@Restaurant Rewind in Springfield, IL, Chuck E. CHeese was in the Chatham Square Shopping Center, which wend from the South East corner of Chatham and Wabash, then Eastward from there. On the West end was an A&P Grocery store, but a couple units to the East was Chuck E. Cheese. Thee was a Showbiz Pizza on South MacArthur, but that is now Chuck E. Cheese.
So the Chuck E Cheese was a Showbiz? I’m originally from Decatur, and we’d of course come over to go to the mall and occasionally would go to Chuck E Cheese on MacArthur.....never realized it had been a Showbiz. Also didn’t realize there was a Chuck E Cheese off of Wabash. I live in Springfield now and go right by them both often.
7:23 haha, that's one of the characters from Five Nights at Freddy's, apparently one of the reasons Chuck E. Cheese dumped the animatronics. Also, check out the docu-movie The Rock-a-fire Explosion, it's on TH-cam now, really fascinating!
When that game came out, before I knew what it was called I was wondering why on earth there was a horror Chuck E. Cheese game (even scarier than the DS game).
They retired the animitronics? That's fuckin' lame. That was the last connection to my beloved Showbiz Pizza, where a kid can be a kid. I remember that big Gorilla scared me as a kid with it's eyes looking all over the room. My grandpa had to take me to the car while the rest of my family had fun. Pretty traumatic. I was 8 yrs old when I finally understood it was all robots. Then I could finally man up and have fun at Showbiz. I miss that place.
I met Burt Wilson who did the voice and singing of Fatz Geronimo. Burt went on to be a radio personality in Orlando, at that time he was known as "Bubba Whoop Ass Wilson" Burt would tell how he met Michael Jackson, who was a big fan of Fatz. Burt is still playing gigs around Central Florida.
Otaku Bullfrog I remember going to Chuck E. Cheese in the early 2000s It’s really a shame that they no longer use animatronics anymore I understand meet and greets are more popular but I feel that the animatronics still have it’s place Which begs an interesting question why did Chuck E. Cheese fade away it’s animatronics
you know ShowBiz Pizza isn't exactly completely gone a few shirts creative engineering on Google maps you'll find that place where they make the animatronics 😎😎😎😎😎😎
FunFlorence yeah I wondered how many franchises might have been out there are a while longer. It’s like Burger Chef was bought by Hardee’s in 1981....but the last one didn’t close until 1996 in Cookeville, TN.
I am in contact with Duke Chauppetta voice of dook larue! He became a christian and lives in a small place working as a line man, letting ships go. But he does projects if you contact him and is ready when Aaron needs him for the rockafire
There wasn't a Showbiz or Chuck E's anywhere near me as a kid, so I really didn't grow up with either of them. Thus, I always felt ripped off when their TV ads would run, knowing there wasn't one nearby.
Was sad when Showbiz was phased out in favor of Chuck. But, in 1990 - 1993, a new pizza place opened in our neighborhood called Pistol Pete’s Pizza. 2 years into their run, the Rock-A-Fire Explosion was brought in for entertainment. That definitely was a highlight of my youth since i was already in high school and brought back a lot of memories of Showbiz. Sadly, they closed this pizza chain and removed the band after another couple of years. Today we have a couple of Chuck. E. Cheeses around the neighborhood. Haven’t been to one in around 20 years when my son was a kid.
I used to go to Pistol Pete's as a kid. They had Rock-A-Fire. The local CEC animatronics around that time were less impressive (although it's possible that the CEC was using older animatronics).
I believe the old rock afire animatronics from Pistol Pete’s, were sent to BBWL In Ashland, KY In 2000. Then was relocated to Barbersville, WV In 2003. As of 2022 those animatronics are still there, but with different modifications.
I've been a Chuck E. Cheese fan since the early 90's... But replacing the animatronics with a dance floor instead of a live show is insulting to both the older & newer fan's of Chuck E. Cheese... 🤦♀️ Bring back the animatronics!! 😎🔥🔥👍💕
The Chuck E Cheese by my house was one of the PTT locations, and I didn't find out about that until a few months ago. Hopefully one day I'll be able to visit the biggest one in San Jose
I feel really bad about it the rock-afire explosion was the only good animatronic show except the Wolfpack 5 the hard-luck Bears in the moon rockers the rock-afire explosion the Wolfpack 5 the hard-luck Bears in the moon rockers were the only good animatronic show and ShowBiz Pizza and Looney Birds was the only good animatronic restaurant and they both closed down I wish Aaron fechter bought out CEC entertainment
I used to go to Chuck E Cheese in the D.C. area in the early 80's played whack a mole loved the ball pit and skee ball. The robots scared the crap out of me. I did not ever go to Showbiz but I knew about it. Being from KS I did not know it started on my Birthday in K.C. very cool.
Thank you for the great video! I was a manager for ShowBiz in the early 80's when it was owned by Brock Hotel Corp. the store I worked at in the Detroit area on lasted about a year and a half. It was my favorite job. 36 years later and I'm still in the pizza business. Thanks again.
