Chuck E. Cheese

Chuck E. Cheese (formerly known as Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre, Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza, and simply Chuck E. Cheese's) is an American entertainment restaurant chain founded in May 1977. Headquartered in Irving, Texas, each location features arcade games, amusement rides and musical shows in addition to serving pizza and other food items; former mainstays included ball pits, crawl tubes, and animatronic shows. The chain's name is taken from its main character and mascot, Chuck E. Cheese. The first location opened as Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre in San Jose, California on May 17, 1977. It was the first family restaurant to integrate food with arcade games and animated entertainment, thus being one of the pioneers for the "family entertainment center" concept. After filing for bankruptcy in 1984, Pizza Time Theatre was acquired in May 1985 by Brock Hotel Corporation, the parent company of competitor ShowBiz Pizza Place. Following the acquisition, ShowBiz Pizza Place, Inc. was renamed to ShowBiz Pizza Time, Inc., which began unifying the two brands in 1990, renaming every location to Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza. It was later shortened to Chuck E. Cheese's in 1994 and Chuck E. Cheese in 2019. The parent company, ShowBiz Pizza Time, also became CEC Entertainment in 1998.