1977
May 16: Atari opened
the initial "prototype" Pizza Time Theatre at 370 S. Winchester Blvd., San
Jose, California. The family pizza and entertainment concept featured the
computer-animated characters Chuck E. Cheese, Crusty (the cat), Jasper T.
Jowls (hillbilly country singing dog), Pasqually (Italian opera-singing
chef), and The Warblettes (three soul-singing magpies). The project
was the brainchild of Nolan K. Bushnell (Atari chairman); Gene N. Landrum
was Atari Restaurant Operating Division General Manager.Pizza Time Theatre (an independent company)
1978
June: Nolan Bushnell, founder and chairman of Atari, Inc., bought the
"prototype" Pizza Time Theatre (at 370 S. Winchester Blvd., San Jose, CA) and concept / intellectual property (Chuck E. Cheese) from Atari for US$500,000,
planning to enlist franchisees to establish additional locations. Atari retained
minority ownership in Bushnell's new company, Pizza Time Theatre, Inc.
Nolan Bushnell (still chairman and co-CEO at Atari) would
serve as chairman of Pizza Time Theatre. Gene Landrum
(previously Restaurant Operating Division General Manager at Atari) would
serve as Pizza Time Theatre president and COO.
Pizza Time Theatre corporate headquarters would be
established at: 455 N Bernardo Ave, Suite A, Mountain View CA
Summer/Fall: Executives
joining Pizza Time Theatre included: Donald K. Marks, director of
franchising (previously vice president--new business development at Holiday
Inns Inc.); Michael M. Hatcher, director of entertainment; Gregory J.
Tilden, director of technical operations; and Raymond W. Davis, director of
engineering.
Fall: A second Pizza Time
Theatre opened at 1371 Kooser Rd (at Blossom Hill), San Jose CA. At
19,000 square feet overall, it was the country's largest pizza parlor.
Al Rich was store manager; Allen Strege was district manager.
November: At Atari, Ray Kassar, consulting for
Atari since March 1978, became Atari President (replacing Joe Keenan) and
CEO (replacing Nolan Bushnell and Joe Keenan as co-CEOs). Joe Keenan became
Atari chairman of the board (replacing Nolan Bushnell) (see:
Cumma press release 7 Jan 1984). Officially, Nolan Bushnell would
continue to work with Atari as creative consultant / engineering consultant,
but Bushnell's role with Atari was essentially finished.
1979
Winter: Pizza Time
Theatre corporate headquarters, franchise development, and manufacturing were
established at: 10060 Bubb Rd., Cupertino CA
Winter?: John Impson joined Pizza Time Theatre
as director of manufacturing. He would also serve as a vice president.
He would be responsible for the purchasing dept at PTT as well a the
distribution center in Milpitas. He would also have engineers working
under him for the animation of the characters Dolli Dimples, Helen Henny,
etc. (primary source: Pete
Mirrione email, 11/2011)
March?: The third Pizza Time Theatre opened at
the Willows in Concord CA, with a fourth location to open in Stockton CA
soon thereafter.
September: At Atari, Joe Keenan, Atari executive since 1973 and most
recently Atari chairman since November 1978, announced his resignation from the
company. Keenan would continue to work with Atari as consultant, but
his role with the company was essentially finished.
September: Joe Keenan was named president and COO of Pizza Time Theatre. Gene Landrum,
previously president and COO,
would remain with the company as senior vp of development.
September: Phil Stewart joined Pizza Time Theatre as the company's
animation installer. Stewart was previously a field tech. with Atari for four
years.
Fall?: Topeka Inn Management, based in Tulsa, Okla. and headed by Robert
Brock since its inception in 1969, signed a co-development agreement with Nolan Bushnell to build Pizza Time
Theatre restaurants and sign up franchisees. Topeka Inn Management planned
to develop 285 units in 16 states in five years.
Fall: By late fall there
were 5 Pizza Time Theatre locations. The 4 locations built since
Atari's original prototype had been financed through a US$1.8 million investment by company owner and chairman
Nolan Bushnell.
December: Brock notified Bushnell that their franchise agreement was
canceled. Brock instead planned to compete with Pizza Time Theatre,
utilizing animatronics developed by Creative Engineering, Inc.
1980
January: The first Pizza Time Theatre venture capitalists paid US$2.5
million for 669,333 shares of company stock at $3.25 per share.
March 3: Topeka Inn Management's new subsidiary, ShowBiz Pizza Place,
Inc., opened the first ShowBiz Pizza Place in Kansas City MO.
March: Upon the opening of the first ShowBiz Pizza Place by Topeka Inn
Management, Bushnell sued Brock for breach of contract. Brock swiftly countersued for
misrepresentation.
March?: Pete's Woodworking,
Inc. (Pete Mirrione) of Morgan Hill CA was hired by Pizza Time Theatre
to design and build the Sundae Bar for the
Kooser Rd location in San Jose.
Pete's Woodworking would go on to make Dolli Dimples Piano Bar, Helen
Henny's Bar, The King's Bar, Merchandise Store,
etc. for Pizza Time Theatre. (source: Pete Mirrione emails)
Summer?: John A. Scott became executive vp of operations at Pizza Time
Theatre, responsible for company and franchise operations, marketing, training
and development. Scott was previously director of franchise sales and
development at Wendy's International Inc., and in seven years there Wendy's grew
to 2,300 units, from 120. There were 16 Pizza Time Theatre locations when
Scott joined the company.
November: A second round of outside investors purchased 572,941 shares of
Pizza Time Theatre stock at $5.25 per share.
1981
January: At the beginning of the year there were 25 Pizza Time Theatre
locations, 14 company-owned and 11 franchises.
April 17: Report of the Pizza Time Theatre initial public offering of
1,063,282 shares at $15/share. (WSJ) Shares would be traded
over-the-counter under the NASDAQ symbol: CHKY
September 5: "Show Time at Pizza Chain" by Diane Wagner,
NYT, p.
2.25.
September 11-13: At a meeting of district managers and franchisees in
Monterey, Calif., Chuck E. Cheese's costume of a bright yellow shirt and
patterned vest was changed to tails and a top hat.
October 12: Report that Pizza Time Theatre was registering with the SEC
an offering of 1,131,659 common shares, of which 700,000 would be offered by the
company, and 431,659 would be offered by certain shareholders. (WSJ)
December: Patrick Saign was vice-president of
marketing for Pizza Time Theatre.
December: At the end of the year there were 90 Pizza Time Theatre
locations, 48 company-owned and 42 franchises.
1982
April: Randall L. Pike joined Pizza Time Theatre as executive
vice president and chief financial officer. He was previously senior vice
president and chief financial officer of Far West Services Inc., a restaurant
subsidiary of W.R. Grace Co.
May: Pizza Time Theatre
established a new Games Division, headed by Robert Lundquist, division vice
president.
Games
Division
May: Pizza Time Theatre
purchased Pete's Woodworking, Inc., a business partner since
approximately March 1980.
Pete Mirrione, became director of manufacturing, Games Division.