I was a Showbiz kid and I guess they lied to us in the commercials when they said it's the same great place same great fun they're only naming it after me when they switch over to Chuck-E-Cheese. Very informative video thank you
the animatronics being taken out of the picture kinda makes it sort of defeats what the place used to stand for. Nowadays Chuckie cheese has really gone downhill in quality, they are even considering getting rid of the tokens, which will kinda defeat another original experience
chris L Brown’s would be a good one. We had one of those in Decatur, too. Where was the Brown’s in Springfield? South Grand? I’ve been in Chatham for the past 5 years....are you still in Springfield?
I missed the animtronics from showbiz. thats where I went for birthdays and weekends just to see that band play songs and play games... I think it was a bad idea for them to remove the show and to remove showbiz pizza as I think it was better than the other place
In Baltimore, Maryland there was a Chuck E. Cheese imitator called Captain Andy's River Town. During the (temporary) decline of Chuck E. Cheese, River Town ran an ad saying "Captain Andy is sorry that Chuck E. Cheese went out of business." and offered to honor any tickets from Chuck E. Cheese at Captain Andy's. Of course bow we now know that Chuck E. Cheese was able to bounce back while Captain Andy's River Town is mostly forgotten.
When my Brother and I were kids Mom would let us pick where we wanted to go for our birthday dinner. We ALWAYS picked ShowBiz which was 70 miles north in Indy. Man the good times we had!!! Thanks for bringing back some awesome memories T Roy!
Another great video! I remember taking my oldest daughter to one of these places. She was terrified of the animatronics at first but quickly warmed to the characters.
Here's a fun bit of trivia: ever wonder what the E in Chuck's name stands for? It stands for 'Entertainment'. The character's full name is Charles Entertainment Cheese. True story.
I remember both places as there were both chains’ locations in the Chicago area but never had the opportunity to go to either one because neither was located within 30 miles of the town I lived in
Chuck E. Cheese's Illinois cool I grew up in Elgin I’ll. and there was never a location within 30 miles of that town or I would have walked that far to get there I left that area back in 1993 and none of the towns I have lived in had one within 50 miles including the town I live in now
We had Showbiz, for a time, in Jacksonville, FL. Now, we have Chuck E. Cheese's and Dave & Buster's. A mini-golf/arcade/water park called Adventure Landing on Beach Blvd. used to have the Rock-A-Fire Explosion, for a time. Later, they removed it. It was, probably, expensive to maintain.
I grew up with Showbiz and the Rock-A-Fire Explosion. And I miss the animatronics most of all. We still go to Chuck E. Cheese's sometimes, but it just isn't as much fun. The way they blended the arcade and dinning areas also bothers me. You're no longer entertained while you eat, you just listen to kids playing the games. I knew about some of this history, but you've filled in a few blanks with this video. My thanks.
When I was hardcore at video game play in the 80's, I always preferred Showbiz over Chuck. And after watching this video, I think I know why. Showbiz always had a larger variety of stand-up games. Looks like we were limited to Atari branded games at Chuck E. Cheese. However, I did enjoy the pizza at Chuck E. Cheese better. Until, it suddenly tasted like dry Little Caesar's pizza. Maybe Troy can shed some light on that. Happened in the mid-90's I wanna say.
From my understanding Brock wanted to keep Rock-A-Fire, but him and Fetcher couldn't come to an agreement. I know that a part of it was that Fetcher only wanted to sell the use of the characters and not the full rights to the characters. I believe Fetcher thought that Rock-A-Fire could become a huge brand with a cartoon and merchandising. In the end I don't know if Brock didn't offer Fetcher enough money or if Fetcher didn't want to sell the full rights period.
There is still a Chuck E Cheese on Colerain avenue just a little north of Cincinnati . We had my grand daughters birthday party there a few months ago . That's basicly 60 percent of there customers now are kids birthday partys . I remember showbiz also . We would go there in the 80s mainly for the games .
only ever went to Chuck E. Cheese a handful of times, when my daughter was much younger (she's now 17) as me, growing up, never had heard of either Chuck E. Cheese, or Showbiz Pizza.... it was all about Circus Pizza Playhouse, I think it was called, we went there alot (me, and my family)! animatronics was used there, as well.... I remember Leo the Friendly Lion mostly. they had absolutely delicious pizza!!! while the one I went to was in Georgia, as that's where I lived, is no more, I think there is one sole (one), left in Texas, I think.... whenever I mention Circus Pizza Playhouse, no one ever knows what I'm talking about. I do know, moreso remember that whenever we went, it was always quite busy! your video tonight only reminded me of Circus Pizza Playhouse, and whatever did become of that franchise? I truly loved watching your video! maybe sometime, give some thought into Circus Pizza Playhouse? sorry, I wrote so much, ☺
Hi, Restaurant Rewind! Can't post the link, but the TH-cam video titled "Introducing - Yogi Bear! 1987 ShowBiz Pizza Place show ", uploaded by showbizpizzacom on 15 August 2020 may interest you.
Growing up in the Maryland/DC there was a restaurant we went to all the time called Chesapeake Bay Seafood House. Not sure if it was regional but I wonder whatever happened to it.
