First videogame-themed restaurant

Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell opened the first Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre on South Winchester Boulevard in San Jose on 16 May 1977. While early arcade machines were sold or rented to pre-existing bars, Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell saw there was a business opportunity for his company to cut out the middle man and create a new family-friendly venue that would, unlike bars and videogame-only arcades, appeal to both children and their parents. It also helped establish a new model for the kind of family entertainment centres seen today that feature arcade videogames as a key part of a wider entertainment package.

Speaking about the genesis of the restaurant in an article for The Atlantic, Bushnell said "It was my pet project. I started it inside Atari. My objective was to vertically integrate the market. We were selling coin-operated games at about $1,500 or $2,000 a pop. In their life, they'd make $15 to 20k. It didn't take rocket science to say I'm on the wrong side of the equation."

Atari's corporate owners, Warner Communications, failed to see the value of the business and sold it to Bushnell for $500,000.