(source: Pete Mirrione emails)
June 10: Brock Hotel Corp. (formerly known as Topeka Inn Management --
name change between 5/19/81 and 3/19/82) and Pizza Time Theatre signed a settlement of their
legal dispute, and signed a license agreement. Pizza Time Theatre would
receive $750,000 and would also receive, from and after May 1, 1982, a
percentage of the monthly gross sales from the first 160 ShowBiz Pizza Place
restaurants opened for business. The percentage payments would be 1-1/2 percent
of gross sales for the first six years, 1-3/4 percent of gross sales for the
next four years, and two percent of gross sales for the last four years of the
payment period applicable to each of such restaurants.
August 14: "There are now 132 Pizza Time Theatres around the country and
overseas, more than triple the number of outlets there were last summer."
--AP
September 8: President Reagan announced his intention to appoint two
members to the National Advisory Council on Vocational Education. One of
the two would be Nolan Bushnell, board chairman of Pizza Time Theatre Inc.
September 9: There were 158 Pizza Time Theatres, 76 company-owned and 82
franchised.
Fall: Pizza Time Theatre established a subsidiary
in Canada, headed by C.T. "Chuck" Finlay, managing director; named Aziz
Alaoui managing director in France; and established a franchising agreement in Hong Kong.
October: At Pizza Time Theatre, John Scott
remained executive vice president of operations, Joe Keenan remained
president, and Nolan Bushnell remained chairman. Gene Landrum remained
senior vice president of development. Jack Campbell was vice
president-international.
December 31: There were 204 Pizza Time Theatre locations.
1983
January 5?: Pizza Time Theatre
said it had signed a letter of intent to acquire the engineering, research and
development business of Videa Inc., a developer of electronic games. Videa
had been founded by Roger Hector, Howard Delman and Ed Rotberg, former Atari engineers.
The deal was worth $2.2
million.
February: Pizza Time Theatre announced that a new subsidiary, Sente
Technologies, (pronounced "cen-tay") would produce advanced arcade video
games, with sales and distribution to begin in
October 1983 when Bushnell's non-competition agreement with Atari would expire.
Sente Technologies would be formed from the combination of the assets of the
former Videa Inc. with the Games Division of Pizza Time Theatre.
Pizza Time Theatre also announced the new subsidiary, Kadabrascope Computer
Animation Studios, a
computer-aided animation group where animation experts formerly of Walt Disney
Productions and Hanna-Barbera Productions Inc. would be paired with a $1.5
million, computer-aided system developed and sold by Computer Graphics Lab (CGL)
Inc., a commercial arm of the New York Institute of Technology. A cartoon
series based on the Chuck E. Cheese character was planned.
Games Division (Sente) Kadabrascope
February 22: There were 211 Pizza Time Theatre locations.
Winter?: Pizza Time Theatre
leased a former Vacationeer Trailer manufacturing plant, located in
Hollister, Calif., for the purpose of establishing the ability to
manufacture coin-operated arcade games. The site was located by Pete Mirrione, Games Division
Director of Manufacturing, who proceeded to
set the facility up and hire all the employees at the location.
Spring?: Gilbert Zapp's, a game
arcade for adults, was opened in Campbell, CA. (the site was previously The
Bodega, which had closed after its final night, September 25, 1982).
It was a somewhat rustic looking building and had loads of video games,
foosball and pool tables as well as darts. There was also live music some
nights. (source)
Investors included Gil Williams (namesake for the concept), Joe Keenan, and
Nolan Bushnell's Catalyst Technologies.
April 7: Atari, Inc. filed suit in Santa Clara Superior Court against
Nolan Bushnell and Joe Keenan for violation of the non-competition agreement, to
expire October 1, 1983, that was a component of the October 1976 sale of Atari by
Bushnell and Keenan to Warner Communications. Atari
claimed that Bushnell's
public comments regarding Sente Technologies and his purchase of Videa were attempts to lure customers
from Atari, a violation of the agreement.
May 2: Pizza Time Theatre established the new
subsidiary, Zapp's Bar and Grill, Inc. Gene Landrum would
be president of Zapp's Bar and Grill; Bruce H. Munro was the registered
agent.
May 26: Atari and Nolan Bushnell announced they had reached an
out-of-court settlement of Atari's lawsuit aimed at postponing Bushnell's return
to the video game market. The agreement gave Atari the sole right to
develop home versions of coin-operated video games developed by Bushnell, Joe
Keenan, Pizza Time Theatre, or the new Pizza Time Theatre subsidiary, Sente
Technologies. No dollar value to the
agreement was announced.
Month?: A Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre location that was owned and
operated by Nintendo opened near Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (No
other Chuck E. Cheese's were opened by Nintendo.)
August/September?: Building
on the Gilbert Zapp's concept location in Campbell CA, the first
Zapp's Bar & Grill was opened by Pizza Time Theatre in
Cupertino, CA (on CA highway 9 next door to a
Kmart in a strip mall). (sources:
September 8: There were 253 Pizza Time Theatres, 143 company-owned and
110 franchised.
September 9: Report (NYT) that Joe Keenan was resigning from the position of
president and COO of Pizza Time Theatre. (He would remain on board until
October.) The position would not be directly replaced. Instead,
Pizza Time Theatre would form four operating divisions, each with its own
president who would report directly to chairman
and CEO Nolan Bushnell, who would also take on some of the COO responsibilities.
October 1: Sente Technologies Inc. was officially founded and launched as
a wholly owned subsidiary of Pizza Time Theatre Inc. Robert Lundquist
(formerly vice president, special projects/games division for Pizza Time
Theatre) was
president of the new unit. Other executives included Roger Hector, senior
vice president of engineering; Howard Delman, vice president of hardware
development; Ed Rotberg, vice pesident of software development; and Curt
Russell, senior vice president of manufacturing. All were former employees
of Atari, Inc.
At launch, Sente employed approximately 200 people.
Pete Mirrione remained director of manufacturing under Sente Technologies.
Pizza Time Theatre now had four divisions:
- Chuck E. Cheese's family entertainment restaurants
- Sente Technologies
- Kadabrascope computer graphics lab
- Zapp's Bar & Grill young adult entertainment centers
Kadabrascope
November 18: Pizza Time Theatre announced the closing of one small plant
(the Hollister CA manufacturing facility) and the elimination of 65 jobs, leaving the company with 940 full-time
employees.
December 9, 10:08 a.m.: Sente Technologies introduced the Sente Arcade
Computer 1 (SAC 1) hardware system and the unit's first game,
Snakepit. The SAC II platform was also
previewed.
December 13: Sente Technologies announced that they had purchase
commitments for 9,000 of their new arcade game systems so far.
December: Steve Lieberman, Don Valentine and
Wallace Hawley each resigned from the board of directors of Pizza Time
Theatre.
December 31: There were 266 Pizza Time Theatre locations, 150
company-owned and 116 franchised.
