Raleigh, NC (3501-131 Capital Blvd)
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Exterior (Front of the building) after the 2.0 Remodel (2022) (PC: Chuck E. Cheese)
3501-131 Capital Blvd, Store #635 is a Chuck E. Cheese located in Raleigh, North Carolina.
This location opened as a ShowBiz Pizza Place sometime in June 1988 (Day not yet found) as a franchised location and is still open today as a corporate owned store with a 2019 model Dance Floor and Video Wall. This store is also one of two Chuck E. Cheese stores located in the Research Triangle, the other being the Mayfair St location in Durham, which opened on March 7, 1994 with a 1-Stage.
History
ShowBiz Pizza Era (1988-1991)
The shopping plaza that this location is part of, the Emporium Plaza, was originally built in 1987 and was at first named Drug Emporium Plaza, until being changed to its current name in 1992. It has been known as the Emporium Plaza since then for over 31 years.
For the Raleigh location itself, it originally began life as a ShowBiz Pizza Place in June 1988 with the Rock-afire Explosion which was from the Milwaukee, WI (7401 Good Hope Rd) location. They opened with the 1988 update to the 1986 SPT Remodel Program. Raleigh was one of three Showbiz locations to open with the Rock-afire Explosion after the 1985-1986 Pizza Time Theatre and ShowBiz Pizza Place merger, along with Fort Smith, Arkansas (now 2.0), which also opened in 1988, and Richmond, Virginia (now 2.0), which opened on May 1, 1990 and was the last SPP location to open with the Rock-afire Explosion.
Tux Chuck Era and Cool Chuck Era (1991-2006)
In 1991, Raleigh underwent Concept Unification just like several other locations that year. They kept the 1988 remodel, and their Rock-afire was replaced with Munch's Make-Believe Band, consisting of all the typical fixings of the time, including Chuck E's tuxedo outfit and latex masks for all characters. Raleigh was one of the few known locations to keep Billy Bob's guitar after the transition, and it was used presumably until the 1992 Major Remodel, when it was replaced with a standard Beach Bear guitar. This remodel would also involve the removal of elements from the 1988 Remodel, such as the blue and white awnings, checkers on the walls around the store, and neon lights. A few years later, the store received the Phase 2 game package. By 2003, Chuck, Helen, and Munch had their latex masks replaced with plastic masks, with Jasper and Pasqually following in the coming years. It is likely Chuck never received the Cool Chuck outfit due to still having his tux in 2003 and kept it until it was replaced with the Avenger outfit.
On June 28, 2004, this store along with Greensboro, NC (702-A Pembroke Rd) were bought out by Corporate (Making Fayetteville, NC (511 North McPherson Church Rd) & Wilmington, NC (4389 Oleander Dr) the last franchised locations in the state of North Carolina).
Avenger Era (2006-2013)
Around 2006-2007, the store received the 2005 update to the 2003 "Cool Chuck" Reconfiguration / Major Remodel Initiative. Around this time, Chuck received the full Avenger outfit. By the end of the decade, Jasper & Pasqually also got plastic masks. Munch Jr. & Pizzacam were removed by the end of the decade as well (yet again, making Wilmington the last full 3-Stage in North Carolina).
Rockstar Era-Present Day (2013-present)
Prior to removal, Raleigh had a typical 3-Stage, with no prop characters. The first thing to happen to Raleigh's 3-Stage in the Rockstar era was in the year 2013, when Chuck's Avenger hat was removed during the mandatory hat removal of 2013, like with most other CEC locations that had animatronics at the time. Chuck received the Rockstar shirt around 2017, while retaining the Avenger shorts. This is how Chuck would look until the stage's removal. The Munch's Make Believe Band sign behind Munch was removed sometime in 2017 for unknown reasons. The stage was in relatively good condition before its removal, with Helen and Jasper being in almost perfect shape, although dipping a bit right before removal.
In August 2022, the store started its 2.0 remodel which involved the removal of the 3-Stage for a Dance Floor & Video Wall. On the morning of Monday, August 30, 2022, the stage would be removed after 34 years in operation, and 41 years overall (since Milwaukee opened with their RAE 3-Stage in 1981). This made Charlotte, NC (7701 Pineville-Matthews Rd) the last location to have 3-Stage in North Carolina and was one of the last two in the Carolinas along with Columbia, SC (1775 Burning Tree Dr), before Columbia's was removed in November of 2022. As for what happened to Raleigh's stage, it was reportedly taken to a landfill after removal at 4 AM in the morning, marking of the end of the Raleigh's 3-Stage. Work on their 2.0 remodel continued into the fall of 2022, and the store's Grand Reopening would take place on November 10th, 2022. As of October 2023, they have the 2019 Dance Floor + Video Wall and the 2.0 remodel.
Arcade Machines
These are all the currently identified games at this store.
- Jett Rider
- Chuck E. Cheese's Sketch Book
- Choppy Wood
- SpongeBob SquarePants Super Strikers
- Bike Rally
- Octonauts
- Whack Em' Funky Gators
- Super Bikes 3
- Alley Roller Classic
- NFL 2-Minute Drill
- NBA Hoops
- NBA Hoop Troop
- Hat Trick
- Birthday Party (Avenger version)
- Baseball Pro
- Tons of Tickets
- Chuck E's Fun Photos
- Minions JellyLab
- Ice Man
- Fruit Ninja FX
- Deadstorm Pirates
- Hammer Fun
- Big Win Super Spin
- Duo Drive
- Circus Toss
- ICE Cube
- Tight Rope
- Batman
- Super Monkey Ball Ticket Blitz
- Crossbow Master
- Whack N' Win
- Monster Catcher
- Sonic Blast Ball
- Ticket Blaster (showroom)
- + More
Former Store Fixtures
This is all of the currently identified former store fixtures at this store prior to their 2.0 remodel.
