RISE - Menu Monitor

Chuck E. Cheese's
Headquarters
4441 W. Airport Freeway, Irving, Texas 75062 USA
Tel: (972)258-8507 Fax: (972)258-5524
www.chuckecheese.com
Ownership: Public
Segment: Limited Service Pizza
System Characteristics 2006 2005 2004
U.S. Systemwide Sales ($000) 588,000 551,855 532,160
Company-owned ($000) 545,000 505,855 482,160
Franchised ($000) 43,000 46,000 50,000
U.S. Number of Units 529 513 489
Company-owned 491 475 449
Franchised 38 38 40
International Sales ($000) 13,000 8,000 6,000
International Units 14 7 6
Average Sales/Unit ($000) 1,125 1,100 1,120
Concept Positioning |
Chuck E. Cheese is a limited-service restaurant that specializes in pizza. Parent company CEC Entertainment operates the
family-focused restaurants that market both food and entertainment—heavily skewed to children—under the trade name
Chuck E. Cheese's. The restaurants offer families an entertainment experience that includes games, rides, prizes, and, of
course, pizza. The atmosphere attracts families for everyday fun and special occasions and the primary customer base
consists of families with children between the ages of two–12. Popular for its pizza, the chain also menus salads, sandwiches
and desserts that appeal to all ages. CEC Entertainment operates approximately 93% of its units; the remaining restaurants
are franchised. There are over 500 locations in the U.S. and Canada. Chuck E Cheese restaurants are in every U.S. state
except Utah and New Hampshire.
The restaurants are usually located in shopping centers or are freestanding. Units typically range from 8,000–14,000 sq. ft.
Dining rooms, which seat 250–375 customers, are decorated in bright colors and feature a variety of musical entertainment by
life-size, computer-controlled robotic characters. The dining room occupies approximately 25% of each restaurant's public
area, and another 60% by its activity centers of family-oriented games, kiddie rides, arcade style games, video games and
skill-oriented games. Renovation projects to keep the entertainment portion competitive have been ongoing. More games and
rides including a Sky Crawl play area, as well as animatronics show tapes were part of an initial package. A security system to
keep its young customers in the restaurant was also added. The latest phase includes new toddler play areas, skill games and
rides as well as a prize area and sky-tube enhancements. A third of CEC Entertainment's sales are generated from its games
and merchandise.
In 1977, Nolan K. Bushnell, the founder of Atari, opened the first Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre center in San Jose,
CA. At the same time, a similar concept called ShowBiz Pizza debuted, with the two becoming one company in 1985. Its
current corporate name was adopted in 1998. In mid-2006, CEC Entertainment announced a plan to slow growth of new units
in order to shift focus toward revamping the interior of existing locations. This new direction will involve the expansion of its
average restaurant size and improvements to the game packages available to customers.
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