Birmingham, AL (500 Old Town Rd)

Vestavia's exterior as a Showbiz Pizza.

Opening: Oct. 20, 1982 - Present
Latitude Longitude: , 33.41832722-86.79947658

500 Old Town Rd, Store #330 also known as 'Vestavia' was a Showbiz Pizza Place that opened on October 20, 1982 with a Rock-afire Explosion, which is still open to this day. Vestavia converted to a Chuck E. Cheese in June of 1991, converted to the first Studio C Beta, 32M in Fall 2000, received a Chuck E Live Stage (Dance Floor) in 2016, and then received 2.0 in December 2021. It is located in the 'Old Town' shopping center. This location is also located in Vestavia Hills which is a suburb of Birmingham. This location should not be confused with Birmingham, AL (9325 Parkway East) , which was a former Showbiz Pizza Place that opened in 1983 and closed in 2007. This location should also not be confused with Birmingham, AL (4647 Hwy 280), which opened in February 2013, and is still open to this day.

History

Birmingham opened on October 20th, 1982 as ShowBiz Pizza Place in the 'Old Towne' Shopping Center as the 3rd ShowBiz Pizza store in Alabama (5th after Mobile, AL (710 Downtowner Loop) , Huntsville, AL (1220 Jordan Lane) , Tuscaloosa, AL (1335 McFarland Blvd)|Tuscaloosa, & Montgomery, AL (2940 E South Blvd) ), They would later end up receiving the CEC 1988 Remodel|1988 Remodel removing old Showbiz decor. In June of 1991, Birmingham received Concept Unification which removed the Rock-afire for the 3-Stage. Birmingham underwent another remodel in the Mid 1990's which involved the removal of the Neon Signage, Blue and White Awnings, & some checkers around the store, and added new decor and SkyTubes. In Fall 2000, Birmingham received the Phase 3 (2000) remodel which involved removing 1990's store art including the record posters, some 1990's elements, replacing the 3-Stage for the very first Studio C Beta. In 2011, Birmingham received the 2005 Remodel which removing all 1990's store art, Balcony Seating, Showroom Walls, adding purple walls. In 2016, Birmingham received the 2015 Remodel due to fire damage from the building next door which removed the Beta for a 2015 Model Dance Floor. In December 2021, Birmingham received the 2.0 remodel which replaced the 2015 Model Dance Floor with a 2021 Model and adding a Video Wall due to flood damage. As of January 2023, Birmingham still has the 2.0 Remodel and 2021 Model Dance Floor.

Stages

Originally when the store opened, they had a Rock-afire Explosion, as all other Showbiz locations had. In June of 1991, Birmingham would undergo Concept Unification, turning the RAE into Munch's Make Believe Band.⁽¹⁾ In Fall 2000, the 3-Stage was removed for one of first 5 Betas installed. In April/May 2016, the Beta was removed for a 2015 model Dance Floor. In December 2021, Birmingham received 2.0 and the Dance Floor was upgraded to a 2021 Model with the addition of a Video Wall.

Stage	Installed	Removed	Notes
Classic Stage	October 1982	1991	5th Showbiz to open in Alabama
Concept Unification Stage	1991	Fall 2000	One of 7 Showbiz locations in Alabama to undergo Concept Unification
Studio C Beta, 32M	Fall 2000	April/May 2016	One of first 5 Studio C Betas installed. First 32m bot in Alabama.
Chuck E Live Stage (Dance Floor)	April/May 2016	Still in Use	Replaced with 2021 Model in December 2021.
Video Wall	December 2021	Still in Use	Added in December 2021 after flood damage.

Animatronics

Animatronic	Serial	Whereabouts
Rolfe Dewolfe & Earl Schmerle (Animatronic)	1-82 1-25	Unknown/Destroyed
Dook Larue (Animatronic)	1-82 2-25	Unknown/Destroyed
Fatz Geronimo (Animatronic)	1-82 3-25	Unknown/Destroyed
Beach Bear (Animatronic)	1-82 4-25	Unknown/Destroyed
Mitzi Mozzarella (Animatronic)	1-82 5-25	Unknown/Destroyed
Billy Bob (Animatronic)	1-82 6-25	Unknown/Destroyed
Looney Bird (Animatronic)	1-82 7-25	Unknown/Destroyed
Choo Choo (Animatronic)	1-82 8-25	Unknown/Destroyed
Sun (Animatronic)	1-82 10-25	Unknown/Destroyed
Moon (Animatronic)	1-82 11-25	Unknown/Destroyed
Antioch (Animatronic)	N/A	Unknown/Destroyed
Wink	N/A	Unknown/Destroyed.
Chuck E Cheese 32m (Animatronic)	Unknown	Owned by a Private Collector.
Pizza Time Clock (Animatronic)	N/A	Unknown/Destroyed.

Trivia

Birmingham was the fifth ShowBiz Pizza Place in Alabama
Huntsville was one of seven ShowBiz locations in Alabama to be converted into Chuck E. Cheese. The other six are Mobile, AL (710 Downtowner Loop) , Huntsville, AL (1220 Jordan Lane) , Montgomery, AL (2940 E South Blvd) , Birmingham, AL (9325 Parkway East) , Dothan, AL (3400 Ross Clark Circle) , & Sheffield, AL (4700 Hatch Blvd) . The other three ShowBiz locations Tuscaloosa, AL (1335 McFarland Blvd)|Tuscaloosa, Cullman, AL (210 2nd Ave) , & Midfield, AL (34 Phillips Dr) closed in December 1985 (Tuscaloosa), & April 1986 (Cullman & Midfield) respectively as they were the only three not to make it to Concept Unification. Midfield's show however ended up undergoing Concept Unification when it was installed at the Tallahassee, FL (2810 Sharer Rd) location
This location is probably best well known for spawning the infamous 'Abandoned Chuck E. Cheese animatronic' image, which went viral in early 2021.

Videos

Link	Description	Footage Date	Upload Date
Link	A video showcasing some of the store and parts of performances from Vestavia's Rock-afire Explosion.	September 1986	July 5, 2023
Link	A video showcasing some of the store and Vestavia's 3 Stage.	1999	January 1, 2020