December/January: Sente Technologies director of manufacturing
Pete Mirrione, who had been with Pizza Time Theatre in the same capacity
since May 1982, departed the company.
Fall/Winter?: The second
Zapp's Bar & Grill location was opened by Pizza Time Theatre in
Reno NV. (A third location would open at 2363 Fowler Ave. E. in Tampa
FL.)
1984
January 13: Pizza Time Theatre announced substantial financial
losses. Plans now called for no new locations in 1984.
January: Sente Technologies shipped
Snakepit. (Knight-Ridder, March 1984)
February 1: Pizza Time Theatre announced that as of January 31, Nolan
Bushnell had resigned from his position as chairman and CEO of the company.
Former company president Joe
Keenan would replace Nolan Bushnell as chairman. Company executive vp and CFO Randall F. Pike was
named the new president and CEO. Henry C. Montgomery was the new CFO.
Montgomery most recently was executive vice president and chief operating
officer of MicroPro International Corp., the San Rafael, Calif., software firm.
Bushnell would remain with the company as chairman of Sente Technologies.
February 17: Pizza Time Theatre said it would close 20 Pizza Time Theatre restaurants and
its Kadabrascope Computer Animation Studios division. 100 full-time and 800 part-time jobs would be
eliminated. After the cutback, Pizza Time said it would have 250
locations: 128 company-owned and 122 franchised stores.
February 23: Pizza Time Theatre announced that its Sente Technologies
division was for sale.
March 26: Bob Lundquist remained president of
Sente Technologies (Knight-Ridder)
March 26: Pizza Time Theatre announced that Henry Montgomery, previously
CFO, would replace Randy Pike as president and CEO. Pike had resigned.
Bruce H. Munro, who had been vice president and chief counsel, was promoted to
executive vp to and would take on many of Montgomery's previous CFO duties.
March 28: Pizza Time Theatre Inc., filed bankruptcy papers for
reorganization under Chapter 11 in U.S. District Court. The company would
continue operations. The company also announced an agreement to sell the
assets of its Sente Technologies subsidiary to BMDC Inc., a subsidiary of Bally
Manufacturing Corp. of Chicago. While the sale of Sente would require the
approval of the bankruptcy court, Sente would continue operations through
short-term loans provided by Bally.
March 29: Bally Manufacturing Corp. announced the agreement to purchase
the assets and business of the Sente Technologies division of Pizza Time Theatre
Inc. Nolan Bushnell would remain associated with the Sente, and Sente
would continue its engineering, research and marketing activities at its
Sunnyvale, Calif., headquarters. It was reported separately that the
purchase price for Sente was US$3.9 million.
April 5: The first European Pizza Time Theatre opened in Paris.
May: Bally Manufacturing completed its acquisition of Sente Technologies
from Pizza Time Theatre, forming Bally Sente.
May 30: Brock Hotel Corp. (parent company of ShowBiz Pizza Place,
Inc.) and Pizza Time Theatre, Inc. jointly announced they were holding
preliminary discussions on the possibility of combining selected profitable
portions of their businesses.
July 24: Pizza Time Theatre announced that Bruce Munro, previously
executive vp, was the new interim president and CEO, replacing the departing
Henry Montgomery.
September 27: Brock Hotel announced that its subsidiary, ShowBiz Pizza
Place had signed an agreement with Pizza Time Theatre for the acquisition by
ShowBiz Pizza Place of 60 Pizza Time Theatre restaurants selected by ShowBiz
Pizza Place, all rights to the
Pizza Time Theatre franchise system, the net operating loss carryforward of Pizza Time
Theatre,
and the termination of a license agreement whereby ShowBiz Pizza Place had been paying Pizza
Time Theatre approximately $2.4 million per year in royalties. The
acquisition would be in exchange for common and preferred stock of ShowBiz Pizza
Place,
warrants on shares of Brock Hotel Corp. common stock, and cash.
1985
April: Atari Holdings (previously known
as Atari
Games, Inc., and before that known as Atari, Inc.), significant shareholder in
Pizza Time Theatre, entered into a court approved
settlement agreement with Pizza Time Theatre.
ShowBiz Pizza Time, a division of Brock Hotel
May 21: The ShowBiz Pizza Place, Inc.
unit of Brock Hotel Corp. purchased
substantially all of the operating assets of Pizza Time Theatre, including
company-owned restaurants and the
Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre franchise system. ShowBiz Pizza
Place issued 4,000,000 shares of ShowBiz Pizza Place Common Stock and
500,000 shares of ShowBiz Pizza Place Preferred Stock to the creditors of Pizza Time
Theatre. (Atari Holdings Inc, one unsecured creditor of Pizza Time Theatre, received 121,551
shares of ShowBiz Pizza Place Common Stock and 16,011 shares of ShowBiz Pizza
Place Preferred Stock.)
ShowBiz Pizza Place, Inc. adopted the new name, ShowBiz Pizza Time, Inc.
Brock Hotel
June 12: Brock Hotel Corp. announced that Richard M. Frank would the new
president and COO of ShowBiz Pizza Time, replacing Robert L. Brock, effective
June 24. Frank also joined the board of directors of the company. Brock would remain chairman and CEO. ShowBiz Pizza Time
owned 113 ShowBiz Pizza Place and 51 Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre
restaurants, plus a system of 200 franchisees of the two brands throughout the
world.
1986
February 27: ShowBiz Pizza Time announced that
company president and COO Richard Frank would
now additionally be the new chairman and CEO, replacing Bob Brock, effective March 1. Brock
would remain chairman and CEO of the Brock Hotel Corp.
March 1: ShowBiz Pizza Time operated 262 restaurants: 107 Chuck E.
Cheeses (30 company-owned and 77 franchised) and 155 ShowBiz Pizza Place units
(95 company-owned and 60 franchised).
June 25: As part of a larger financial-restructuring plan at Brock Hotel,
Brock Hotel converted approximately $48 million of indebtedness owed it by
ShowBiz Pizza Time
into shares of ShowBiz Pizza Time common stock, increasing Brock Hotel's percentage ownership of
ShowBiz Pizza Time from 57 percent to 90 percent.
July: Richard T. Hutson became Executive Vice
President of ShowBiz Pizza Time.
August: As a result of a stock buyback by
ShowBiz
Pizza Time, the 16,011
shares of ShowBiz Pizza Time Preferred Stock held by Atari Holdings that had previously
constituted 3.6% of the outstanding ShowBiz Pizza Time Preferred Stock now represented
32.3% of the outstanding ShowBiz Pizza Time Preferred Stock.
1987
July: Brock Hotel, through a wholly-owned subsidiary, BHC
Acquisition Corp. ("BAC"), bought most of the assets of Monterey House, Inc.
(Tex-Mex restaurants).
October: Michael H. Magusiak, with the company since
July 1987, became Vice President and Controller of ShowBiz Pizza Time.
1988
January: Brock Hotel, pursuing its two lines of business, owned and
operated thirty-eight hotels in twenty-two states and, through ShowBiz and BAC,
183 restaurants in twenty-one states. ShowBiz had 125 of the restaurants and BAC
had fifty-eight.
