Corporate history

Chuck E. Cheese's, originally referred to as Chuck E. Cheese’s Pizza Time Theatre, was founded by Atari founder Nolan Bushnell who was seeking to expand the purview of video game arcades beyond more adult locations like pool halls to a kid and family friendly venue.[2][15] Bushnell’s experience in the amusement park industry, as well as his fondness of The Walt Disney Company, was influential in the conceptualization of the Pizza Time Theatre concept.[16] The first location opened in San Jose, California in 1977, and was labeled as the first family restaurant to integrate food, cheap animated entertainment, and an indoor arcade.[2][12] In 1978, Bushnell purchased the Pizza Time Theatre concept from Atari's then-corporate parent, Warner Communications.[17]

Bushnell has said of his decision to open a pizza restaurant, "It was my pet project...I chose pizza because of the wait time and the build schedule: very few components and not too many ways to screw it up."[18] After finding out from employees working on the animatronics that the costume he bought was a rodent rather than the coyote he thought he was buying, Bushnell says he suggested changing the name of the establishment from the planned "Coyote Pizza" to "Rick Rat's Pizza". Marketing people disliked that and proposed "Chuck E. Cheese" instead, which is what was used.[19]