"chuck e cheese" news and stories

I've mentioned before that my idea of hell on earth is a meal at Chuck E. Cheese, but if a Michigan franchise gets its way, they'll be easing the pain for parents with beer and wine offerings--adults only, of course. Other Chuck E. Cheese franchises offer alcoholic beverages, but one township trustee thought it was a bad idea, saying, "It's a fun kid place. Just leave it like that."

Eating rubbery pizza with fake-tasting sauce while listening to the whir and jangle of ten thousand games going at once and trying to make small talk with other parents while our kids race around on a birthday-cake induced sugar high is not my favorite way to spend a Saturday afternoon, and yet I seem to end up there several times a year. If I can take the medicine with a spoonful of sugar--er, a glassful of wine--it might not taste so bad.

I recently read a short article in The Decatur Daily about how a local Chuck E. Cheese had recently received the go-ahead to start serving beer. Apparently ,about half of the roughly 500 locations serve beer, according to the article. Obviously, it isn't heavily promoted and the amount you can drink is limited to two cups per person. The piece quotes a Chuck E. Cheese spokesperson as saying "It's just another way to keep everybody happy." Damn straight.

Several months ago, I posted a link to an article by a mom who had recently endured the Chuck E. Cheese experience and come out with some witty commentary. Suddenly, I have less sympathy for her suffering.