Former Fixtures
Decor
- 2005 Rub for Good Luck! Token
- 1999 Spider-Man
- 1999 Men In Black
- 2005 Small Tokens
- 2005 Freshly Made Pizza
- 2005 Grand Marshal of Games
- 2005 King of Cool
- 2005 Costume Portrait
- 2005 Family
- 2005 Friends
- 2005 Memories
Interior Signage
2005 Restrooms
Exterior Signage
2004 Avenger Thumb Chuck Logo
Walkarounds
| Walkaround | First Used | Last Used | Whereabouts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuxedo Chuck | Early 1990s | Late 1990s or Early 2000s | Unknown / Destroyed |
| Cool Chuck | Late 1990s or early 2000s | Mid-to-late 2000s | Unknown / Destroyed. |
| Avenger Chuck | Mid-to-late 2000s | Around 2013 | Unknown / Destroyed. |
| Rockstar Chuck | Around 2013 | Still In Use. | Still In Use. |
Stages
| Stage | Installed | Removed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rock-afire Explosion | June 1988 | 1991 | From Milwaukee, WI (7401 Good Hope Rd) |
| 3-Stage | 1991 | August 30th 2022 | One of six in North Carolina (One of 10 in the Carolinas) to under Concept Unification. 2nd to Last 3-Stage in North Carolina (3rd to last in the Carolinas). |
| Dance Floor + Video Wall | August 2022 | Still in Use | 2019 Model with Video Wall |
Animatronics
Videos
| Link | Description | Filming Date |
|---|---|---|
| Link | A video of the store not long after Concept Unification. As of July 2023, this is the oldest known footage of Raleigh. It contains part of "Simply Irresistable," from the CU Premiere/June 1990 show. | 1991 |
| Link | April 5th 1997. A video showing the stage and store's interior in 1997. | April 5, 1997 |
| Link | A video showing the stage and store's interior in 2003. | April 12, 2003 |
| Link | The 2016 Chuck E. Birthday show being performed on Raleigh's 3-Stage. | January 28, 2017 |
| Link | "A Giant Armadillo Named Phil" being performed on Raleigh's 3-Stage. | July 27, 2018 |
| Link | A clip of "Rockin' Robot" from The Chuck E. Cheese Show being performed on Raleigh's 3-Stage. | August 2019 |
| Link | Chuck E. Cheese’s Raleigh, NC Full Tour. One of the store tours of the location. | December 12, 2020 |
| Link | A store tour of the store from March 2021. | March 3rd, 2021 |
| Link | "El Rey Guitarrista" from Show 2 2020 being performed on Raleigh's 3-Stage. | March 3rd, 2021 |
| Link | "Game On" from Show 1 2020 being performed on Raleigh's 3-Stage. Includes the "Spring-Tastic Bumper feat. Bella and Ronnie the Unicorn" from Show 2 2021 towards the end. | March 3rd, 2021 |
| Link | "Disco Dancing Dinosaur Party" from Show 1 2020 being performed on Raleigh's 3-Stage. | March 3rd, 2021 |
| Link | "Jasper's Country Classic" from Show 5 2018 being performed on Raleigh's 3-Stage. | March 3rd, 2021 |
| Link | "Song of Summer" from the 2021 Summer of Fun showtape being performed on Raleigh's 3-Stage. | July 30, 2021 |
| Link | A store tour of the store from March 2022. Another store tour of the store. | February 23, 2022 |
| Link | The now-discontinued 2018 Birthday Star Spectacular show being performed at Raleigh. | May 22, 2022 |
| Link | A video of the Raleigh 3-Stage the night before removal. The place on the wall where Pasqually's Silhousette Poster will go was already painted at the time, | August 29, 2022 |
| Link | A video during Raleigh's Grand Reopening. | November 10, 2022 |
| Link | Another video during Raleigh's Grand Reopening. | November 10, 2022 |
| Link | Family vlog in which they visit Raleigh | June 6, 2023 |
| Link | The history and documentation of the Raleigh store from its Showbiz Pizza days, to its current Chuck E. Cheese days. | August 8, 2023 |
| Link | The 2023 Birthday Star Extravaganza show being performed at Raleigh. | December 3, 2023 |
Gallery
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Center Stage. PC: Foursquare (June 30, 2013)
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Exterior (Front of the building) on March 24, 2021 (A little over one year before the 2.0 Remodel). PC: ryanrules on Flickr
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Right Stage. PC: RetailRyan on Flickr. (March 24, 2021)
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Center Stage. PC: ryanrules on Flickr (March 24, 2021)
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Exterior (Side of the building) (A little over one year before the 2.0 Remodel). PC: ryanrules on Flickr (March 24, 2021)
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Raleigh's 3-Stage on May 22, 2022.
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Ditto.
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ShowBiz Pizza Labelscar during the 2.0 Remodel (2022) (PC: Unknown)
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Exterior (Side of the building) After the 2.0 Remodel (PC: saan1ty)
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April 2, 2023.
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