Families crave a bit more excitement, and many find it at theme restaurants that allow diners, young and old, to work up an appetite doing anything from riding a simulated snowmobile to tracking tiny trains as they meander from table to table. Gone are the days when dining out always means sitting quietly and engaging in polite dinner conversation. Founded in 1977, Chuck E. Cheese offers limited table service at its 382 restaurants around the country. Customers place their food and drink orders upon entering and pay at that time. They are then given their drink cups, a small placard that displays the number of their order and any tokens they have purchased.
Diners then choose a table and fill their own, refillable drink cups.
Then, it's time to either watch the show or head off to play. Adults and children can spend their tokens in one of two arcade rooms. Or, both young and old are welcome to crawl through tubes to heights above the dining room and slide back down to discover a server may have already delivered their meals. While pizza is the food of choice for most Chuck E. Cheese diners, the menu also includes an assortment of sandwiches, buffalo wings, and french fries, and family meal packages are available that include specific numbers of tokens. According to Chuck E. Cheese spokeswoman Brenda Holloway, the restaurants appeal to all ages are but are mainly geared to those ages 3 to 8, and the average family spends about 90 minutes in the restaurant during each visit.