Here in Tn, it was Showbiz when I was growing up. I’m not sure when it switched over, I think the early 90’s. I remember having a birthday party as a kid at Showbiz though. I liked Showbiz more than Chuck E Cheese.
I have been at chuckie cheese before when I was young back in the 1980's early it was fun and great pizzas!!!!😋🍕 There was another pizza place Major Magics they all were pretty much the same just different names!!!!🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋🎸🎶🎤🥁🎹🐭🐶👍💜
i barely remember showbiz pizza place i was that little at the time i remember chuck e cheese before they got rid of the whole band but i love them both equally
I was about 5 years old when Showbiz Pizza opened in Columbus, GA. It was 1982 and my mother gave us a choice between Showbiz or seeing Swamp Thing at the movies. I wanted to see the movie and pled the case that it would only be there a week. My older brother wanted Showbiz and my one-year-old sister (How was that fair?) broke the tie in favor of Showbiz. It was fun though. Too much fun for some kids, as watching children being dragged out kicking and screaming became a common sight over the years! Chuck E. Cheese on the other hand, sucks! The times I'd been in since their complete takeover, the pizza was awful, the sauce loaded with sugar and the crust pre-cooked. It tasted like a (very expensive) frozen pizza! The darkened club atmosphere in the dining area was gone, along with the walls between it and the arcade. The animatronic band was ugly and stunk. The Rock-A-Fire Explosion played fun rock 'n roll parodies, while these guys sang Barney-sounding junk at very low volume, as the employees had mercifully turned the sound down. About 10 years ago, a place called Showbiz Pizza Zone opened up in nearby Ladonia, Alabama, with pictures of the Rock-A-Fire Explosion painted on the windows. I drove by, but never went in, finding out a few years later that a local guy had bought the animatronics and got the creator to teach him how to program it. From what I heard though, the band only "lip-synched" to popular hits.
I hate the fact that Chuck-E-Cheeses getting rid of their animatronics! The animatronics are one of the best parts of Chuck-E-Cheese! If they take away the animatronics from every Chuck-E-Cheese location I'll be so mad!
@@Goobian, from the area I'm from we had a dozen sit down locations in the 70s-90s. All we have now is one carry out location that is part of a gas station.
We had both in Tulsa in the 1980’s. I even remember the locations of both. My parents gave me a choice for my ninth birthday....Chuck E Cheese or Showbiz. I chose Showbiz and looking back now I’m glad I did. Chuck E Cheese sucked and still does. I have never taken my kids and don’t plan to ever do so.
Never went to either as a kid - too old, I guess. I've been to Showbiz and Chuck E.s as an adult, but it's been years. As I remember, it was Showbiz in the STL area, then became Chuck E. Cheese. They even had the same jingle: "Show-biz Pizza, where a kid can be a kid" became, "Chuck-E. Cheese's where a kid can be a kid." I did enjoy the games when I went to my niece's birthday party there as an overgrown kid in my 20s, ca 1989. There was a CEC's here in Columbia, MO where I live now when I moved out here, but it's closed now. There's a Bonkers, which is similar, but not a chain as far as I know.
I'd be interested in a video about Crystal's Pizza Palace or Incredible Pizza Company (IPC). Have you heard of those chains? Crystal's was one of the pioneers of the dinnertainment concept.
I think this whole sad tale, STINKS! AND so does Chuckie cheese...has no soul whatsoever... Showbiz, had a heart and soul... Chuckie cheese is just a sad place..and moreover, their pizza is terrible...miss you fatz!
