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ITZ vs. Chuck E. Cheese


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The add. is the same as the old Home Depot but I believe a new building is being built to the right of the parking lot, right next door to the Chinese restaurant and Zone D Erotica. I can't understand why they built a place, "where Houston Families come to eat and play", so close to the other establishment :blush: already there. Won't be dropping my grandchildren off at ITZ.

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I live here in Albuquerque, where they made the first one. And my sister actually works there as a manager and is moving back home to Houston to work at this new location in a month or two.

I get comped for food, which you have to buy in order to play the games. The food is pretty decent. But the games are just like Chucky Cheese (from what I can remember).

It's an ok place. One cool thing I liked was that when you earn tickets by playing games, you can either redeem them for a prize, or put them back on your card (which is used instead of coins) and keep on building up on each visit so you can get a better prize.

One other thing that I think is different from Chucky Cheeses is that they have party rooms, and they have retractable walls just in case you have a big party.

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Chuck E. Cheese used to be a whole lot better back in the 1980s. The inside was more modest looking and cozy and not so corporate/fabricated. But then, it was also called Showbiz Pizza, and got bought out by Chuck E. Cheese right around the time I got too old to continue going there. I went to the one near Antoine and W. Little York. Does anyone know if there were other locations back in the 80s?

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Chuck E. Cheese used to be a whole lot better back in the 1980s. The inside was more modest looking and cozy and not so corporate/fabricated. But then, it was also called Showbiz Pizza, and got bought out by Chuck E. Cheese right around the time I got too old to continue going there. I went to the one near Antoine and W. Little York. Does anyone know if there were other locations back in the 80s?

I'm sure there were a bunch around town, but the one I remember going to for a few b-day parties was the one on the Southwest Freeway in Stafford... Still there as a Chuck E. Cheese's to boot.

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Chuck E. Cheese used to be a whole lot better back in the 1980s. The inside was more modest looking and cozy and not so corporate/fabricated. But then, it was also called Showbiz Pizza, and got bought out by Chuck E. Cheese right around the time I got too old to continue going there. I went to the one near Antoine and W. Little York. Does anyone know if there were other locations back in the 80s?

The Showbiz I went to was at 1960 and Kuykendahl in NW Houston. I'm not sure if it was bought out by Chuckie or not, I doubt that it's still there.

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The Showbiz I went to was at 1960 and Kuykendahl in NW Houston. I'm not sure if it was bought out by Chuckie or not, I doubt that it's still there.

That's the one I went to as well. I think it's still there, but I'm not positive.

I don't remember as a kid, but people with kids now, have told me that Chuckies pizza stinks.

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I remember back when I was a kid, the Greenwood Forest Club Swim Team rented out the Champions Chuck E. Cheese for a night, everyone got unlimited tokens and pizza. It was pure heaven (for a kid).

This is WAY off topic, but isn't it funny how this thread can be about ITZ and yet all we're talking about is Chucke Cheeses, yet not one moderator has told us to "keep it on topic?"

If we were discussing religion in a thread and started talking about a related topic like abortion or something, they'd start creating new topics and deleting posts.

Funny how that works. And this happens all the time.

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I stand corrected!!!!

I talked to my sister this morning and told her someone brought up her company, ITZ. She's leaving here to move back to Houston in a couple weeks. But I told her that I said in this forum that ITZ is just like Chucke Cheeses and she scolded me and said its not, but that its more like Dave and Busters.

The one here is about 16,000 sqf and the one in Houston will be around 20,000 sqf. She also said that Houston's will have a rollercoaster that begins inside, goes outside and then comes back in. Sounds pretty cool.

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This is WAY off topic, but isn't it funny how this thread can be about ITZ and yet all we're talking about is Chucke Cheeses, yet not one moderator has told us to "keep it on topic?"

If we were discussing religion in a thread and started talking about a related topic like abortion or something, they'd start creating new topics and deleting posts.

Funny how that works. And this happens all the time.

Honestly, it's like herding cats. These conversations can turn on a dime! :lol:

I've retitled this thread to better reflect what's being discussed, and moved it to its appropriate section.

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Chuck E Cheese and Showbiz used to be separate....

the pizza tasted way better back then also

I didn't know they used to be separate. I always thought, when I was a kid, that they just changed the name, because Chuck E. Cheese was one of the characters at Showbiz.

I concur about the pizza. The pizza at Showbiz in the '80s was extremely good quality for a kids pizza place. I'd say most pizza other than frozen from the store was better back in the '80s, because during that time, a pizza place was a dining experience. Today's environment is totally different. The pizza is made with cheaper ingredients, the slices are smaller, and the taste is about the equivalent of microwave pizza. Why the change? The clientele became less picky and accepted the lesser quality at the same price, and the companies' desire to minimize costs.

I wouldn't expect ITZ to be any better than the current Chuck E. Cheese.

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Actually, yeah. That's another place my sister compared it to.

So, will ITZ be selling alcohol? Thats one thing I miss about Showbiz. We could take the little ones there with friends and us adults could have an ice cold beer. Nothing goes better with pizza IMHO.

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So, will ITZ be selling alcohol? Thats one thing I miss about Showbiz. We could take the little ones there with friends and us adults could have an ice cold beer. Nothing goes better with pizza IMHO.

Actually, yeah. I think they're trying to get their liquor license.

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You guys have overlooked the fact that IT'Z and Movie Tavern are owned by the same people - and I think there is a connection to Brinker International, the restaurant conglomerate out of Dallas. I can't quickly find the Brinker connection, but I'm pretty certain that I did see it somewhere previously. Perhaps the link is with the management team.

Nonetheless, these two places are being packaged to complement each other. Give the babysitter some $ to take the kids to play games and eat pizza, while the adults have drinks and fun at the movies next door.

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They are opening a Movie Tavern in that location. I met with the regional Marketing Manager last week & he said it will be a nicer (and larger) version of the one at 45 & Richey Road. In addition, there will also be the ITZ opening as well.

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You have me wishing for the "good old days". Chuck E Cheese's was the best. These places were BIG and usually built next to things like K-Mart or in a big 80's mall. Because of their size there was only one in any city. I've been to one in El Paso, San Antonio, Dallas, Abilene and Shreveport. I remember the one in Abilene was built next to K-Mart in place of (a failed K-Mart) grocery store. There were video games in at least half of the floor space (this was the age of Pac-Man Fever), the rest was split into the main "theater" where Chuck and the gang put on a show every half hour or so, two smaller rooms one for "the King" and a smallish play area with a ball pit and climbing nets. Back then, Showbiz was comparatively small about a third of the sqare-footage. Then one bought the other and now all the really cool is gone. I have only taken my kids 3-4 times in the past 16 years (my oldest som is 17 now). I'd rather drive to Spring, my boys would love to go to Gatti's Place. Really, I'd compare it to having season tickets to Six Flags then having it replaced with the rickety kiddy rides from a traveling midway.

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  • 6 months later...

A sister company of IT'Z, Movie Tavern, is opening up a new location right next to ITZ on 249 in Willowbrook. I think the grand opening is this weekend. I went to a friends and family showing last night to see Transformers for the second time. You could tell they need to get rid of a few kinks, but overall it was a pretty good experience. I went to the one one 45 during Christmas. There, you have to stand up your menu to let them know you need their help. At this new one there is a switch.

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