During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, many companies were forced to temporarily cease operations to help stop the spread of the deadly virus.
According to data from the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, more than 700,000 establishments closed in the second quarter of 2020, resulting in roughly 3 million job losses.
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A few popular companies didnāt make it out of the pandemic unscathed. Many had to file for bankruptcy after losing a significant amount of business from the temporary closures. Brooks Brothers, GNC, J.C. Penney are a few of the many popular retail chains that filed for bankruptcy in 2020.
Related: Tupperware sounds the alarm on a trend that led to bankruptcy
Chuck E. Cheese is another nostalgic chain that filed for bankruptcy that same year. The first-of-its-kind family entertainment chain opened in 1977 and became famous for its animatronic entertainment, pizza and arcade.
CEC Entertainment, which owns Chuck E. Cheese and Peter Piper Pizza, revealed in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing (filed in June 2020) that the company remained profitable until March 16, 2020, when it had to temporarily suspend the operations of its brands.
Despite cutting expenses, seeking rent concessions from landlords, and ramping up its pizza delivery business, the company was still millions of dollars in debt.
By December 2020, CEC Entertainment emerged from bankruptcy, and since then, Chuck E. Cheese has been on the road to recovery.
Chuck E. Cheese CEO details his plan to win back customers
Chuck E. Cheese rolled out a series of major changes to its brand, including removing its famous animatronics from its locations in 2024. In a new interview with CNBC, David McKillips, who joined Chuck E. Cheese as CEO in 2020, said that the decision created controversy.
āWe pulled out the animatronics,ā said McKillips in the interview with CNBC. āIt was a hot debate for many legacy bands, but kids were consuming entertainment in such a different way, you know, growing up with screens and ever-changing bite-sized entertainment.ā
“Chuck E. Cheese,” left, and “Helen Henny,” members of the animatronic band at the Chuck E. Cheese pizza center in Northridge, are photographed in action.Ā
Chuck E. Cheese also added trampolines in its locations nationwide last year after testing the change at select locations in a few states. It also added other features, such as obstacle courses with rock climbing walls, slides, balance beams, etc.
Chuck E. Cheese spent about $230 million remodeling its locations.
In addition to those physical upgrades, Chuck E. Cheese also unveiled a subscription program last summer called āFun Passā which allows customers to receive deals on food, games and drinks, and unlimited visits.
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The subscription begins at $7.99 a month. If customers want more benefits with bigger discounts, they can upgrade to additional subscription tiers, which are $11.99 a month or $29.99 a month.
In the interview with CNBC, McKillips said that the company has sold 400,000 passes in 2024, which shows that its customers are seeking āvalue.ā
Chuck E. Cheese also recently updated its menu to make it more mature in order to appeal to older customers who visit its locations with their children. The entertainment chain added items such as saucy meatballs, homestyle BBQ chicken pizza and signature meatball pizza. It also introduced eight new chicken wing flavors.
Related: Formerly bankrupt restaurant chain reboots menu to fix low sales
In a recent interview with QSR Magazine, McKillips said that the company aimed to make the menu not only more mature, but also appealing to customers from multiple ethnic backgrounds.
āThe grownup menu is going to feature pizzas that are spicier, that have jalapeƱos, have chicken, have onions, have the ingredients, a base on it that is going to appeal to not only a multi-generation but multi-ethnicity as well,ā said McKillips. āSo thatās been fun for us.ā
Chuck E. Cheese is looking to expand into the entertainment business and hopes to create a game show in the future.
Fans have mixed reactions about Chuck E. Cheeseās comeback
As Chuck E. Cheese continues to bounce back from its bankruptcy, consumers have taken to social media over the past year to share mixed reactions to the entertainment chainās revamp, which has been dubbed “Chuck E. Cheese 2.0” by fans.
Some mourned the loss of animatronics at locations.
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Others welcomed Chuck E. Cheeseās new subscription program with open arms.
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