Lincoln, NE (221 N 66th St)

221 N 66th St, Store #568 was a ShowBiz Pizza Place restaurant located in Lincoln, Nebraska outside the Gateway Mall. It opened on December 29th, 1982 with a Rock-afire Explosion, and closed in June 2020 as a Chuck E. Cheese's with a 3-Stage.

History

Lincoln opened its doors on December 29th, 1982 as the last of three Showbiz Pizza stores in Nebraska outside the Gateway Mall with a Rock-afire Explosion show. Like many other ShowBiz locations, it had a typical SPP layout seen in many other stores across the United States and would eventually receive the 1988 remodel years after it would open. Although some documentation exists back in the ShowBiz days, it can be determined that Lincoln was one of several locations to receive an Uncle Klunk show package (and a Santa Claus retrofit package as well) sometime after opening. Like many other ShowBiz locations in the late 1980s, Lincoln received the Showbiz Pizza Campground upgrade.

In January 1992, they received Concept Unification and Lincoln would be one of the SPP locations to undergo it that year. In the Mid 1990's, Lincoln underwent Phase 1 which involved the removal of elements of the 1988 remodel such as The Blue & White Awnings, checkers around the store, & neon lights. By 2000, Munch Jr was removed. It's unknown when Pizzacam was removed. In 2002-2005, Chuck's Tux & Derby was replaced with the Cool Chuck outfit. In 2006-2007, Lincoln remodeled to the 2005 Remodel which involved the removal of the Showroom Walls, Balcony Seating, & 90s Store Art. By 2011, Chuck's outfit was replaced with the Avenger Outfit. Sometime in June 2020, Lincoln permanently closed their doors. All that remains from the 3-Stage today is the blue valance, the right stage rain curtain backdrop, the pole for the band sign (which shows the outline of the Rock-afire sign), the backdrop flood lights, some skyscaper backdrops, flower boxes, and some animatronic mech from an unknown character, most likely Jasper's/Beach Bear's mech.

As of July 2023, the building is still vacant but with the windows covered up in wood boards to prevent vandalism to the interior.

Stages

Stage	Installed	Removed
Rock-Afire Explosion	December 1982	January 1992
3-Stage	January 1992	June 2020

Animatronics

Animatronic	Serial	Whereabouts
Chuck E. Cheese / Rolfe DeWolfe	4-82 1-24	Owned by Private Collector.
Pasqually / Dook Larue	4-82 2-24	Destroyed.
Mr. Munch / Fatz Geronimo	4-82 3-24	Destroyed.
Jasper T. Jowls / Beach Bear	4-82 4-24	Destroyed.
Helen Henny / Mitzi Mozzarella	4-82 5-24	Destroyed.
Billy Bob	4-82 6-24	Unknown.
Pizzacam / Looney Bird	4-82 7-24	Destroyed.
Munch Jr. / Choo Choo	4-82 8-24	Unknown.
Building / Sun	4-82 10-24	Unknown.
Moon	4-82 11-24	Owned by Private Collector.
Antioch	N/A	Destroyed.
Wink	N/A	Destroyed.

Gallery

A shot of the store's exterior in 1992.
The store's exterior before the 2005 Remodel.
A close up of the exterior before the 2005 Remodel.
Street view of exterior After Closure (October 2022) (PC: Google Maps)

Videos


Link	Description	Filming Date
https://youtu.be/IL3rEoD9R64	Birthday; showcases footage of the store's arcade and show.	February 8th, 1992
https://youtu.be/PJGxEhF1TSI	Store Tour	July 29th, 2019
https://youtu.be/tk-bWNJxXv0	A view of the stage filmed at the start of 2020.	January 25th, 2020