Showbiz was better than Chuck E. Cheese. I would go to the South Bend location as a kid and loved it. Whenever I hear 'She Blinded Me With Science' or 'Talking In Your Sleep', I think of the Rockafire band's performances of those songs. Good times. :)
Not quite buster Chuck-E-Cheese some of the restaurant took the rock-afire explosion animatronics took the skins off and risk into them into the guitar players in this the pasquali at the Pennsylvania Lehigh Valley Mall location has a Duke for Lou hand and movements of the hands well the Munch animatronic has the movements of Geronimo the big gorilla who used to be the pipe organ character of the Rockford closing the Chuck-E-Cheese that got from Mitzi mozzarella for some odd reason I don't know which one I think Chuck was actually Earl and Ralph and tries that they customize little at the hands and if I look closely at Helen Helen Henny animatronic animatronic has much more movement to Mitzi mozzarella some of the animatronics like the keyboard they recycled the keyboard at some locations and just put Munch's make-believe band colors on it even though it secretly a rock afire explosion one someone be colored sump pump broke so they replace them later many locations did not replace animatronics and those are ones that have the old Chuck-E-Cheese Pizza Time player characters those occasions I think Chuck is going to do the unification first I think they switch over to the older ones they been there longer any retirement Chuck-E-Cheese if he's assigned players should remove them from Texas and all the places second tornadoes why haven't there really why the company's also take a direction for the stock market the stock market means they could get free advertising on almost every news web station at every program at Golden being in Google across the world so they could get their name of Chuck-E-Cheese across the world faster than you can say a lot of bing bong yeah and I just had it or faster than Usain Echo is better they could put their name out across the world and that's why they're going to stock market because they may want to try to get more business and trying to get their name out there because they're just turning into a average restaurant I looked it up dates a modern stores that sucky cheese has been opening and they are not really the same I got rid of all that cool kid colors making it seem like they're turning it into a dog play for you can take your dog for the video games I wouldn't want to talk but dogs really suck this was creepy at all Atari created it so we could get games he want to get the arcade kids back to the arcade and just disguise it as a rat it was a lily a coyote but whatever but really really Buster really if you think about all your work just described it to you but really expect me to believe that they're not going to recycle a little Park from the old shows the three stages the Moon it from showbiz Looney bird got turn into that pizzacam pasquali with Duke for Lu or were in the Jack Sills places everyone be exact pasquali was Billy Bob and he got turned into Duke Fuqua Lou and those would be far behind them Beasts where was removed and replaced was the moon it's so there this day nothing really changed not quite Buster chuck-e-cheese some of the restaurant took the rocket fire flows in
Nicolas Maduro yes I have seen it. I just watched it again. Clearly the pizza doesn’t match up. I don’t think it is recycled...it seems to me what they’ve done is cook several at the same time, then mix and match. I will say that the pepperoni one is interesting, because why would you do that...unless they had two or more pepperoni pizzas that had been “robbed” then they put together what was left. That makes more sense to me....and much less gross! If they get caught recycling pizza, that will be the end of them for sure. I am tempted to go to our Chuck E Cheese and test this out. I could broadcast what I find.
I hope you do some new vids, I noticed it has been a year since last upload
Yes I need to get some new content created!
Your videos are great. Come back soon.
7:34 You can remove the "and the gang" part because the only time they pull out the other characters is for store openings or the planets align
@Restaurant Rewind in Springfield, IL, Chuck E. CHeese was in the Chatham Square Shopping Center, which wend from the South East corner of Chatham and Wabash, then Eastward from there. On the West end was an A&P Grocery store, but a couple units to the East was Chuck E. Cheese. Thee was a Showbiz Pizza on South MacArthur, but that is now Chuck E. Cheese.
So the Chuck E Cheese was a Showbiz? I’m originally from Decatur, and we’d of course come over to go to the mall and occasionally would go to Chuck E Cheese on MacArthur.....never realized it had been a Showbiz. Also didn’t realize there was a Chuck E Cheese off of Wabash. I live in Springfield now and go right by them both often.
7:23 haha, that's one of the characters from Five Nights at Freddy's, apparently one of the reasons Chuck E. Cheese dumped the animatronics.
Also, check out the docu-movie The Rock-a-fire Explosion, it's on TH-cam now, really fascinating!
When that game came out, before I knew what it was called I was wondering why on earth there was a horror Chuck E. Cheese game (even scarier than the DS game).
It's sad they had to drop them, no thanks to FNAF.
Hi Larry.
I remember these places, and they were better back then compared to now
WE NEED SHOWBIZ BACK PLEASE WE NEED THEM
Billy Bob's Wonderland, on 5 Cracker Barrel Drive in Barboursville, WV, is a cool place to check out that still has the old Rock-afire Explosion set.
Chucke cheese still exsist
They retired the animitronics? That's fuckin' lame. That was the last connection to my beloved Showbiz Pizza, where a kid can be a kid. I remember that big Gorilla scared me as a kid with it's eyes looking all over the room. My grandpa had to take me to the car while the rest of my family had fun. Pretty traumatic. I was 8 yrs old when I finally understood it was all robots. Then I could finally man up and have fun at Showbiz. I miss that place.
Showbiz was the OG Dave & Busters. Their video arcades were EPIC!
I met Burt Wilson who did the voice and singing of Fatz Geronimo. Burt went on to be a radio personality in Orlando, at that time he was known as "Bubba Whoop Ass Wilson"
Burt would tell how he met Michael Jackson, who was a big fan of Fatz.
Burt is still playing gigs around Central Florida.
thegoatman62 cool story!
Yeah he is on Facebook too
Bubba "Whoop Ass" Wilson is the single greatest showbiz name I've ever heard. Cheers
Wait- Michael Jackson liked fatz? Now that’s fascinating.
@@restaurantrewind9026 Wow this is the first time you mention Hotels and Consoles!!!
There was a similar place in the Muncie (IN) Mall that was called Tex Critters.
@D Heine My town had one called "Razz-Ma-Tazz" as well. I have fond memories of Major Magic's as well.
It's a shame that they decided to phase out the animatronics. While they probably very expensive, they were neat and unique.
Otaku bot
Bullfrog bot
Otaku Bullfrog I remember going to Chuck E. Cheese in the early 2000s
It’s really a shame that they no longer use animatronics anymore
I understand meet and greets are more popular but I feel that the animatronics still have it’s place
Which begs an interesting question why did Chuck E. Cheese fade away it’s animatronics
Likely because of the upkeep im guessing.???
