Chuck E. Cheese has been known for generations as a wholesome, playful spot for kids to enjoy arcade games and pizza. But the original idea for Chuck E. Cheese was much different—and a lot more disgusting!
In 1977, entrepreneur Nolan Bushnell had a vision for a family-friendly restaurant and arcade.
He planned to launch a 5,000-square-foot restaurant in San Jose, California. Because he enjoyed the Enchanted Tiki Room ride at Disneyland, Bushnell wanted to have an animatronic mascot for his new restaurant.
Originally, Bushnell wanted to have a coyote as his mascot. He ordered a coyote costume to use for his animatronic main character, but when it arrived, he saw that the costume company had sent a rat costume by mistake!
By then, it was too late to make a change–the restaurant was about to open.
So, Bushnell decided he would pivot to a new name for his business: Rick Rat’s Pizza.
That’s right; the original concept for Chuck E. Cheese was going to feature the word “rat” in the title, with a fairly grotesque-looking animatronic rat dancing while kids ate their pizza.
Because rats are exactly what people want to think about while patronizing a restaurant!
Thankfully, Bushnell’s marketing team convinced him that this was a terrible idea. People associate rats with disease and contagion, and probably wouldn’t enjoy having realistic-looking rats serenading them while playing games and eating.
Instead, Bushnell and his team came up with the idea of Chuck E. Cheese; a playful name that doesn’t scream “rodents.” The mascot was also toned down and turned into a cheerful mouse instead of a scary rat.
Did the choice of a mouse character have anything to do with Bushnell’s love of all things Disney? We’ll never know.
Today, the character Chuck E. Cheese is still entertaining kids at locations around the country. Although the animatronic shows of Chuck E. Cheese are being phased out, the character is still very much alive in the restaurant’s logo and video presentations.
It’s a good thing that Bushnell and his team made the right call. If they had gone ahead with his plan, we might’ve ended up with a rat-themed restaurant—not exactly what the health department would love to see!
