Showbiz (Cheesyverse)

Showbiz is a restaurant/FEC chain owned by Texas based CEC Entertainment. The locations, like Chuck E. Cheese's, serve Pizzas, Salads, and Sandwiches, but Showbiz also serves Barbeque items, Steak, and even alcohol products. They also have arcade games, animatronic shows, and walkaround costumes for entertainment, but more for a teenage/adult audience. The chains mascot is Billy Bob, a country bear from Tennessee.
== History ==
=== Development ===
In 1979, Topeka Inn Management (later known as Brock Hotels) and it's owner, Robert 'Bob' Brock wanted to be a Pizza Time Theater franchisee. The company made a deal with Pizza Time to franchise 260 Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theater restaurants all across America. Unfortunately, Bob was disappointed with the current Portrait Stage animatronic show. With this in mind, Brock turned to Creative Engineering, who had wowed him with the Wolfpack 5 animatronic show at the 1979 IAAPA show. He decided to break contract with PTT to make Showbiz Pizza Place.
=== Showbiz Pizza Place (1980-1988) ===
When opening the first Showbiz Pizza Place location, Brock had to reuse his first Chuck E. Cheese location, as it was practically complete. The stage show for the venue (The Rock-afire Explosion) was still in development, so they decided to use the Wolfpack 5. When the location opened, it was a success. With the second location in Jacksonville, Florida introducing the iconic Rock-afire Explosion, Showbiz saw tremendous success. In the mid-1980's, Showbiz merged with Pizza Time Theater, Inc., becoming Showbiz Pizza Time. Around this time, Showbiz started making showtapes for the Rock-afire Explosion, to the dismay of Creative Engineering. The shows were also awfully similar to the Chuck E. Cheese ones at the time. Chuck E. Cheese characters were also in walkaround costume for at Showbiz restaurants.
=== Showbiz Pizza/Concept Unification (1989-1993) ===
In 1989, the restaurants name was changed to just Showbiz Pizza. Also during this year, Concept Unification began. This process turned Showbiz locations into Chuck E. Cheese ones, retrofitting the Rock-afire bots into Chuck E. Cheese ones. This upset many people, but it still went into fruition. By 1993, the Showbiz Pizza name was dead, and Chuck E. Cheese replaced it.
=== Modern Revival/Concept Revision (2013-Present) ===
In May of 2012, John Shirley reached out to Creative Engineering and Aaron Fechter to discuss of a possible Showbiz Pizza Place revival concept. Aaron was very hesitant at first, as he had a rocky history with CEC, but John said that "This is a new age, and the Rock-afire should be apart of it." So, a plan was settled on, being a concept known as Concept Revision. This process would turn (almost) all Chuck E. Cheese's locations with the 3-Stage or CU 1-Stage animatronic shows and converting them back to the Rock-afire Explosion. Chuck E. could still be used in restaurants, but Creative Engineering has to approve of every use of CEC characters in Showbiz. They also shortened the name to simply just "Showbiz", to reflect the modern times. Another part of the deal was that all public family entertainment centers or theme parks with a Rock-afire show had to either sell the show, or become a Showbiz restaurant, as CEC now partially owns the characters. Museums/Showcases were exempt from this rule, though. Creative Engineering also hired new employees to build new shows. The first Showbiz restaurant opened up on August 2nd, 2013 in the place of the Pensacola, Florida Chuck E. Cheese's. The restaurant was a success, and by 2019, 51 3-Stage and CU 1-Stages were converted into the Rock-afire (the remaining five are in the Chuck E. Cheese's Retro concept). In 2015, Showbiz introduced talking walkaround heads, with Billy Bob being introduced first, and the rest being introduced in late 2017 through early 2018. Also during this time, the Dance Floor concept was added for live shows. In 2015, the first international location opened in Guatemala, in which now most continents have Showbiz, with Africa getting a location soon in mid 2024.
== Entertainment ==
=== Arcade Games ===
Like Chuck E. Cheese's, Showbiz has always had an arcade in their restaurants. They mostly had the same games as Pizza Time Theater, such as Pac-Man, Dig Dug, Galaga, Donkey Kong, Mario Bros., and Dragons Lair, but Showbiz put more of a spotlight on the games early on, boasting 60 games and rides. In the original incarnations later years, more redemption games such as Skee-Ball, Whack-A-Mole, and Down the Clown. When the chain came back in 2013, other, more adult arcade games came to Showbiz, such as pinball, shooter, and even horror games. Recently, virtual reality games have been introduced.
