New, but nostalgic: Springfield arcade hopes updated look will help spark business

Classic pizza and arcade nostalgia await you at Chuck E. Cheese, along with a quarter of a million dollars in renovations.

The new renovations at 2369 S. MacArthur Blvd. include a retro-style paint job around the building, digitized menu boards, an interactive dance floor and a new trampoline wall coming in September.

The renovations took place in the middle of the night after the store had closed down for the day, being able to be completed in a matter of three weeks without impacting the sales or hours of operation for the location.

What didn’t change? The kid-friendly arcade's Make Believe Band is still playing hits on the banjo and drums. The over four decades old animatronic band is one of the last handful remaining in the entire country and is the last original band in Illinois and the Midwest.

More: 'Ladies and gentlemen, we won!' Springfield Chuck E. Cheese will keep its animatronics

CEC Entertainment , which owns the children’s pizza joint, has gone back on their decision to phase out all animatronic characters from more than 400 chain retail locations.

It’s because of these swinging chefs and Chuck E. Cheese himself onstage, that Springfield chose to not follow suit with the contemporary 2020’s remodels happening across the country

“In this case we thought it was a unique idea to say every store in Illinois is going to have the new look,” District Manager Reggie Donovan said. “Why not take the full show and make it a retro remodel?”

Making the Springfield location unique will helpfully benefit the store, which has been on the lower end of sales in the district according to Donovan, who attributes the opening of Malibu Jacks , a popular children’s entertainment destination which opened in the White Oaks mall in October of last year, to be a factor in driving sales down.

A typical 2020’s remodel can cost upwards of half a million dollars, which means besides attracting nostalgic superfans from across the state to see the old show in a way they’d remember it, the revamp also saves money.

Claire Grant writes about business, growth and development and other news topics for The State Journal-Register. She can be reached at CLGrant@gannett.com; and on X (Formerly known as Twitter): @Claire_Granted

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: New, but nostalgic: Springfield arcade hopes updated look will help spark business