Chuck E. Cheese's (formerly Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre and Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza) is a chain of American family entertainment centers. Chuck E. Cheese's is the main brand of CEC Entertainment, Inc., (NYSE: CEC) with its headquarters in Irving, Texas.
The concept is a sit-down pizza restaurant, complemented by arcade games, amusement rides, an animatronic show, and other diversions, such as climbing equipment, tubes, and slides − all mainly directed at younger children. The brand is represented by Chuck E. Cheese, an anthropomorphic mouse.
The company was founded as Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre by Nolan Bushnell in 1977, officially being labeled as the first family restaurant to integrate food, animated entertainment, and an indoor arcade. Pizza Time Theatre and Showbiz Pizza Place merged in 1984, bringing both concepts under the wing of Showbiz Pizza Time, Inc. In 1991–92, Showbiz Pizza Time, Inc. unified the two brands into Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza. In 1994, Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza underwent a redesign, changing to Chuck E. Cheese's by 1995. In 1998, Showbiz Pizza Time, Inc. was renamed to CEC Entertainment, Inc. In 2007, the company celebrated its 30th anniversary, and as of May 2009, it operates 542 restaurants.
Read more about Chuck E. Cheese's: Corporate History
Famous quotes containing the words chuck and/or cheese:
“This is the only “wet” community in a wide area, and is the rendezvous of cow hands seeking to break the monotony of chuck wagon food and range life. Friday night is the “big time” for local cowboys, and consequently the calaboose is called the “Friday night jail.””
—Administration in the State of Texa, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
“Upscale people are fixated with food simply because they are now able to eat so much of it without getting fat, and the reason they don’t get fat is that they maintain a profligate level of calorie expenditure. The very same people whose evenings begin with melted goat’s cheese ... get up at dawn to run, break for a mid-morning aerobics class, and watch the evening news while racing on a stationary bicycle.”
—Barbara Ehrenreich (b. 1941)