@@jamesborlan2850 thank you pretty awesome comic t
you know ShowBiz Pizza isn't exactly completely gone a few shirts creative engineering on Google maps you'll find that place where they make the animatronics 😎😎😎😎😎😎
i dont live in the us so i never experience either but my favourite out of the two has to be showbiz pizza place.
the second i pressed the comment button to post that comment it started raining outside no joke
there was a SPP in Cincinnati in 1994. It was one of the last stores to remodel.
FunFlorence yeah I wondered how many franchises might have been out there are a while longer. It’s like Burger Chef was bought by Hardee’s in 1981....but the last one didn’t close until 1996 in Cookeville, TN.
@@restaurantrewind9026 neat.
I am in contact with Duke Chauppetta voice of dook larue! He became a christian and lives in a small place working as a line man, letting ships go. But he does projects if you contact him and is ready when Aaron needs him for the rockafire
found you
I miss the good old days..I use to love Showbiz and my son loves chucky cheese
Chattanooga had a Showbiz and later became a Chuck E. Cheese
There wasn't a Showbiz or Chuck E's anywhere near me as a kid, so I really didn't grow up with either of them. Thus, I always felt ripped off when their TV ads would run, knowing there wasn't one nearby.
I miss show biz pizza place. And the the band.
Me too!
Was sad when Showbiz was phased out in favor of Chuck. But, in 1990 - 1993, a new pizza place opened in our neighborhood called Pistol Pete’s Pizza. 2 years into their run, the Rock-A-Fire Explosion was brought in for entertainment. That definitely was a highlight of my youth since i was already in high school and brought back a lot of memories of Showbiz. Sadly, they closed this pizza chain and removed the band after another couple of years.
Today we have a couple of Chuck. E. Cheeses around the neighborhood. Haven’t been to one in around 20 years when my son was a kid.
Very cool! Now I will have to go do some more research on Pistol Pete's!
I used to go to Pistol Pete's as a kid. They had Rock-A-Fire. The local CEC animatronics around that time were less impressive (although it's possible that the CEC was using older animatronics).
I believe the old rock afire animatronics from Pistol Pete’s, were sent to BBWL In Ashland, KY In 2000. Then was relocated to Barbersville, WV In 2003. As of 2022 those animatronics are still there, but with different modifications.
I remember ads after they combined where the jingle said “with Billy Bob and Chuck E Cheese”
I've used to go to birthday party at both places growing up.i took my son to chucky cheese for his 6th birthday in 2013 haven't been there since.
I've been a Chuck E. Cheese fan since the early 90's... But replacing the animatronics with a dance floor instead of a live show is insulting to both the older & newer fan's of Chuck E. Cheese... 🤦♀️
Bring back the animatronics!! 😎🔥🔥👍💕
My location still has animatronics but I prefer showbiz but it’s your opinion
Our Chuck E Cheese closed up about a year ago. Not sure why
The Chuck E Cheese by my house was one of the PTT locations, and I didn't find out about that until a few months ago. Hopefully one day I'll be able to visit the biggest one in San Jose
FNAF fans existing
in 1983
We’ve been summoned
I feel really bad about it the rock-afire explosion was the only good animatronic show except the Wolfpack 5 the hard-luck Bears in the moon rockers the rock-afire explosion the Wolfpack 5 the hard-luck Bears in the moon rockers were the only good animatronic show and ShowBiz Pizza and Looney Birds was the only good animatronic restaurant and they both closed down I wish Aaron fechter bought out CEC entertainment
I used to go to Chuck E Cheese in the D.C. area in the early 80's played whack a mole loved the ball pit and skee ball. The robots scared the crap out of me. I did not ever go to Showbiz but I knew about it. Being from KS I did not know it started on my Birthday in K.C. very cool.
Showbiz pizza palce
Thank you for the great video! I was a manager for ShowBiz in the early 80's when it was owned by Brock Hotel Corp. the store I worked at in the Detroit area on lasted about a year and a half. It was my favorite job.
36 years later and I'm still in the pizza business. Thanks again.
My son worked at Chuck for a while and had to wear the mouse suit... He said that it stunk! Literally!!
I was a Showbiz kid and I guess they lied to us in the commercials when they said it's the same great place same great fun they're only naming it after me when they switch over to Chuck-E-Cheese. Very informative video thank you
the animatronics being taken out of the picture kinda makes it sort of defeats what the place used to stand for. Nowadays Chuckie cheese has really gone downhill in quality, they are even considering getting rid of the tokens, which will kinda defeat another original experience
I'm from Springfield,IL love what I've watched on your channel I think a Browns Chicken is in need of a in depth look...👍👍
chris L Brown’s would be a good one. We had one of those in Decatur, too. Where was the Brown’s in Springfield? South Grand? I’ve been in Chatham for the past 5 years....are you still in Springfield?
@@restaurantrewind9026 Born and raised Springfield,IL I remember Browns Chicken on Stevenson Drive...
