702-A Pembroke Rd, Store #637 is a
Showbiz Pizza Place/Chuck E. Cheese that opened on October 22nd, 1984, as a Franchised store with a Rock-afire Explosion, which is still open to this day. The store is located in the Friendly Center.
History
Greensboro opened on October 22nd, 1984 as the fifth Showbiz Pizza Place in North Carolina (5th after
Charlotte, NC (7701 Pineville-Matthews Rd) ,
Fayetteville, NC (511 North McPherson Church Rd) ,
Asheville, NC (34 Tunnel Rd) , &
Wilmington, NC (4389 Oleander Dr) ) as a Franchised owned store. Greensboro originally featured the Rock-afire Explosion, as all other Showbiz locations did. Greensboro would have it for a few years, until around May/June 1991, when they would receive the 1988 remodel, receiving Concept Unification, where the Rock-Afire Explosion characters were changed to the Chuck E. Cheese characters, adding Blue and White awnings above the salad bar, added checkers around inside and outside the store, and removing all SPP decor for CEC decor.
In the Mid-Late 1990's Greensboro would receive the 1990s Major Remodel along with the
Phase 1 (1994) and
Phase 2 (1997) game packages. By 2000, the store would have their record posters replaced with Must C TV posters which they had until 2009 when the store would receive the 2005 Update to the 2003 'Cool Chuck' Reconfiguration / Major Remodel Initiative which involved removing the Showroom Walls (Downsizing the showroom to make room for more games), adding bright florescent lighting, redoing the walls on the sides of the 3-Stage and numerous other changes. Around 2013, Greensboro was supposed to expand the store into the Catherine's next door, which would have removed the 3-Stage for what could have been North Carolina's only
Circles of Light stage, but due to restrictions, that didn't happen. During the same time, the store would remove their Avenger sign on the exterior for a Rockstar sign. The store would remove their Helicopter Light in around 2021-2022, they store would then become the first location in North Carolina to remodel to the 2017 2.0 Remodel Program|2.0 Remodel in June 2022 (After a couple delays) which marked the 3-Stage's removal.
The 2.0 remodel retained Greensboro's existing front doors, cashwrap countertops, salad bars, soda machines, and back-of-house equipment. New paint, signage, ticket blaster, carpeting, and other common 2.0 features were installed. Greensboro's Grand Reopening would happen on August 4th, 2022. After Greensboro's stage removal, the last CEC store located in the
Piedmont Triad area that had animatronics was the
Winston-Salem, NC (620 Hanes Mall Blvd) with their
Studio C Alpha , but it was removed on March 26, 2023 when they started their 2.0 remodel.
As of June 2023, Greensboro still has the 2.0 Remodel and 2021 Model Dance Floor + Video Wall.
Stages
| Stage |
Installed |
Removed |
Notes |
|
Classic Stage |
October 1984 |
May/June 1991 |
5th Showbiz Pizza Store to open in North Carolinas |
|
Concept Unification Stage |
May/June 1991 |
June 2022 |
One of six in North Carolina (One of 10 in the Carolinas) to under Concept Unification. 3rd to Last 3-Stage in North Carolina (4th to last in the Carolinas). |
| Chuck E Live Stage (Dance Floor) +
Video Wall |
June 2022 |
Still in Use |
2021 Model with Video Wall. First 2.0 in the state (3rd in the Carolinas after
Greenville, SC (253 Congaree Rd) & North Charleston, SC (7258 Rivers Ave)|North Charleston which were in South Carolina). |
Animatronics
Several photos have been posted online showing this location as a Showbiz Pizza Place, most notably a page on ShowBizPizza.com named
SPP Charlotte.
Videos
| Link |
Description |
Filming Date |
| Link |
Footage of the store as a ShowBiz Pizza Place |
1986 |
| Link |
Footage of the September 2005 show and the Chuck E. March live show. Note that Jasper has a latex mask and Chuck E. himself has his tuxedo still. |
2005 |
Trivia
- Greensboro was one of the few locations to add shoes onto their Chuck E. Cheese Animatronic (One of two to do so in North Carolina, The other to do so was
Gastonia, NC (416 Cox Rd) which was a Studio C Beta, 16m.
Wilmington, NC (4389 Oleander Dr) {Another 3-Stage store} was also supposed to do this before they closed in 2020 according to the store's management but it didn't happen due to store closure).
Visalia, CA (4345 W Noble Ave) (3-Stage), Cordova, TN (1636 N Germantown Pkwy)|Cordova (Studio C Beta, 32m; Removed in October 2021), Whitby (
Studio C Alpha ), & Corporate also put shoes on the Chuck E. Cheese Animatronics as well.
