# Crime at Chuck E. Cheese Pizza Parlor **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 20, 2012, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-at-chuck-e-cheese-pizza-parlor/644588 "2012-12-20T00:33:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hottius\_Maximus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ab097/32.png) [@Hottius\_Maximus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hottius_Maximus)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-at-chuck-e-cheese-pizza-parlor/644588/1 "2012-12-20T00:33:27Z")
This is a footnote to the Domino’s Pizza thread. I notice on more than one occasion that several incidents of mob violence and crime have occurred there over the years. That’s supposed to be a “family friendly” restaurant! What’s up with that? Does anyone know about this? Are there any Straight Dopers out there who worked at Chuck E. Cheese? Any ideas why this chain attracts violent people to it’s family friendly doors? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-at-chuck-e-cheese-pizza-parlor/644588/2 "2012-12-20T00:42:28Z")
Um… examples? ---
**Author:** ![Cats\_pajamas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cdc98d/32.png) [@Cats\_pajamas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cats_pajamas)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-at-chuck-e-cheese-pizza-parlor/644588/3 "2012-12-20T00:54:33Z")
It’s cheap, it’s fast, and that’s about all you need to attract violence at a “family” restaurant. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-at-chuck-e-cheese-pizza-parlor/644588/4 "2012-12-20T00:59:25Z")
> [@Hottius\_Maximus](#): > > This is a footnote to the Domino’s Pizza thread. I notice on more than one occasion that several incidents of mob violence and crime have occurred there over the years. > That’s supposed to be a “family friendly” restaurant! What’s up with that? Does anyone know about this? Are there any Straight Dopers out there who worked at Chuck E. Cheese? Any ideas why this chain attracts violent people to it’s family friendly doors? It doesn’t attract violent people, it creates them. Have you ever been to one? Have you ever eaten their food? > [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Um… examples? > **[Aurora's Other Massacre Victims' 20-Year Wait for Justice](https://abcnews.go.com/US/auroras-massacre-victims-20-year-wait-justice/story?id=16847013#.UNJi0W_AfTo)** > > The movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colo., was not the city's first experience with a massacre. In 1993, a 19-year-old gunman shot dead three teenagers and their manager at a Chuck E. Cheese's. Nearly 20 years later, the victims' families are still... ---
**Author:** ![Hottius\_Maximus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ab097/32.png) [@Hottius\_Maximus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hottius_Maximus)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-at-chuck-e-cheese-pizza-parlor/644588/5 "2012-12-20T01:16:10Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > It doesn’t attract violent people, it creates them. Have you ever been to one? Have you ever eaten their food? > > [Aurora's Other Massacre Victims' 20-Year Wait for Justice - ABC News](http://abcnews.go.com/US/auroras-massacre-victims-20-year-wait-justice/story?id=16847013#.UNJi0W_AfTo) How does Chuck E. Cheese “create” violent people? FYI—It has been many years since I have eaten there. I wasn’t particularly impressed by it and truthfully, I don’t have children nor do I care to be in “family friendly” restaurants because they often tend to be noisy and not very relaxing. I prefer adult venues (and no I’m not referring to strip clubs). ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-at-chuck-e-cheese-pizza-parlor/644588/6 "2012-12-20T01:17:53Z")
Cop: “Mr. Cheese, we’d like to talk to you downtown.” Chuck E. Cheese: “Talk all you like, but you’re getting nothing from me. I’m no rat!” ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-at-chuck-e-cheese-pizza-parlor/644588/7 "2012-12-20T01:45:06Z")
I can only speak for the one in my area, so take that as you will, but it is located in a lower income neighborhood and patronized by the denizens of said neighborhood that have the lifestyle and issues that one might expect; poor, dysfunctional, a large child to adult ratio. Note that I’m not saying all poor people are dysfunctional or bad parents; I am currently the poorest person I know. I’m just saying that this location at least attracts what one would consider a trashy element. Maybe the business model is to put the restaurants in lower socio-economic areas. ---
**Author:** ![akennett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee59a6/32.png) [@akennett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/akennett)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-at-chuck-e-cheese-pizza-parlor/644588/8 "2012-12-20T02:00:15Z")
> [@Hottius\_Maximus](#): > > Any ideas why this chain attracts violent people to it’s family friendly doors? Two words: Skee. Ball. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-at-chuck-e-cheese-pizza-parlor/644588/9 "2012-12-20T02:34:40Z")
> [@Hottius\_Maximus](#): > > How does Chuck E. Cheese “create” violent people? Kids hyped up on sugar allowed to run wild and play games? Duh. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-at-chuck-e-cheese-pizza-parlor/644588/10 "2012-12-20T02:40:31Z")