I missed the animtronics from showbiz. thats where I went for birthdays and weekends just to see that band play songs and play games... I think it was a bad idea for them to remove the show and to remove showbiz pizza as I think it was better than the other place
Chuck E. Cheese won 🎉
In Baltimore, Maryland there was a Chuck E. Cheese imitator called Captain Andy's River Town. During the (temporary) decline of Chuck E. Cheese, River Town ran an ad saying "Captain Andy is sorry that Chuck E. Cheese went out of business." and offered to honor any tickets from Chuck E. Cheese at Captain Andy's. Of course bow we now know that Chuck E. Cheese was able to bounce back while Captain Andy's River Town is mostly forgotten.
My youngest was a 90's child and we were at CEC's for BD parties a lot. Thank God they served beer! It could have gotten ugly! LOL!
When my Brother and I were kids Mom would let us pick where we wanted to go for our birthday dinner. We ALWAYS picked ShowBiz which was 70 miles north in Indy. Man the good times we had!!! Thanks for bringing back some awesome memories T Roy!
Me too! Thanks for watcng!
Another great video! I remember taking my oldest daughter to one of these places. She was terrified of the animatronics at first but quickly warmed to the characters.
Here's a fun bit of trivia: ever wonder what the E in Chuck's name stands for? It stands for 'Entertainment'. The character's full name is Charles Entertainment Cheese. True story.
Damon Pollitt yep, I have heard that!
@@restaurantrewind9026 My Name is Pikachu Hutch. Also Nathan Spies can help you on this also.
@@restaurantrewind9026 How are you doing?
Did both places have the same theme song; "where a kid can be a kid"
Yes
I found a fully functional showbiz pizza place today!!!!
I remember both places as there were both chains’ locations in the Chicago area but never had the opportunity to go to either one because neither was located within 30 miles of the town I lived in
There are now 2 in the city, I've been to both
Chuck E. Cheese's Illinois cool I grew up in Elgin I’ll. and there was never a location within 30 miles of that town or I would have walked that far to get there I left that area back in 1993 and none of the towns I have lived in had one within 50 miles including the town I live in now
Grew up with showbiz pizza
No Chuck E. Cheese's animatronic shows as of today? Who rude.
It's ridiculous... 🤦♀️
We had Showbiz, for a time, in Jacksonville, FL. Now, we have Chuck E. Cheese's and Dave & Buster's. A mini-golf/arcade/water park called Adventure Landing on Beach Blvd. used to have the Rock-A-Fire Explosion, for a time. Later, they removed it. It was, probably, expensive to maintain.
I was a Showbiz kid.
We only had Chuck where I grew up. They had both merged by the time I went there. I didn’t realize until I was older that they had been separate.
We had Showbiz first here in Flint MI. Then around 92 it changed to Chuck E. Cheese.
If they take away the animatronics, they take away the unique part
An adult pizza place staring Ted would be funny as hell.
kenneth bredow true story, lol
I grew up with Showbiz and the Rock-A-Fire Explosion. And I miss the animatronics most of all. We still go to Chuck E. Cheese's sometimes, but it just isn't as much fun. The way they blended the arcade and dinning areas also bothers me. You're no longer entertained while you eat, you just listen to kids playing the games. I knew about some of this history, but you've filled in a few blanks with this video. My thanks.
Lol our Billy Bobs stayed open through the 90s in Conyers, Ga. it had a coating rink combo I love that place growing up!
Man its a shame that the Animatronics are gone
When I was hardcore at video game play in the 80's, I always preferred Showbiz over Chuck. And after watching this video, I think I know why. Showbiz always had a larger variety of stand-up games. Looks like we were limited to Atari branded games at Chuck E. Cheese. However, I did enjoy the pizza at Chuck E. Cheese better. Until, it suddenly tasted like dry Little Caesar's pizza. Maybe Troy can shed some light on that. Happened in the mid-90's I wanna say.
i heard that Chuck E. Cheese is up for Sale.....
It isnt
Our Showbiz Pizza in Peoria Westlake Shopping center closed in 1990 and became Chuck E Cheese.
I could never understand the attraction of a restaurant that featured a giant rat as its mascot.
I loved showbiz pizza as a kid
From my understanding Brock wanted to keep Rock-A-Fire, but him and Fetcher couldn't come to an agreement. I know that a part of it was that Fetcher only wanted to sell the use of the characters and not the full rights to the characters. I believe Fetcher thought that Rock-A-Fire could become a huge brand with a cartoon and merchandising. In the end I don't know if Brock didn't offer Fetcher enough money or if Fetcher didn't want to sell the full rights period.
Since I published the video, I connected with Aaron Fechter and I hope I can get some more insight to share soon.
There is still a Chuck E Cheese on Colerain avenue just a little north of Cincinnati . We had my grand daughters birthday party there a few months ago . That's basicly 60 percent of there customers now are kids birthday partys . I remember showbiz also . We would go there in the 80s mainly for the games .
Well say bye bye because it closed
Not all the showbiz's are gone there's one left
They both have the songs they both an animal Tronics that sing the songs
ho no showbiz pizza place
Wow! The first Showbiz Pizza opened on the day I was born!
