Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Fresno's Chuck E. Cheese to Reopen Friday. Company Hopes to Squeak Through Bankruptcy.
Randy-Reed-Image
By Randy Reed, Operations Manager
Published 4 years ago on
June 25, 2020

Share

Fresno’s two kid-friendly Chuck E. Cheese pizza restaurants will reopen their dining rooms Friday with limited seating and other safety procedures in place, local managers said.

Most of the stores’ electronic games will be operational, but mascot Chuck E. Cheese himself will remain in lockdown for the time being.

Like other Fresno restaurants, Chuck E. Cheese locations closed their dining rooms when the state’s COVID-19 emergency orders were issued in mid-March. Both local stores have only been offering take-out service since then.

Christine Flores, who manages the North Blackstone Avenue restaurant, is eager to have families return. “We’re just looking forward to getting back open,” she said.

Parent Company Seeks Bankruptcy Protection

The move comes as the nationwide chain struggles to remain afloat. Parent company CEC Entertainment filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Thursday but said it will continue to reopen stores while it negotiates with its creditors.

Company officials said the prolonged closure of many outlets due to coronavirus restrictions led to the bankruptcy filing.

CEC and its franchisees operate 734 restaurants in 47 states and 16 countries. As of Thursday, CEC has reopened 266 of its 555 company-operated Chuck E. Cheese and Peter Piper Pizza restaurants.

Both Fresno Chuck E. Cheese locations are company-owned.

Focus on Safety and Sanitation

Saul Esquivel, manager of the West Shaw Avenue location, said workers will follow required health and sanitation requirements.

“All of our employees are going to be wearing gloves, sanitizing on a regular basis between tasks,” he said. “We’ll have someone exclusively going through the store, cleaning constantly.”

Guests will be asked to wear masks when they’re not eating at their tables, Esquivel said, and social distancing markers will be visible throughout the store.

To provide enough separation between customers, some games will be turned off, but “we’re shooting for about 70 percent of our games to be on and available,” he said.

However, the chain’s namesake mouse character, who often roams the floor greeting patrons, will not be returning for awhile, Esquivel said.

Chain Founded in San Jose

Chuck E. Cheese got its start in San Jose in 1977 when Atari cofounder Nolan Bushnell opened Chuck E. Cheese’s Pizza Time Theatre, featuring a cast of animatronic characters.

“Where a kid can be a kid,” the chain promises in its tag line.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

DON'T MISS

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

DON'T MISS

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

DON'T MISS

Cutting in Line? American Airlines’ New Boarding Tech Might Stop You at Now Over 100 Airports

DON'T MISS

MLB Will Test Robot Umpires at 13 Spring Training Ballparks Hosting 19 Teams

DON'T MISS

Death Toll in Gaza From Israel-Hamas War Passes 44,000, Palestinian Officials Say

DON'T MISS

Jussie Smollett’s Conviction in 2019 Attack on Himself Is Overturned

DON'T MISS

Fresno Council Lowers Speed Limits on Friant and Audubon

DON'T MISS

How About an Honest Conversation About the Range of Light Monument Proposal?

DON'T MISS

UConn Coach Geno Auriemma Breaks NCAA Wins Record With 1,217th Victory

DON'T MISS

Fresno Doctors Will Pay $2.4 Million to Settle Kickback Allegations, DOJ Says

UP NEXT

Fresno Doctors Will Pay $2.4 Million to Settle Kickback Allegations, DOJ Says

UP NEXT

These Fresno Schools Are Unsafe and in Bad Condition. And No One Is Complaining

UP NEXT

What Will Happen to CNBC and MSNBC When They No Longer Have a Corporate Connection to NBC News?

UP NEXT

Bulldogs Stack Double-Doubles Like Burgers on a Plate to Beat Prairie View

UP NEXT

Major Storm Drops Record Rain, Downs Trees in Northern California After Devastation Further North

UP NEXT

Fresno County Men Arrested in Armed Robbery Near Sanger High, Sanger Academy

UP NEXT

Newsom Heads to Fresno, a County That Voted for Trump

UP NEXT

Conservative Professors and Students Are Beating CA Community Colleges in Court

UP NEXT

Suspect Arrested After Oakhurst Crime Spree Leaves K9 Injured

UP NEXT

With or Without Lockridge, Can Bulldogs Get Out of Their Own Way to Become Bowl Eligible?

MLB Will Test Robot Umpires at 13 Spring Training Ballparks Hosting 19 Teams

1 hour ago

Death Toll in Gaza From Israel-Hamas War Passes 44,000, Palestinian Officials Say

1 hour ago

Jussie Smollett’s Conviction in 2019 Attack on Himself Is Overturned

2 hours ago

Fresno Council Lowers Speed Limits on Friant and Audubon

2 hours ago

How About an Honest Conversation About the Range of Light Monument Proposal?

3 hours ago

UConn Coach Geno Auriemma Breaks NCAA Wins Record With 1,217th Victory

3 hours ago

Fresno Doctors Will Pay $2.4 Million to Settle Kickback Allegations, DOJ Says

3 hours ago

Warriors Guard De’Anthony Melton to Undergo Season-Ending Knee Surgery

4 hours ago

Massive Ground Beef Recall Affects Restaurants Nationwide, USDA Warns

4 hours ago

Chris Stapleton Wins 4 CMA Awards, but Morgan Wallen Is Entertainer of the Year

4 hours ago

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday named Pam Bondi, the former attorney general of Florida, to be U.S. attorney general j...

12 minutes ago

Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a campaign rally at First Horizon Coliseum, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Greensboro, NC. (AP/Alex Brandon)
12 minutes ago

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

36 minutes ago

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

40 minutes ago

Cutting in Line? American Airlines’ New Boarding Tech Might Stop You at Now Over 100 Airports

1 hour ago

MLB Will Test Robot Umpires at 13 Spring Training Ballparks Hosting 19 Teams

1 hour ago

Death Toll in Gaza From Israel-Hamas War Passes 44,000, Palestinian Officials Say

2 hours ago

Jussie Smollett’s Conviction in 2019 Attack on Himself Is Overturned

Fresno motorcycle cop enforces the 45 mph speed limit
2 hours ago

Fresno Council Lowers Speed Limits on Friant and Audubon

3 hours ago

How About an Honest Conversation About the Range of Light Monument Proposal?

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend