New Chuck E. Cheese design says goodbye to band, hello to dance floor, muted colors

Chuck E. Cheese’s has long been known for its sensory overload — from its cacophony of beeping and clanging arcade games to screaming youngsters to the animatronic Chuck E.’s band and primary color decor.

That’s about to change at the three metro locations. Parent company CEC Entertainment has teamed up with San Francisco-based design firm Tesser on a major remodel that will highlight the chain’s made-from-scratch pizza and offer a more muted restaurant atmosphere to appeal more to mom and dad, while still featuring the fun and games that have made it popular with children for more than 40 years.

The new design is scheduled to debut at the Olathe location at 15225 W. 134th Place on Aug. 31; at 10510 Metcalf Ave. in Overland Park on Sept. 5; and at Tiffany Springs MarketCenter, 9196 N. Skyview Ave. in the Northland on Sept. 13. The locations will be open during the remodel.

Four San Antonio locations debuted the new look on July 31.

In a statement, Brent White, lead designer of environments for Tesser, said, “Our goal was to create a space where parents were just as excited to go as their kids.”

The area locations will have wood, neutral tones and streamlined graphics, new seating, different party sections, and dimmer lighting and music, along with self-service kiosks for ordering. They will have an open kitchen with signage to illustrate the pizza-making process, along with its fresh-chopped vegetables and 100 percent whole milk mozzarella. The weekday lunch buffet and salad bar will be closer to the kitchen to emphasize the fresh ingredients.

The Chuck E.’s band is being phased out for a new light-up dance floor that will be part of an hourly show where mouse mascot Chuck E. will dance and interact with the children. The locations will have new games in the remodeled game rooms.

The exterior will feature stacked stone and wood slats with round cut-outs to look like cheese holes or pepperoni, and also feature a new Chuck E. logo. The name will change slightly to Chuck E. Cheese.

Chuck E. Cheese’s was founded in 1977, in San Jose, Calif., as Chuck E. Cheese’s Pizza Time Theatre. CEC Entertainment now has 608 locations.

Since April, 277 Chuck E. Cheese’s locations also have featured Sensory Sensitive Sundays. Two hours before regular opening hours, children with autism and special needs can have a “sensory-friendly” Chuck E. Cheese’s experience.

This story was originally published August 14, 2017 at 10:39 AM with the headline "New Chuck E. Cheese design says goodbye to band, hello to dance floor, muted colors."