ShowBiz Became Chuck E. Cheese

After years of battling Chuck E. Cheese for customers, ShowBiz Pizza watched its rival's parent company file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1984. ShowBiz owner Brock Hotel Corporation bought Pizza Time Theatre's assets in May 1985 and merged the two businesses into ShowBiz Pizza Time. Then came the strange part: beginning in 1990, the company converted its ShowBiz restaurants into Chuck E. Cheese locations. By 1994, ShowBiz had largely erased its own name and kept the bankrupt competitor's brand alive.

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