Billings, MT (100 24th St)

100 24th Street West, Store #2082/210 was a Showbiz Pizza Place that opened on August 6, 1984, with a Classic Stage , which is still open to this day with the 2.0 remodel. Billings received CU in 1991 or 1992 and was acquired by CEC Entertainment, LLC in October 2022, along with Fargo, ND (1202 Nodak Dr) . Billings is the only CEC in the state of Montana.

Stages

Billings opened with the Rock afire Explosion in 1984. Unfortunately, there are hardly any photos or videos to exist of Billings with the Rock afire, or as a Showbiz in general. But there is a photo of its original exterior. In the 1990s, Billings received Concept Unification , converting the Rock afire into Munch’s Make-Believe Band. Billings also had one of the last Sun (Animatronic) animatronics and one of the last Moon (Animatronic) animatronics. The 3-stage was removed on July 28th, 2024 for the Dance Floor and the Video Wall. It was one of the last 2, as the final 3-Stage in existence is at the Charlotte, NC (7701 Pineville-Matthews Rd) location. The show was sent back to the Showbiz Pizza Time Distribution Center (Topeka, KS) to be used for unknown purposes.

Stage	Installed	Removed	Notes
Classic Stage	August 1984	1991 or 1992	Only ShowBiz in Montana.
Concept Unification Stage	1991 or 1992	July 28, 2024	One of 2 remaining Concept Unification stages before removal. Last 3 stage to be removed.
Dance Floor	August 2024	Still in use
Video Wall	August 2024	Still in use

History

Billings opened its doors on August 6th, 1984, with a Rock-afire Explosion show. It was originally a franchise-owned store. 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 very little documentation exists back in the ShowBiz days, it can be determined that Billings 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 ShowBiz locations in the late 1980s, Billings received the Showbiz Pizza Campground upgrade. In around 1991/1992, Billings received Concept Unification which converted the show to Munch's Make-Believe Band. In around the Mid-Late 1990's, Billings received either Phase 1 (1994) or Phase 2 (1997) remodel. Billings, along with Fargo, ND (1202 Nodak Dr) , was one of the first locations to switch to Pepsi in the 2000s. Billings still remained in their 1990s remodel until sometime in 2015 when they received the major 2005 Remodel which involved removing the Showroom Walls, balcony Seating, and redoing the entire left-hand side of the store, only leaving the Pickup Window. They would also be the last CEC store to ever receive the 2005 remodel, as the long time remodeling initiative ended the same year, after 10 years. Both Billings and Fargo were bought out by Corporate in October 2022, with Fargo getting the 2.0 remodel two months after being acquired by corporate. Billings' 2.0 remodel was continuously pushed back until July 28th, 2024, when it finally began. The stage was removed in phases, the first being the removal of all animatronics except Chuck E. After this, Chuck E. was removed and lastly, all of the props. The stage was taken to the SPT Distribution Center. This remodel would make Montana officially bot-less as Billings is Montana's only CEC location. As of August 2024, The remodel is officially completed.

Videos

Link	Description	Credit	Publishing Date
https://youtu.be/eWvu00Ndmbg?si=ag6ejppD0ZF5p_h7	Store visit of the Billings store, along with footage of their 3-Stage.	Sets, Streets & Eats	March 10, 2024

Animatronics

Character	Serial	Status
Rolfe Dewolfe & Earl Schmerle (Animatronic)	1-83 1-10	Sent to SPT Distribution
Dook Larue (Animatronic)	1-83 2-10	Sent to SPT Distribution
Fatz Geronimo (Animatronic)	1-83 3-10	Sent to SPT Distribution
Beach Bear (Animatronic)	1-83 4-10	Sent to SPT Distribution
Mitzi Mozzarella (Animatronic)	1-83 5-10	Sent to SPT Distribution
Billy Bob (Animatronic)	1-83 6-10	Unknown/Destroyed
Looney Bird (Animatronic)	1-83 7-10	Unknown/Destroyed
Choo Choo (Animatronic)	1-83 8-10	Unknown/Destroyed
Sun (Animatronic)	1-83 10-10	Unknown/Destroyed
Moon (Animatronic)	1-83 11-10	Unknown/Destroyed
Antioch (Animatronic)	N/A	Unknown/Destroyed
Wink	N/A	Unknown/Destroyed

Trivia

• Before Corporate renumbered Franchised locations to four digit store numbers in 2010, Billings' current store number (210) was used for the Wilmington, NC (4389 Oleander Dr) location; In 2010, it was renumbered to Store #2070 until closure. It's unknown if Billings had a three digit store number before 2010.