Union, NJ (1660 US-22)

1660 US-22 Union, NJ was a CEC that operated from 1984 to 2019. It opened as a franchised owned Pizza Time Theatre and closed as a corporate owned Chuck E. Cheese's in 2019.

History

Union opened as store #3006 on August 6, 1984 under Animated Family Restaurants franchise ownership. The building it occupied was originally a movie theater that closed in 1982. Union survived PTT's 1984 bankruptcy and stayed under franchise ownership. Following the closure of the two other New Jersey PTT's East Brunswick and Wayne in 1986, who were also under the same franchise ownership, Union was the only operating store in the state of New Jersey for 5 years until the opening of the Deptford, NJ (1500 Almonesson Rd) store in 1991. They received the 1986 SPT Remodel Program in the early 90's and installed their first MMBB stage (2-Stage) in 1992. They remained this remodel throughout the 90's (and received Parody Posters in the late 90's).

They remodeled to Phase 3 in the early 2000's. This remodel included relocating skill games (skee-ball, basketball, etc.) that were previously next to the showroom entrance in front of the stage to another area and replacing it with the kiddie games area. In addition, they also received new wall art and Phase 3 decor around the restaurant and painted the area surrounding the 2-Stage (that was previously black throughout the 90's) white.

In November 2003, corporate took ownership of the store after nearly 20 years of it being under AFR ownership and was now officially known as store #542. In Early 2005, the store would also undergo the Phase 4 remodel removing the 2-Stage for a Studio C Beta, removing showroom walls, balcony, and wall art replacing with new (at the time) current CEC wall art as well as keeping some early 2000's posters. They also relocated the ordering and prize area to the front of the restaurant where the Sky Tubes originally were and relocated the showroom to the balcony area of where it originally was which added more gameroom space where the 2-Stage used to be. The exterior was changed to the "Cool Chuck" logo design by Peeler Rose and a street sign with the purple sweater thumb chuck. Union was one of the first (if not the first) stores to receive the full Phase 4 remodel with the kid posters and "Cool Chuck" exterior. The Studio C bot wore the Cool Chuck outfit and curtains were operational when the Studio C was installed in March 2005. Curtains were disabled likely over the summer of the year it was installed and enabled again in Summer 2008.

Over the years, Chuck received the Avenger shirt in Summer 2008, green shorts in Early 2010, and cap in late 2013 a few weeks before all hats were removed for the new rockstar look. The ticket blaster was put in place of the blue screen in September 2014. The curtains stopped being operational and were removed in 2017. The three screens and lighting above were replaced with flat screens in 2018.

In Late 2018, plans started to emerge regarding the redevelopment of the area where the closed Garden State Motel next door stood and the Chuck E. Cheese due to the impending lease expiration. In April 2019, it was announced that both the Garden State Motel AND CEC would be demolished and redeveloped for a new Wawa convenience store, a gas station and a new storage facility. However, being a high volume profitable store and the closest to a lot of major North Jersey cities, they decided they would relocate in the future and close their current location when the lease expires at the end of the year. The Union Chuck E. Cheese closed on November 17, 2019 after 35 years of operation. The building that occupied the original Union Chuck E. Cheese was demolished in July 2020.

After the COVID-19 pandemic and CEC falling into bankruptcy, talks on opening a new CEC in Union were put to pause. A new Union, NJ (2700 US-22) CEC opened in May 2023.

Stages

Union opened with a Balcony Stage and The Beagles. Many recall "The King" also being at this location. They received Chuck E.'s House Facade stage in the late 80's and a 2-Stage in 1992. After undergoing the Phase 4 remodel, they installed a Studio C Beta removing the animatronics that performed at the location for 20 years since opening.