Daniel Kepley very cool!
only ever went to Chuck E. Cheese a handful of times, when my daughter was much younger (she's now 17)
as me, growing up, never had heard of either Chuck E. Cheese, or Showbiz Pizza.... it was all about Circus Pizza Playhouse, I think it was called, we went there alot (me, and my family)! animatronics was used there, as well.... I remember Leo the Friendly Lion mostly. they had absolutely delicious pizza!!!
while the one I went to was in Georgia, as that's where I lived, is no more, I think there is one sole (one), left in Texas, I think....
whenever I mention Circus Pizza Playhouse, no one ever knows what I'm talking about. I do know, moreso remember that whenever we went, it was always quite busy!
your video tonight only reminded me of Circus Pizza Playhouse, and whatever did become of that franchise?
I truly loved watching your video! maybe sometime, give some thought into Circus Pizza Playhouse?
sorry, I wrote so much, ☺
Without the animatronics what's the point
pizza and arcade games
I have been to both. However, I still think Showbiz’s actual pizza was better.
Joel Johnson me too!
Chuck e cheese pizza is still more better no matter what you said.
@@DMTDTT agreed
I really like cec way more than showbiz but the fact that you just said showbiz had better pizza makes me wish i got to taste the showbiz lizza
I dont know what to say about showbiz pizza to be honest all i can say is that company got defunct before i was born
Hi, Restaurant Rewind! Can't post the link, but the TH-cam video titled "Introducing - Yogi Bear! 1987 ShowBiz Pizza Place show
", uploaded by showbizpizzacom on 15 August 2020 may interest you.
I always loved the animatronics music show, it was lots of fun 😎
Growing up in the Maryland/DC there was a restaurant we went to all the time called Chesapeake Bay Seafood House. Not sure if it was regional but I wonder whatever happened to it.
Ok I cracked up at the "rat band" line. good video. I remember old billy bob. My buddy in Titusville knows Aaron. He still has a studio.
Nathan Justice I’ve heard that. I tried to connect with him on Facebook a couple of days ago. No response yet, lol
Animatronic has a certain quality as far as I’m concerned
The worse pizza I ever ate was at a Chuck's.
Here in Tn, it was Showbiz when I was growing up. I’m not sure when it switched over, I think the early 90’s. I remember having a birthday party as a kid at Showbiz though. I liked Showbiz more than Chuck E Cheese.
Me too!
I have been at chuckie cheese before when I was young back in the 1980's early it was fun and great pizzas!!!!😋🍕
There was another pizza place Major
Magics they all were pretty much the same
just different names!!!!🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕😋😋😋😋😋😋😋😋🎸🎶🎤🥁🎹🐭🐶👍💜
I sall Bonnie
i barely remember showbiz pizza place i was that little at the time i remember chuck e cheese before they got rid of the whole band but i love them both equally
As an 80s kid. I visted both. Most I went was Showbiz Pizza. Now, can you get the scoop on Crystal Pizza Place? I used to go to that place.
I was about 5 years old when Showbiz Pizza opened in Columbus, GA.
It was 1982 and my mother gave us a choice between Showbiz or seeing Swamp Thing at the movies. I wanted to see the movie and pled the case that it would only be there a week. My older brother wanted Showbiz and my one-year-old sister (How was that fair?) broke the tie in favor of Showbiz. It was fun though. Too much fun for some kids, as watching children being dragged out kicking and screaming became a common sight over the years!
Chuck E. Cheese on the other hand, sucks! The times I'd been in since their complete takeover, the pizza was awful, the sauce loaded with sugar and the crust pre-cooked. It tasted like a (very expensive) frozen pizza! The darkened club atmosphere in the dining area was gone, along with the walls between it and the arcade. The animatronic band was ugly and stunk. The Rock-A-Fire Explosion played fun rock 'n roll parodies, while these guys sang Barney-sounding junk at very low volume, as the employees had mercifully turned the sound down.
About 10 years ago, a place called Showbiz Pizza Zone opened up in nearby Ladonia, Alabama, with pictures of the Rock-A-Fire Explosion painted on the windows. I drove by, but never went in, finding out a few years later that a local guy had bought the animatronics and got the creator to teach him how to program it. From what I heard though, the band only "lip-synched" to popular hits.
VHS Boneyard great story!
I hate the fact that Chuck-E-Cheeses getting rid of their animatronics! The animatronics are one of the best parts of Chuck-E-Cheese! If they take away the animatronics from every Chuck-E-Cheese location I'll be so mad!
Would you consider doing a video on Godfathers’ Pizza or Noble Romans?
Just so you know, Godfathers Pizza still exists.
@@Goobian, from the area I'm from we had a dozen sit down locations in the 70s-90s. All we have now is one carry out location that is part of a gas station.
@@joeljohnson3515 In the Portland area, their are many full sized restaurants.
Lucky you. I would love to be able to go to one.
Goobian we’ve got a good Godfathers in Chatham, IL
A dude in Alabama has a working showbiz
C dee cool, is it the whole restaurant or just The animatronics?
Who's here after Chuck E. Cheese filed for bankruptcy?