ShowBiz Pizza Time, a division of Integra-A Hotel and
Restaurant Company
May 3: Brock Hotel Corp. adopted the new name, Integra-A Hotel and
Restaurant Company.
Integra
June: Michael H. Magusiak became Executive Vice
President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of ShowBiz Pizza Time.
Magusiak also joined the board of directors of the company.
August 5: Integra announced its intention to "spin-off" its 90 percent
ownership interest in ShowBiz Pizza Time, Inc. to Integra shareholders.
Also, Integra's chain of 58 Monterey House Mexican Restaurants had been
transferred to the ShowBiz Pizza Time unit for $11 million. (Integra (as
Brock Hotel) had acquired the Monterey House concept in July 1987.)
ShowBiz Pizza Time, Inc. owned the system of 265 ShowBiz Pizza Place and Chuck
E. Cheese restaurants of which 127 were company operated.
Integra
Monterey House
October: ShowBiz Pizza Time chairman and CEO Richard
Frank gave up his additional titles of company president and COO.
December 9: Record date for Integra's spin-off of the common stock of its
90 percent owned subsidiary, ShowBiz Pizza Time, Inc. ("ShowBiz"), to
shareholders of Integra's common stock.
ShowBiz Pizza Time (an independent company)
December 30:
Integra - A Hotel and Restaurant Company announced that the distribution
of its 90 percent ownership of ShowBiz Pizza Time Inc. to shareholders of
Integra common stock had been completed. Integra never recovered.
The NYSE halted trading in Integra stock on December 6, 1991, and Integra filed
for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 14, 1992. The company would not emerge
from that bankruptcy.
Monterey House
Richard M. Frank remained chairman and CEO of ShowBiz Pizza Time, Inc.
1989
January 3:
The common stock of ShowBiz Time
Time, headquartered in Irving, Texas, began trading on the NASDAQ system under the symbol "SHBZ."
January 31: ShowBiz Pizza Time operated a system of 265 ShowBiz
Pizza and Chuck E. Cheese restaurants, of which 127 were company operated in 21
states, and 58 Monterey House Mexican Restaurants in Texas and Oklahoma.
Spring: ShowBiz Pizza Time
began a remodeling and updating program across its full line of
restaurants. This included updating Monterey House locations to the new
Monterey's Tex Mex Cafe concept.
May 4: ShowBiz Pizza Time
operated a system of 259 ShowBiz Pizza Place and Chuck E. Cheese restaurants, of
which 129 were company operated in 21 states, and 56 Mexican restaurants
operating as Monterey's "Tex-Mex" Cafe and "Monterey House" in Texas and
Oklahoma.
July 31: ShowBiz Pizza Time
operated a system of 258 ShowBiz Pizza Place and Chuck E. Cheese restaurants, of
which 130 were company operated in 22 states, and 53 Mexican restaurants
operating as Monterey's Tex-Mex and Monterey House in Texas and Oklahoma.
August 30: Holdings of the newly-merged Time Warner included:
-
ShowBiz Pizza Time Inc.,
the Irving,
Texas, restaurant, entertainment and coin-operated game concern, 32.3 percent or
16,011 class A preferred shares;
September 18: ShowBiz Pizza Time announced that it would close 26 of the
52 Monterey House Mexican restaurants in Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Dallas and
Houston. Remaining Monterey House locations would be remodeled to the
Monterey's Tex-Mex Cafe concept. In addition to Monterey, ShowBiz operated
258 ShowBiz Pizza and Chuck E. Cheese restaurants.
October 19: ShowBiz Pizza Time effected a one-for-ten
reverse stock split of ShowBiz Pizza Time Common Stock.
October: (after Oct. 19) Atari Holdings sold the entire 12,551 shares of
ShowBiz
Pizza Time Common Stock it held (as adjusted by the October 19 reverse stock split) for an
aggregate sales price of $138,645 in open market transactions. (Atari Holdings still held 16,011 shares of
ShowBiz
Pizza Time Preferred Stock.)
October 30: ShowBiz Pizza Time operated a system of 256 ShowBiz Pizza
Place and Chuck E. Cheese restaurants, of which 130 were company operated in 22
states, and 33 Mexican restaurants operating as Monterey's Tex-Mex Cafe
restaurants in Texas and Oklahoma.
1990
Winter: ShowBiz Pizza Time commenced a very gradual program of
opening new company-owned Chuck E. Cheese's locations. There would be no
new ShowBiz Pizza Place locations, and the ShowBiz Pizza Place concept would
eventually be phased out.
February 1: ShowBiz Pizza Time operated a system of 257 ShowBiz Pizza Place
and Chuck E. Cheese restaurants, of which 131 were company operated in 22
states, and 26 Mexican restaurants operating as Monterey's Tex-Mex Cafe
restaurants in Texas and Oklahoma.
April 18: ShowBiz Pizza Time operated a system of 259 ShowBiz Pizza Place
and Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants, of which 133 were company operated in 22
states, and 26 Monterey's Tex-Mex Cafe restaurants in Texas and Oklahoma.
July 18: ShowBiz Pizza Time operated a system of 259 ShowBiz Pizza Place
and Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants, of which 134 were company operated in 22
states, and 27 Monterey's Tex-Mex Cafe restaurants in Texas and Oklahoma.
October 15: ShowBiz Pizza Time operated a system of 263 ShowBiz Pizza
Place and Chuck E. Cheese restaurants, of which 139 were company operated in 23
states, and 27 Mexican restaurants operating as Monterey's Tex-Mex Cafe
restaurants in Texas and Oklahoma.
1991
February 25: ShowBiz Pizza Time declared a three for two stock split in the
form of a 50 percent stock dividend effective and distributable March 26, 1991
to holders of record as of March 5, 1991. The company operated a system of
266 Showbiz Pizza Place and Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants, of which 144 were
company operated in 24 states, and 27 Mexican restaurants operating as
Monterey's Tex-Mex Cafe restaurants in Texas and Oklahoma.
April 15: ShowBiz Pizza Time operated a system of 268 ShowBiz Pizza Place
and Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants, of which 146 were company-operated in 22
states, and 27 Monterey's Tex-Mex Cafe restaurants in Texas and Oklahoma.
July 15: ShowBiz Pizza Time operated a system of 268 ShowBiz Pizza
Place and Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants, of which 148 were company operated in
24 states, and 27 Monterey's Tex-Mex Cafe restaurants in Texas and Oklahoma.
October 14: ShowBiz Pizza Time operated a system of 273 ShowBiz Pizza
Place and Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants, of which 154 were company operated in
24 states and 27 Monterey's Tex-Mex Cafe restaurants in Texas and Oklahoma.