There was an article in the wsj some years ago about violence at CEC. I recall a quote from a cop about how they had now calls there than to the nearby biker bar. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-at-chuck-e-cheese-pizza-parlor/644588/11 "2012-12-20T03:04:36Z")
> [@akennett](#): > > Two words: Skee. Ball. Yo. Ain’t no vi-o-lence lahk da Skee-Ball vi-o-lence. Serious, you bettah be ready to go mano a da f’ckin’ mano wid dat Skee-Ball shit. You call out SliderSkee an’ mah minn-ions, you bettah hab da 50-pointahs or be goin’ _dowwwn_ (down dat li’l tray at da bottom, capeesh?) _ **They see me rollin’, mah Skee-Ball…** _ ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-at-chuck-e-cheese-pizza-parlor/644588/12 "2012-12-20T03:22:13Z")
In my neck of the woods, I’ve heard that gangbangers/dealers bring their kids to such places so as to keep the kids occupied while they conduct they bidness. I guess it’s not a far leap from a bidness dispute to fisticuffs. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-at-chuck-e-cheese-pizza-parlor/644588/13 "2012-12-20T03:30:07Z")
“Hey, your boy just bumped into my kid.” “Yeah, well maybe your kid needs to watch where _he’s_ walkin’.” “Maybe you better watch YOUR self, BITCH.” “What you just say to me, mother FUCKER?” And so on and so forth. ---
**Author:** ![urban1a](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e47c2d/32.png) [@urban1a](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urban1a)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-at-chuck-e-cheese-pizza-parlor/644588/14 "2012-12-20T03:44:13Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > [Aurora's Other Massacre Victims' 20-Year Wait for Justice - ABC News](http://abcnews.go.com/US/auroras-massacre-victims-20-year-wait-justice/story?id=16847013#.UNJi0W_AfTo) The ABC story is incorrect in one respect. The pizza place was ShowBiz Pizza, not Chuck E. Cheese. I lived in Aurora at the time and went there many times. Also, the families of the victims would never allow the place to reopen, picketing, asking the company to make the place a memorial, and threatening to sue until, finally, the building was torn down and a strip center put in. Bob ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-at-chuck-e-cheese-pizza-parlor/644588/15 "2012-12-20T03:47:22Z")
I … wait … no. Huh? I’m a bit confused. I’ve been promising the Dudeling that as soon as he’s able to change all the bobbins in the main loom room within a single shift (and without any mistakes), I’d take him to Chuck E Cheese. What the hell is in store for us? ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-at-chuck-e-cheese-pizza-parlor/644588/16 "2012-12-20T04:03:07Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > I … wait … no. Huh? > > I’m a bit confused. I’ve been promising the Dudeling that as soon as he’s able to change all the bobbins in the main loom room within a single shift (and without any mistakes), I’d take him to Chuck E Cheese. What the hell is in store for us? Horrible, horrible “pizza”. And, I guess, crime. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-at-chuck-e-cheese-pizza-parlor/644588/17 "2012-12-20T04:40:01Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > Horrible, horrible “pizza”. And, I guess, crime. “Win/Win!” (that was my kid’s reaction to “Pizza and Crime”) ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-at-chuck-e-cheese-pizza-parlor/644588/18 "2012-12-20T04:50:21Z")
> [@urban1a](#): > > a strip center put in. A whole mini-mall of titty bars? ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-at-chuck-e-cheese-pizza-parlor/644588/19 "2012-12-20T05:16:43Z")
> [@urban1a](#): > > The ABC story is incorrect in one respect. The pizza place was ShowBiz Pizza, not Chuck E. Cheese. I lived in Aurora at the time and went there many times. > > Also, the families of the victims would never allow the place to reopen, picketing, asking the company to make the place a memorial, and threatening to sue until, finally, the building was torn down and a strip center put in. > > Bob I hate to disagree with you, since you ate there and all, but in 1993, the restaurant was definitely a Chuck E Cheese’s. In 1990, ShowBiz rebranded all of their restaurants into Chuck E Cheese outlets. > **[“Showbiz” Isn’t Always Easy | Gamester 81](https://gamester81.com/showbiz-isnt-always-easy/)** FWIW, I lived in the Denver metro area at the time and remember the coverage in the Rocky and the Post and the various TV stations and it was always referred to as a Chuck E Cheese at the time of the murders. In fact, here is a contemporary story about the killings from the New York Times archives. [http://www.nytimes.com/1993/12/16/us/gunman-kills-4-workers-at-colorado-restaurant.html](http://www.nytimes.com/1993/12/16/us/gunman-kills-4-workers-at-colorado-restaurant.html) ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-at-chuck-e-cheese-pizza-parlor/644588/20 "2012-12-20T14:03:28Z")
> [@Hottius\_Maximus](#): > > Any ideas why this chain attracts violent people to it’s family friendly doors? It’s not family-friendly; it’s Family-friendly. THE Family. Youse got a problem wit’ dat? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crime-at-chuck-e-cheese-pizza-parlor/644588.md?page=2)