We had both in Tulsa in the 1980’s. I even remember the locations of both. My parents gave me a choice for my ninth birthday....Chuck E Cheese or Showbiz. I chose Showbiz and looking back now I’m glad I did. Chuck E Cheese sucked and still does. I have never taken my kids and don’t plan to ever do so.
That’s a good choice
Showbiz was better why they left our town in 84
Never went to either as a kid - too old, I guess. I've been to Showbiz and Chuck E.s as an adult, but it's been years. As I remember, it was Showbiz in the STL area, then became Chuck E. Cheese. They even had the same jingle: "Show-biz Pizza, where a kid can be a kid" became, "Chuck-E. Cheese's where a kid can be a kid." I did enjoy the games when I went to my niece's birthday party there as an overgrown kid in my 20s, ca 1989. There was a CEC's here in Columbia, MO where I live now when I moved out here, but it's closed now. There's a Bonkers, which is similar, but not a chain as far as I know.
How about a episode about The Royal Fork/King's Table?
Ha! The Rebel Flag was included on the wall of waving flags. I was more of a Showbiz guy
I wasn't born yet but that still at sucks
Heard of both, but never went to either of them, lol
I'd be interested in a video about Crystal's Pizza Palace or Incredible Pizza Company (IPC). Have you heard of those chains? Crystal's was one of the pioneers of the dinnertainment concept.
Michael Bacon I have not heard of them, I’ll see what I can dig up.
The pizza change from what showbiz offered is the real loss. I could care less about b=robo singers lol. Bring showbiz pizza pizza back.
I think this whole sad tale, STINKS! AND so does Chuckie cheese...has no soul whatsoever... Showbiz, had a heart and soul... Chuckie cheese is just a sad place..and moreover, their pizza is terrible...miss you fatz!
Chuck e cheese is so bad the lack of movement and the shows are cringe and boring
Showbiz was better than Chuck E. Cheese. I would go to the South Bend location as a kid and loved it. Whenever I hear 'She Blinded Me With Science' or 'Talking In Your Sleep', I think of the Rockafire band's performances of those songs. Good times. :)
Not quite buster Chuck-E-Cheese some of the restaurant took the rock-afire explosion animatronics took the skins off and risk into them into the guitar players in this the pasquali at the Pennsylvania Lehigh Valley Mall location has a Duke for Lou hand and movements of the hands well the Munch animatronic has the movements of Geronimo the big gorilla who used to be the pipe organ character of the Rockford closing the Chuck-E-Cheese that got from Mitzi mozzarella for some odd reason I don't know which one I think Chuck was actually Earl and Ralph and tries that they customize little at the hands and if I look closely at Helen Helen Henny animatronic animatronic has much more movement to Mitzi mozzarella some of the animatronics like the keyboard they recycled the keyboard at some locations and just put Munch's make-believe band colors on it even though it secretly a rock afire explosion one someone be colored sump pump broke so they replace them later many locations did not replace animatronics and those are ones that have the old Chuck-E-Cheese Pizza Time player characters those occasions I think Chuck is going to do the unification first I think they switch over to the older ones they been there longer any retirement Chuck-E-Cheese if he's assigned players should remove them from Texas and all the places second tornadoes why haven't there really why the company's also take a direction for the stock market the stock market means they could get free advertising on almost every news web station at every program at Golden being in Google across the world so they could get their name of Chuck-E-Cheese across the world faster than you can say a lot of bing bong yeah and I just had it or faster than Usain Echo is better they could put their name out across the world and that's why they're going to stock market because they may want to try to get more business and trying to get their name out there because they're just turning into a average restaurant I looked it up dates a modern stores that sucky cheese has been opening and they are not really the same I got rid of all that cool kid colors making it seem like they're turning it into a dog play for you can take your dog for the video games I wouldn't want to talk but dogs really suck this was creepy at all Atari created it so we could get games he want to get the arcade kids back to the arcade and just disguise it as a rat it was a lily a coyote but whatever but really really Buster really if you think about all your work just described it to you but really expect me to believe that they're not going to recycle a little Park from the old shows the three stages the Moon it from showbiz Looney bird got turn into that pizzacam pasquali with Duke for Lu or were in the Jack Sills places everyone be exact pasquali was Billy Bob and he got turned into Duke Fuqua Lou and those would be far behind them Beasts where was removed and replaced was the moon it's so there this day nothing really changed not quite Buster chuck-e-cheese some of the restaurant took the rocket fire flows in
Great video, i never got the chance to experience Showbiz though, unfortunately.
Did you see the video Shane Dawson made that exposed Chuck E. Cheese
Nicolas Maduro yes I have seen it. I just watched it again. Clearly the pizza doesn’t match up. I don’t think it is recycled...it seems to me what they’ve done is cook several at the same time, then mix and match. I will say that the pepperoni one is interesting, because why would you do that...unless they had two or more pepperoni pizzas that had been “robbed” then they put together what was left. That makes more sense to me....and much less gross! If they get caught recycling pizza, that will be the end of them for sure. I am tempted to go to our Chuck E Cheese and test this out. I could broadcast what I find.