1992
January 6: ShowBiz Pizza Time announced that it had been named a
defendant in litigation commenced by certain holders of warrants, options and
preferred stock of Integra-A Hotel & Restaurant Company in District Court in
Dallas County, Texas on Dec. 31, 1991. The company was served with notice of the
action on Friday, Jan. 3, 1992. The suit alleged that the company,
Integra, The Hallwood Group Incorporated and certain directors of such companies
violated state securities laws and breached fiduciary duties to the Plaintiffs
in connection with the Integra securities acquired by the Plaintiffs from 1986
through 1988. The suit also alleged that the 1988 "spin-off" of ShowBiz to
holders of Integra common stock constituted a fraudulent transfer under Texas
law. The Plaintiffs sought actual damages equal to the alleged loss of value of
their Integra securities as well as rescission of the company's 1988 spin-off
and punitive damages.
February 24: ShowBiz Pizza Time announced a three for two stock split in
the form of a 50 percent stock dividend effective and distributable March 20,
1992 to holders of record as of March 5, 1992. The company operated a
system of 272 ShowBiz Pizza Place and Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants, of which
159 were company operated in 25 states, and 27 Mexican restaurants operating as
Monterey's Tex-Mex Cafe restaurants in Texas and Oklahoma.
April 13: ShowBiz operated a system of 273 ShowBiz Pizza Place and Chuck
E. Cheese's restaurants, of which 162 were company operated in 26 states, and 27
Mexican restaurants operating as Monterey's Tex-Mex Cafe restaurants in Texas
and Oklahoma.
June 26: Atari Holdings, Inc., including
its minority-interest 16,011 shares of ShowBiz Pizza Time Preferred Stock, was
merged with and into its parent company, the Warner Communications Inc. unit of
Time Warner Inc.
July 13: ShowBiz Pizza Time operated a system of 283 Chuck E. Cheese's
and ShowBiz Pizza restaurants of which 169 were company operated in 25 states,
and 27 Monterey's Tex-Mex Cafe restaurants in Texas and Oklahoma.
1993
January: Richard T. Hutson
became Director of Marketing and Strategic Development at ShowBiz Pizza Time.
March 1: ShowBiz Pizza Time operated a system of 300 Chuck E. Cheese's and
ShowBiz Pizza Place restaurants, of which 187 were company operated in 26
states, and 28 Monterey's Tex-Mex Cafe restaurants in Texas, Oklahoma and
Alabama.
November 16: ShowBiz Pizza Time announced it had signed a Letter of
Intent to sell substantially all of the assets of its Monterey's Tex-Mex Cafe
restaurants to a corporation to be formed by River Associates, Inc. of Houston,
Texas. At closing the Company would receive a purchase price of approximately
$11 million cash, a 2-1/2 percent equity position in the acquiring company and a
promissory note of $300,000. ShowBiz Pizza Time ShowBiz operated a system
of 322 Chuck E. Cheese's and ShowBiz Pizza Place restaurants, of which 212 were
Company operated in 29 states, and 28 Monterey's Tex-Mex Cafe restaurants in
Texas, Oklahoma and Alabama.
1994
May 5: ShowBiz Pizza Time completed its sale of its Monterey's Tex-Mex Cafe
restaurants to River Associates. The company sold substantially all of the assets of its
Monterey's Tex-Mex Cafe restaurants for an aggregate asset purchase price
consisting of approximately $6.7 million in cash, a $4.7 million promissory note
and the retention of a 12-1/2 percent equity interest in the acquiring company. ShowBiz Pizza Time operated a system of 327 Chuck E. Cheese's and ShowBiz Pizza
Place restaurants, of which 219 were company operated.
June 6: ShowBiz Pizza Time announced the promotion of Michael H. Magusiak
to the office of President of the Company. Mr. Magusiak was previously Executive
Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. In addition, J. Terry Spaight would
become Executive Vice President-Director of Operations. ShowBiz Pizza Time
operated a system of 330 Chuck E. Cheese's and ShowBiz Pizza Place restaurants,
of which 222 were Company operated.
July 18: ShowBiz Pizza Time operated a system of 329 Chuck E. Cheese's
and ShowBiz Pizza Place restaurants, of which 222 were company operated.
August 18: Based on the test results at the Irving, TX Chuck E. Cheese's
location, the company planned to remodel approximately 100 units through 1995.
ShowBiz Pizza Time operated a system of 330 Chuck E. Cheese's and ShowBiz Pizza
Place restaurants, of which 222 were company-operated in 28 states.
October: Larry G. Page joined ShowBiz Pizza Time
as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer.
October 24: ShowBiz Pizza Time operated a system of 330 Chuck E. Cheese's
and ShowBiz Pizza Place restaurants in 28 states, of which 224 were Company
operated. The just-commenced remodeling program would continue through
1996.
1995
January 12: ShowBiz Pizza Time announced the resignation of Terry Spaight,
Executive Vice President of Operations. The Company's four Regional Vice
Presidents would now report directly to Richard Frank, Chairman of the Board and
Chief Executive Officer of the Company.
February 27: ShowBiz Pizza Time operated a system of 327 Chuck E.
Cheese's restaurants in 45 states, of which 227 were company operated.
Concept unification to the Chuck E. Cheese's concept, commenced in 1990, had
been completed.
September 6: ShowBiz Pizza Time Inc., operators of the Chuck E. Cheese's
pizza restaurant system, and Mead Johnson Nutritionals would underwrite PBS's "Barney & Friends" children's show through 1998.
October 23: ShowBiz Pizza Time operated a system of 323 Chuck E. Cheese's
restaurants in 45 states, of which 227 were Company operated.
1996
February 26: ShowBiz Pizza Time operated a system of 319 Chuck E. Cheese's
restaurants in 45 states, of which 226 were Company operated.
September 16: ShowBiz Pizza Time finalized the agreement to purchase all
19 of the Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants owned by its largest franchisee, McBiz
Corporation, headquartered in Topeka, Kansas. ShowBiz operated a system of
317 Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants in 45 states, of which 244, including the 19
acquired restaurants, were Company operated.
October 21: ShowBiz Pizza Time operated a system of 313 Chuck E. Cheese's
restaurants in 44 states, of which 244 were Company operated.
1997
March 26: ShowBiz Pizza Time announced that it had successfully concluded a
secondary public offering of 3,654,746 shares of its common stock. All of
the shares were sold by The Hallwood Group Incorporated and its affiliates.
ShowBiz Pizza Time operated a system of 314 Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants in 44
states, of which 245 were Company operated.
April 21: ShowBiz Pizza Time operated a system of 314 Chuck E. Cheese's
restaurants in 44 states, of which 245 were Company operated.
June 6: ShowBiz Pizza Time announced three separate agreements to launch
the use of the Chuck E. Cheese's name outside of their restaurant and family
entertainment business. ShowBiz had appointed ACA The Licensing Group of
New York City as their representative for all licensing partnerships. The
first licensing agreement was with the Delicious Frookie Company of Des Plaines,
Illinois who would produce Chuck E. Cheese's snack crackers and cookies.
Street Players of Los Angeles had signed an agreement to manufacture Chuck E.
Cheese talking and non-talking plush, poseables and other toy items. The
third agreement was with K & L Enterprises of Darien, Wisconsin who would
manufacture and distribute Chuck E. Cheese's limited edition collectable cookie
jars.