Also like Chuck E. Cheese's, Showbiz has Kiddie Rides, though they are no longer a major focus due to the more adult demographic of Showbiz. They were, and still are, mostly in the Billy Bob's Barnyard section of the restaurant, which is basically Showbiz's version of Chuck E. Cheese's Toddler Zone.
Of course there is other entertainment in the game room, such as small trampoline parks, foam pits (a new variation of the ball pit), and even small walkthrough attractions.
Showbiz, unlike Chuck E. Cheese's, has fully switched to the Play Pass system, which was introduced in 2019. There are Showbiz Tokens, but they are really only used for coin-pushers. Tickets have stayed, though.
=== Animatronic Shows and Walkarounds ===
Showbiz has always had an animatronic show in it's locations. Their first show was The Wolfpack 5, which was only installed in one location (the first location of the original run in Kansas City, Missouri), and then relocated to another. This is because the more iconic Rock-afire Explosion was still being developed by CEI. The second location opened up with the Rock-afire Explosion, being their first public showing. The band has (mostly) used the same setup, even when other entertainment centers used the characters, but there are some other stage setups. Like for example, an updated version of the show, dubbed "The New Rock-afire Explosion" was created, and some locations use that show instead. Some smaller locations also use a mini-variation of the RAE.
The main characters of the show are:
Billy Bob Brokali: Showbiz's southern bear mascot. He is the main guitarist of the Rock-afire, and also the master of ceremonies. He also works at his own gas station named "Smitty's Super Service Station" in Tennessee with his pal, Looney Bird.
Looney Bird: Billy Bob's best friend, Looney Bird is a scientist who's laboratory is hidden in one of Billy Bob's oil drums. He is also known for inventing equipment for the restaurant, like the Show Selector.
Dook LaRue: Dook is the Rock-afire's very own drumming dog. He dreams of going to space, but to get to that dream, he currently plays on stage and works at a junkyard.
Fatz Geronimo: He is the leader of the band, and he plays a keyboard named "The Tune Machine", which can play every sound ever known to man.
Beach Bear: He's the cool surfer dude bear which plays an electric guitar. He is also, funnily enough, a polar bear that prefers to live in the hot sun than the South Pole.
Mitzi Mozzarella: The only female in the group, Mitzi is the youngest member of the Rock-afire Explosion. She is the band's female vocalist, and wants to be a role model to young women.
Rolfe DeWolfe: Rolfe is a "comedian" who try's to do jokes, but he really just does it for the money. Everyone in the band doesn't like Rolfe, yet he stays because he owns their van.
Earl Schmerle: Rolfe's puppet on his hand, Earl has a mind of his own, and constantly insults Rolfe for being a "Geek".
There are also Walkaround costume versions of most of the characters. Starting in 2015, the characters got talking walkaround heads, but they were originally programed to specific shows. This was changed in 2022, when the costumes were given the same motion capture technology that the CEC costumes have.
The Rock-afire Explosion aren't the only characters at Showbiz. Larger locations have a secondary dining area with another animatronic show or character made by CEI (like Uncle Klunk, Hannah Banana, the Moonrockers, The Wizard of Oz Show ect.), but some locations have a mini variation of the Studio C Ultra, though these are rare. Walkarounds of Chuck E. are also at Showbiz, yet they are more common.
=== Showbizland ===
Some Showbiz locations have a small amusement park area known as "Showbizland". These areas usually include Children's Rides, Mini Golf, Bumper Cars, and even Bowling. Showbizland's can be either indoor or outdoor, depending on the location.
== Restaurant ==
Like CEC, Showbiz has always had the restaurant aspect. Pizza is the most popular item, but they also serve sandwiches, salads, and more recently, pasta, chicken wings, and even steak. This was done to again, appeal to a more adult audience. Alcohol is also served at Showbiz, unlike Chuck E. Cheese's. The policy for alcohol is that there is one cup a person, due to it still being targeted towards kids. Also like Chuck E. Cheese's, breakfast and desert items are also served.
== See Also ==
* CEC Entertainment Commercials
* CEC Entertainment Training Videos
* List of CEC Entertainment Products
* List of CEC Entertainment locations
* List of Concept Revision Installation Tapes
* List of Rock-afire Explosion Showtapes
* The Rock-afire Explosion
Category:Cheesyverse