In kids’ circles, Chuck E. Cheese is known as a place to have fun, play games and celebrate birthdays. The brand’s target audience of 3- to 8-year olds is happy to just stop in between activities for a quick slice of pizza and soft drink.
But “kids make up just half of Chuck E. Cheese’s guests,” said David McKillips, CEO of parent company CEC Entertainment. “The other 50% are parents, grandparents and other adults. We’ve got the kids covered, now we want to have the grownups covered, too,” he added, in explaining the motivation for launching a new Grown-Up Menu in December.
The 471-unit eatertainment chain also over-indexes in Hispanic and African-American multi-generational families, said McKillips. “Our adult guests have asked for spicier flavors and more desserts.”
Putting pizzazz in pizza and wings
Irving, Texas-based CEC Entertainment launched Pasqually’s Pizza & Wings as a virtual concept during the pandemic, and the seeds for Chuck E. Cheese’s Grown-Up Menu were planted there. “About 80% of the pizzas we sell are cheese and pepperoni. The delivery-only Pasqually’s allowed us to lean into more scratch-made and innovative items,” said McKillips.
The result is a collection of four exclusive pizzas for Chuck E. Cheese’s adult guests, developed with more sauce, bolder seasonings and different cheeses. All are baked to order, brushed with garlic butter for extra flavor and sprinkled with Italian seasoning. The cheese is hand-grated at each location.
Chili sauce and jalapenos heat up the Spicy Hawaiian pizza, with pineapple, ham, cheddar and mozzarella rounding out the flavor profile.
For instance, the Spicy Hawaiian, one of the four specialty pies, is topped with sweet chili sauce and a combo of mozzarella and cheddar, along with jalapenos, ham and pineapple. The Spicy BBQ Piggy takes the spice up a few notches with a topping of Korean BBQ sauce. There’s also a Signature Meatball and Homestyle BBQ Chicken pizza.
“We first tested them all at Pasqually’s, then tested them at 60 Chuck E. Cheese stores,” said McKillips. “These four rose to the top.” Several pizza combos and sauce flavors didn’t make the cut, he said, but didn’t share specifics.
He was more forthcoming about the Wings lineup, which includes bone-in or boneless chicken wings with a choice of three sauces and two rubs. The finalists on the sauce side are Buffalo BBQ, a blend of two classics; Louisiana Honey Hot, a sweet Cajun-accented sauce; and Spicy Korean BBQ, a shot of sweet-savory heat. Lemon Pepper and Chili Lime landed on the rubs side.
A balsamic-glazed wing was not a customer favorite and got axed.
Meatballs round out the entrées on the Grown-Up Menu, sauced with either Sweet Chili, Spicy Korean BBQ or Buffalo BBQ—all cross-utilized from the pizza and wing items. Grownups can also order beer, wine and coolers to enjoy with their food, but Chuck E. Cheese limits drinks to two max for customers over 21.
Desserts touched by a pro
Chuck E. Cheese partnered with menu developer Virtual Dining Concepts on the R&D for the new wing, pizza and sauce variations. But for the dessert menu, McKillips tapped celebrity chef Buddy Valastro, known on TV as the “Cake Boss.”
Buddy Valastro's Confetti Cake slice.
Instead of birthday cupcakes, older guests can indulge in three sophisticated cakes by the slice created by Valastro: Chocolate Fudge, Vanilla Rainbow and Confetti. McKillips is looking to expand the dessert selection in the spring.
When it comes to those birthday party cupcakes, basic is better. “We introduced character cupcakes for the kids, including sharks and unicorns. I thought the sharks would be a home run, but the girls didn’t like them—only the boys did,” said McKillips. Those are now history.
More to the makeover
The Grown-Up Menu is just one pillar of a larger brand refresh for Chuck E. Cheese. “We invested heavily in digital and are in the process of remodeling 75% of our locations,” said McKillips. Those digital and remodeling enhancements include new games and new prizes.
This is the year when these changes will get on customers’ radar, as a global marketing campaign across all channels, including paid media, ramps up.