1998
April 20: ShowBiz Pizza Time operated a system of 313 Chuck E.
Cheese's restaurants in 44 states, of which 254 were Company owned and operated.
CEC Entertainment (an independent company)
June 25: ShowBiz Pizza Time, Inc. adopted the new name, CEC Entertainment,
Inc. (Time Warner still held its minority-interest 16,011 shares of CEC
Entertainment Preferred Stock.) Also, pending final approval by the NYSE,
trading of company shares on the NYSE was expected to begin on July 9, 1998
under the symbol "CEC". Until that time, the company's common stock would
continue to trade on the NASDAQ National Market System under the symbol "SHBZ".
The company operated a system of 316 Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants in 44 states,
of which 256 were Company-operated.
July 9: Trading of CEC Entertainment shares under the symbol "CEC"
commenced on the NYSE.
July 27: CEC Entertainment operated a system of 318 Chuck E. Cheese's
restaurants in 44 states, of which 258 were owned and operated by the Company.
October 19: CEC Entertainment
operated a system of 320 Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants in 44 states, of which
259 were owned and operated by the company.
December 21: CEC Entertainment
acquired six Chuck E. Cheese's
restaurants from its largest franchisee. The company operated a system of
324 Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants in 44 states, of which 269 were
Company-operated.
1999
January 28:
CEC
Entertainment operated a system of 327 Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants in 44
states, of which 273 were operated by the Company.
March 8: CEC Entertainment
operated a system of 330 Chuck E.
Cheese's restaurants in 44 states, of which 276 were owned and operated by the
Company.
April 26: CEC Entertainment
operated a system of 332 Chuck E.
Cheese's restaurants in 44 states, of which 277 were owned and operated by the
Company.
June 24: CEC Entertainment
declared a three for two stock split
in the form of a 50% stock dividend effective and distributable July 23, 1999 to
holders of record as of July 1, 1999. The company operated a system of 333
Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants in 44 states, of which 278 were owned and operated
by the Company.
June 25: CEC Entertainment
announced that the U.S. Bankruptcy
Court for the District of Delaware, had approved its acquisition of certain
assets of Discovery Zone, Inc., a nationwide operator of children's indoor
entertainment centers, for $19 million. Discovery Zone had filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on April 20, 1999. The assets to be acquired by CEC
included 13 owned properties currently operating as Discovery Zone Fun Centers,
two parcels of undeveloped real estate, the rights to 7 leased properties
currently operating as Discovery Zone Fun Centers, and all furniture, fixtures,
equipment and intellectual properties and trade names owned by Discovery Zone.
July 26: CEC
Entertainment operated a system of 333 Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants in 44
states, of which 278 were owned and operated by the Company.
July 28: CEC Entertainment announced that it had completed
the previously announced acquisition of certain assets of Discovery Zone,
Inc., for approximately $19 million. The assets acquired by
CEC
included 13 owned properties previously operated as Discovery Zone Fun
Centers, two parcels of undeveloped real estate, the rights to seven leased
properties previously operated as Discovery Zone Fun Centers and all
furniture, fixtures, equipment and intellectual properties and trade names
owned by Discovery Zone. CEC Entertainment intended to convert approximately 10 of the acquired properties
to Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants and sell the remaining land, buildings and
equipment.
August 10: CEC Entertainment announced that on August 9 it
had acquired three children's
indoor entertainment centers in the Minneapolis - St. Paul area that
operated under the name Circus Pizza, along with certain intellectual
properties and trade names related to Circus Pizza.. CEC planned to convert
the acquired centers located in Edina, Blaine and West St. Paul into Chuck
E. Cheese's restaurants.
October 25: CEC
Entertainment operated a system of 338 Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants in 44
states, of which 283 were Company owned and operated.
2000
January 31:
CEC
Entertainment, Inc. operated a system of 351 Chuck E. Cheese's
restaurants in 44 states, of which 296 were operated by the Company.
February 15: CEC Entertainment
announced the opening of their 300th company owned and
operated Chuck E. Cheese's restaurant in Littleton, Colorado.
March 2: CEC
Entertainment announced the appointment of Thomas W. Oliver to the position
of Executive Vice President, General Counsel.
March 6:
CEC Entertainment, Inc. operated a
system of 357 Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants in 44 states, of which 302 were
operated by the Company.
April 7: CEC
Entertainment announced the resignation, after five years of service, of
Larry G. Page as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
effective April 28, 2000.
April 24:
CEC Entertainment, Inc. operated a
system of 359 Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants in 44 states, of which 304 were
operated by the Company.
June 6: CEC
Entertainment announced the appointment of Rodney Carter to the position of
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer effective June 12,
2000 (replacing the departed Larry Page).
July 18:
CEC Entertainment, Inc. operated a
system of 366 Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants in 45 states, of which 310 were
operated by the Company.
October 17:
CEC Entertainment, Inc. operated a
system of 373 Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants in 45 states, of which 317 were
operated by the Company.
2001
January 9:
CEC
Entertainment, Inc. operateed a system of 380 Chuck E. Cheese's
restaurants in 44 states, of which 325 were operated by the Company.
February 20:
CEC Entertainment, Inc. operated a system of 380 Chuck
E. Cheese's restaurants in 45 states, of which 326 were owned and operated by
the Company.
April 17:
CEC Entertainment, Inc. operated a system of 384 Chuck E.
Cheese's restaurants in 45 states, of which 330 were owned and operated by
the Company.
May 30:
CEC Entertainment, Inc. operated a system of 387 Chuck E.
Cheese's restaurants in 45 states, of which 333 were owned and operated by
the Company.
July 24:
CEC Entertainment, Inc. operated a system of 390 Chuck E.
Cheese's restaurants in 45 states, of which 336 were owned and operated by
the Company.
October 16:
CEC Entertainment, Inc. operated a system of 395 Chuck
E. Cheese's restaurants in 45 states, of which 343 were owned and operated by
the Company.
October 30:
CEC Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: CEC) operator of Chuck E.
Cheese's Pizza Restaurants announced an agreement to provide
underwriting support for the children's program, CLIFFORD THE BIG RED DOG on
PBS KIDS.
2002
February 12:
CEC Entertainment operated a system of 405 Chuck E.
Cheese's restaurants in 46 states, of which 353 were owned and operated by
the Company.
April 16:
CEC Entertainment operated a system of 407 Chuck E.
Cheese's restaurants in 46 states, of which 355 were owned and operated by
the Company.
July 16:
CEC Entertainment operated a system of 414 Chuck E.
Cheese's restaurants in 46 states, of which 365 were owned and operated by
the Company.
October 15:
CEC
Entertainment operates a system of 420 Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants in 46
states, of which 371 are owned and operated by the Company.
2003
February 18:
CEC Entertainment operated a system of 437 Chuck E.
Cheese's restaurants in 47 states, of which 387 were owned and operated by the
Company.
