page_title: Chuck E. Cheese
section_title: Mergers and restructuring
hierarchical_section_title: Chuck E. Cheese / History / Mergers and restructuring
caption_attribution_description: English: An older Chuck E. Cheese's location branded only as a restaurant. The name for the restaurant-only Chuck E. Cheeses is called "Chuck E. Cheeses Pizza." There's the 1989-1995 Chuck E. Cheese's logo with the word, "Pizza" and 1993-1995 Chuck E. Cheese.
context_page_description: Chuck E. Cheese is a chain of American restaurants and entertainment centers. The chain is the primary brand of CEC Entertainment, Inc. and is headquartered in Irving, Texas. The establishment serves pizza and other menu items, complemented by arcade games, amusement rides, and animatronic displays as a focus of family entertainment. The restaurant's name is taken from its main character and mascot Chuck E. Cheese.
  The first location opened in San Jose, California, as Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre, on May 17, 1977. The concept was created by Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell, credited with bringing video games such as Pong to the mainstream. The Pizza Time Theatre was the first family restaurant to integrate food, animated entertainment, and an indoor arcade. Following a filing for bankruptcy in March 1984, the chain was acquired by competitor ShowBiz Pizza Place in May 1985, forming ShowBiz Pizza Time, Inc. In 1990, the company began unifying the two brands with the goal of renaming every location to Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza. The name was shortened in 1994 to Chuck E. Cheese's. ShowBiz Pizza Time, Inc. became CEC Entertainment, Inc. in 1998.
context_section_description: In 1981, Pizza Time Theatre went public; however, the evolving video game industry and the video game crash of 1983 resulted in significant losses for Pizza Time Theatre, which lost $15 million in 1983. By early 1984, Bushnell's debts were insurmountable, resulting in the filing of Chapter 11 bankruptcy for Pizza Time Theatre Inc. on March 28, 1984. Showbiz then bought the foundering company, finalizing the purchase in May 1985 and recreating itself as Showbiz Pizza Time Inc.
  After the merge, both restaurant chains continued operating under their respective titles, while major financial restructuring had begun. During this period, Creative Engineering began to sever ties with ShowBiz Pizza Time (officially splitting in September 1990), resulting in the unification of the two brands. By 1992, all restaurants assumed the name of Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza. The name was then shortened to Chuck E. Cheese's by March 1995 after a redesigned concept. In 1998, Showbiz Pizza Time renamed itself CEC Entertainment, Inc. to reflect the remaining chain brand. CEC Entertainment has since acquired additional family entertainment center properties, including 13 locations of the now-defunct Discovery Zone in 1999, and all locations of Peter Piper Pizza in October 2014. Peter Piper Pizza still operates under that name.
caption: An older Chuck E. Cheese location under the now defunct title of Chuck E Cheese's Pizza
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