animatronics must have been in poor shape and Joliet’s were a lot better. Joliet’s animatronics were in service on Mishawaka’s stage until in 2018, a fire damaged the stage, forcing Mishawaka to get a dance floor. Joliet’s animatronics then were split between multiple stores such as Darien, IL and Chicago Kedzie IL to be used as parts.

Animatronic	Serial	Whereabouts
Chuck E. Cheese / Rolfe DeWolfe	10-82 1-23	Owned by Doc Ferdifer.
Pasqually the Chef / Dook Larue	10-82 2-23	Unknown where the bot went after the fire.
Mr. Munch / Fatz Geronimo	10-82 3-23	Unknown where the bot went after the fire.
Jasper T. Jowls / Beach Bear	10-82 4-23	Later used at Mishawaka, IN (822 W McKinley Ave) after the Joliet fire, now Owned by Private Collector after the Mishawaka fire.
Helen Henny / Mitzi Mozzarella	10-82 5-23	Owned by a private collector.
Billy Bob	10-82 6-23	Unknown
PizzaCam/Looney Bird	10-82 7-23	Unknown
Munch Jr./Choo Choo	10-82 8-23	Unknown
Building/Sun	10-82 10-23	Unknown, possibly not sent to Mishawaka
Moon	10-82 11-23	Unknown, possibly not sent to Mishawaka
Antioch	N/A	Unknown
Wink	N/A	Unknown, not sent to Mishawaka