April 15: CEC
Entertainment operated a system of 438 Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants in 47
states, of which 388 were owned and operated by the Company.
June 17:
CEC Entertainment, Inc. announced that Rodney Carter, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial
Officer had resigned to pursue other business interests.
July 15:
CEC Entertainment
operated a system of
443 Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants in 47 states, of which 392 were owned and
operated by the Company.
October 15:
CEC
Entertainment operated a system of 455 Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants in 47
states, of which 404 were owned and operated by the Company.
October 31: In response to CEC Entertainment's Notice of Redemption dated
September 26, 2003, Time Warner surrendered their 16,011 shares of CEC Preferred
Stock for an aggregate redemption price of $60.42 per share, or approximately
$967,000.
December 15:
CEC Entertainment
announced the appointment of Chris Morris to the position of Senior Vice
President and Chief Financial Officer effective Jan. 5, 2004 (replacing the
departed Rodney Carter).
2004
January 19:
CEC Entertainment and Global Icons announced
that Global Icons, a premier licensing and brand
merchandising agency, would develop an extensive Chuck E. Cheese's
merchandising program, with primary focus on the Toys & Games, Interactive,
Publishing, Social Expressions, Apparel, Housewares, and Food categories.
February 18: CEC Entertainment
announced a three for two stock split in the form of a
special stock dividend to be effective and distributable on March 15, 2004.
Stockholders would receive one additional share for each two shares of
common stock held on the record date of Feb. 25, 2004. CEC
Entertainment operated a system of 468 Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants in 48
states, of which 420 were owned and operated by the Company.
April 14: CEC
Entertainment operated a system of 470 Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants in 48
states, of which 422 were owned and operated by the Company.
July 14: CEC
Entertainment operated a system of 479 Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants in 48
states, of which 430 were owned and operated by the Company.
October 13:
CEC
Entertainment operated a system of 487 Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants in 48
states, of which 440 were owned and operated by the Company.
2005
March 2:
CEC Entertainment operated a system of
498 Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants in 48 states, of which 452 were owned and
operated by the Company.
March 9: CEC
Entertainment announced the appointment of Larry T. McDowell to its Board of
Directors, effective March 4, 2005. The appointment increased the total
number of directors from eight members to nine members and the number of
independent, non-management directors from five members to six members.
April 20:
CEC Entertainment
operated a system of 498 Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants in 48 states, of
which 453 were owned and operated by the Company.
June 29:
CEC Entertainment
announced the opening of their 500th location, a Chuck E. Cheese's
restaurant in Glendale, Ariz.
July 26:
CEC Entertainment operated
a system of 500 Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants in 48 states, of which 455
were owned and operated by the Company.
October 25:
CEC Entertainment
operated a system of 507 Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants in 48 states, of
which 462 were owned and operated by the Company.
December 8:
The U.S. Consumer
Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with CEC Entertainment, announced
a voluntary recall of about 144,000 Plastic Siren Whistles sold at Chuck E.
Cheese's nationwide from July 2005 through August 2005. The
whistles' internal pieces could detach, posing a choking hazard to children.
The company had received four reports of children starting to choke and
three reports of children swallowing pieces of the whistle.
2006
January 9:
CEC Entertainment announced they
would increase their school fundraising donation program to 15% effective
for all company locations starting January 1, 2006.
February 21:
CEC
Entertainment operated a system of 522 Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants in 48
states, of which 478 were owned and operated by the Company.
March 1: CEC Entertainment announced that company CFO
Chris Morris has been promoted
from senior vice president to Executive Vice President.
April 25: CEC Entertainment
operated a system of 522 Chuck E.
Cheese's restaurants in 48 states, of which 477 were owned and operated by
the Company.
July 25:
CEC Entertainment
announced that it had revised its strategic plan by focusing on growing
sales in existing restaurants and slowing new restaurant development.
CEC Entertainment operated a system of 522 Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants in
48 states, of which 477 are owned and operated by the Company.
September 20: CEC Entertainment and DreamWorks
Animation announced they would team to promote the October 17th DVD release
of DreamWorks' box-office animated hit "Over The Hedge." Starting October 1,
Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants would unveil their first-ever special edition
tokens featuring some of the movie's favorite characters. The tokens would
be included with special in-store food, drink and game bundles, as well as
packaged in specially marked "Over The Hedge" DVDs on sale at Toys 'R Us
stores beginning October 17. Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants would also
incorporate an "Over The Hedge" video presentation as part of its regular
show.
October 6:
CEC Entertainment announced
that it had contributed a total of
$1 million to elementary schools across the country as part of its school
fundraising program, an initiative the company started in September 2004.
November 1: CEC Entertainment's Richard T.
Huston, Executive Vice President of Marketing since July 1986, became
Executive Vice President of Marketing and Entertainment.
November 13:
CEC Entertainment
operated a system of 524 Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants in 48 states, of
which 479 were owned and operated by the Company.
2007
March 6:
CEC Entertainment operated a
system of 529 Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants in 48 states, of which 484 were
owned and operated by the Company.
May 1: CEC
Entertainment operated a system of 529 Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants in 48
states, of which 485 were owned and operated by the Company.
July 24:
CEC Entertainment operated
a system of 531 Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants in 48 states, of which 487
were owned and operated by the Company.
August 1:
CEC Entertainment announced
special 30th anniversary deals and
coupons, downloadable from the company web site.
October 23:
CEC Entertainment
and its franchisees operated a system of 532 Chuck E.
Cheese's restaurants in 48 states, Canada and abroad. 488 locations in the
U.S. and Canada were company owned and operated.
2008
January 31: Next Inc., a
sportswear products industry
company, announced
that it had signed a licensing agreement with
CEC
Entertainment to market products such as Chuck E. Cheese's imprinted shirts.
February 19: CEC Entertainment
and its franchisees operated a system of 534 Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants
located throughout the United States (excluding Wyoming and Vermont), Canada
and abroad. 490 locations in the United States and Canada were owned and
operated by the Company.
March 31: CEC Entertainment
announced that retired four-star U.S. Army General
Tommy Franks had been elected to its board of directors effective March 26,
2008.
April 1: Coca-Cola, in conjunction with
Chuck E. Cheese's, announced a $25,000 College Bound
Scholarship promotion through April 30. In addition to the
scholarship, a basketball clinic for ten area middle school students with an
NCAA Division I coach would be held at a San Antonio Chuck E. Cheese's on
April 4.
April 22: CEC Entertainment
and its franchisees operated a system of 535 Chuck E.
Cheese's restaurants located throughout the United States (excluding Wyoming
and Vermont), Canada and abroad. 490 locations in the United States and
Canada were owned and operated by the Company.
July 22: CEC Entertainment
and its franchisees operated a system of 537 Chuck E.
Cheese's stores located throughout the United States (excluding Wyoming and
Vermont), Canada and abroad. 490 locations in the United States and Canada
were owned and operated by the Company.
October 21: CEC Entertainment
and its franchisees operated a system of 540 Chuck E.
