A Look Back At The Evolution Of Chuck E. Cheese In Photos

Nolan Bushnell became successful in the '70s as the co-founder of the video game company Atari, which brought games like Pong to homes everywhere. In 1977, he began working on the idea of an animatronic family restaurant, which later turned into Chuck E. Cheese.

Bushnell's dream became a reality when he opened Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theater. The first location opened in 1977 in San Jose, CA, and it was the first interactive entertainment restaurant for families.

Bushnell built the concept of his restaurant on the idea of a carnival. He wanted atmosphere that would allow families to gather, while introducing children to video games. He settled on the name Chuck E. Cheese for his mouse mascot, because it forced people to smile when they said it.

One of the things that set Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theater apart was the animatronic animals. The founder was inspired by Disney when creating his characters. As the chain grew more successful and as the years passed, the novelty robots evolved and became more sophisticated. Here, Bushnell poses with one of the original characters of the show, The King.

Since Bushnell came from a technology background, Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theater was launched through his technology company, Atari. After Atari was bought by Warner Media, Bushnell decided to buy Pizza Time Theater from the company in 1978.

The restaurant chain rapidly expanded in 1980 and by the following year, Bushnell pushed to file an IPO. Pizza Time Theater filed its initial public offering in 1981 to begin publicly trading on the stock market. The company issued 1.1 million shares at $15 a share at the time of the initial offering.

By 1984, Pizza Time Theater's financial struggles became apparent and the company filed for bankruptcy. That same year, the company was bought by their rival company, ShowBiz Pizza.

If you were a fan of Chuck E. Cheese, you probably remember the restaurant's famous slogan, "Where a kid can be a kid." The company started using that line in commercials and marketing campaigns in 1985 and used it on and off until 2017.

Video games rose in popularity during the 1980s, becoming a $8 billion industry. Thanks to Pizza Time Theater's revolutionary concept, which combined a family restaurant with arcade games, the restaurant saw a comeback.

In the 1990s, the company went through a major rebrand. In the end, they dropped Pizza Time Theater and decided to simply go by Chuck E. Cheese's.

It wasn't just Chuck E. Cheese's wardrobe that was retooled, he made a host of new friends in 2012 as well. The guitar-playing mouse even started his own band, Munch's Make Believe Band, featuring his friends Helen Henny, Jasper T. Jowls, Mr. Munch, and Pasqually.

Apollo Management Group took over Chuck E. Cheese after purchasing the company for $1.3 billion in 2014. The new owners were able to make updates to the business model.

After some restructuring, the company expanded the Chuck E. Cheese franchise in 2014, resulting in over 500 locations within the United States, plus more abroad.

The brand was forced to deny claims that it recycles leftover pizza slices to sell to customers after YouTube star Shane Dawson made a documentary over the long-lived conspiracy theory.

In June 2020, news broke that Chuck E. Cheese may be filing for bankruptcy and may remain permanently closed post-COVID-19 shutdown. The company was greatly affected by the pandemic closures, laying off 65 percent of its staff this year.