Cheese's stores located throughout the United States (excluding Wyoming and
Vermont), Canada and abroad. 494 locations in the United States and Canada
were owned and operated by the Company.
December 10: CEC Entertainment named company president Michael H.
Magusiak to the additional role as CEO, replacing Richard M. Frank in the CEO
role, effective December 29. Frank would remain chairman of the company.
December 18: CEC Entertainment announced the appointment of Michael
Beacham as Senior Vice President-Chief Operating Officer of International
Development. CEC Entertainment
operated company-owned stores in Canada, as well as franchise-owned stores in
Latin America, Puerto Rico, Saudi Arabia and Dubai.
2009
February 16: CEC
Entertainment and its franchisees
operated a system of 542 Chuck E. Cheese's stores located in 48 states and
six foreign countries or territories. 495 locations in the United States and
Canada were owned and operated by the Company.
March 12: Coca-Cola,
Chuck E. Cheese's, Snapfish; and Beaches Resorts
announced the first "Where A Kid Can Be A Kid®" Photo
Contest. Photos could be uploaded to the Chuck E. Cheese's web site
until April 12; From April 25 - May 11, visitors to the Web site would vote
on their favorite photo among a group of finalists selected by a panel of
qualified judges; the grand prize winner would win a "Luxury Included"
family vacation to Beaches Resorts.
April 30: CEC Entertainment
and its franchisees operated a system of 542 Chuck E.
Cheese's stores located in 48 states (excluding Wyoming and Vermont) and six
foreign countries or territories. 495 locations in the United States and
Canada were owned and operated by the Company.
May 28: Think Wow
Toys, a division of WowWee USA, Inc., announced the new EZ-2 Make! product line, a
"fun
collection of kid-friendly kitchen creations." The product line would include
the Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Maker play set.
July 30: CEC
Entertainment and its franchisees operated a system of 544 Chuck E. Cheese's
stores located in 48 states (excluding Wyoming and Vermont) and six foreign
countries or territories. 496 locations in the United States and Canada were
owned and operated by the Company.
October 29: CEC
Entertainment and its franchisees operated a system of 542 Chuck E. Cheese's
stores located in 48 states (excluding Wyoming and Vermont) and six foreign
countries or territories. 495 locations in the United States and Canada were
owned and operated by the Company.
2010
January 21:
CEC Entertainment announced that Inversiones Las Docas,
S.A. had agreed to develop eight Chuck E. Cheese’s restaurants in Chile. The
company had been operating one Chuck E. Cheese's in Santiago since 1994. The
new restaurants would be opened over the next seven years.
February 25:
CEC Entertainment and its franchisees operated a
system of 545 Chuck E. Cheese's stores located in 48 states (excluding
Wyoming and Vermont) and six foreign countries or territories. 497 locations
in the United States and Canada were owned and operated by the Company.
May 6: CEC Entertainment
and its franchisees operated a system of 546 Chuck E. Cheese's stores
located in 48 states (excluding Wyoming and Vermont) and six foreign
countries or territories. 498 locations in the United States and Canada were
owned and operated by the Company.
June 23: CEC Entertainment
announced that Christopher D. Morris, the Company's Executive Vice
President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, would depart the Company
on or about July 16, 2010.
August 5: CEC Entertainment
and its franchisees operated a system of 546 Chuck E. Cheese's stores
located in 48 states (excluding Wyoming and Vermont) and six foreign
countries or territories. 500 locations in the United States and Canada were
owned and operated by the Company.
August 5: CEC Entertainment announced the
appointment of Tiffany B. Kice to the position of Executive Vice President,
Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, effective August 16, 2010 (replacing
the departed Christopher D. Morris).
November 4: CEC
Entertainment and its franchisees operated a system of 546 Chuck E.
Cheese's stores located in 48 states (excluding Wyoming and Vermont) and six
foreign countries or territories. 500 locations in the United States and
Canada were owned and operated by the Company.
2011
February 24:
CEC Entertainment and its franchisees operated a
system of 553 Chuck E. Cheese's stores located in 48 states and seven
foreign countries or territories. 507 locations
in the United States and Canada were owned and operated by the Company.
February 28: Richard T.
Huston, CEC Entertainment Executive Vice President, Marketing and
Entertainment, announced his intention to retire from the Company later in
2011. He would also retire from the board of directors.
May 5:
CEC Entertainment and its franchisees operated a
system of 555 Chuck E. Cheese's stores located in 48 states and seven
foreign countries or territories. 508 locations in the United States and
Canada were owned and operated by the Company.
June 20: CEC Entertainment announced the June 16
appointment of Bruce M. "Smokey" Swenson as a director (replacing Richard
Huston).
August 4: CEC Entertainment and its franchisees
operated a system of 555 Chuck E. Cheese's stores located in 48 states and
seven foreign countries or territories. 508 locations in the United States
and Canada were owned and operated by the Company.
September 26: CEC Entertainment announced the
appointment of Scott A. McDaniel as Executive Vice President, Chief
Marketing Officer (replacing Richard Huston).
November 3: CEC Entertainment and its
franchisees operated a system of 556 Chuck E. Cheese's stores located in 48
states and seven foreign countries or territories. 507 locations in the
United States and Canada were owned and operated by the Company.
2012
February 23:
CEC Entertainment and its franchisees operated a system of 556 Chuck E.
Cheese’s stores located in 48 states and seven foreign countries or
territories. 507 locations in the United States and Canada were owned and
operated by the Company.
May 3: CEC Entertainment and its franchisees
operated a system of 558 Chuck E. Cheese’s stores located in 48 states and
eight foreign countries or territories. 508 locations in the United States
and Canada were owned and operated by the Company.
August 2: CEC Entertainment and its franchisees operated a system of 560 Chuck E. Cheese’s stores located in 48 states and
eight foreign countries or territories. 510 locations in the United States
and Canada were owned and operated by the Company.
November 1: CEC Entertainment and its franchisees operated
a system of 562 Chuck E. Cheese’s stores located in 48 states and eight
foreign countries or territories. 511 locations in the United States and
Canada are owned and operated by the Company.
2013
February 21:
CEC Entertainment and its franchisees operated a system of 565 Chuck E.
Cheese’s stores located in 47 states and eight foreign countries or
territories. 514 locations in the United States and Canada were owned and
operated by the Company.
May 2: CEC Entertainment and its franchisees
operated a system of 566 Chuck E. Cheese’s stores located in 47 states and
eight foreign countries and territories. 515 locations in the United States
and Canada were owned and operated by the Company.
TODAY:
CEC Entertainment is based in Irving, TX:
http://www.chuckecheese.com/
"Each Chuck E. Cheese’s features
musical and comic robotic entertainment, games, rides, and play areas, as
well as a variety of dining options including pizza, sandwiches, a salad
bar, and desserts."
Links
Last updated: 2013.05.02
selected other updates:
2011.10 Special thanks to Pete Mirrione for his personal e-mails.
2009.06.27 Added initial PTT characters, thanks Darryl