A Chuck’s Arcade in Georgia. Credit: Photo via Chuck's Arcade

Since the 1980s, Chuck E. Cheese has used “where a kid can be a kid” as its main slogan, but the chain’s new St. Petersburg concept—Chuck’s Arcade—is a place where adults can be kids, too.

After Chuck E. Cheese first opened in 1977, it assembled over 450 locations across the U.S., but there are now 10 Chuck’s Arcade locations, including one at 6901 22nd Ave. N, which was the home of the Fun Spot at Tyrone Square Mall.

While Chuck’s Arcade, which opened in June, doesn’t offer a ticket blaster or a slightly disturbing band like its counterpart, the arcade offers a mixture of retro games like “Dig Dug,” “Centipede” and “Asteroids”—along with modern games and even VR experiences.

Chuck’s Arcade

6901 22nd Ave. N, St. Petersburg, FL

Chuck’s is taking after one of Chuck E.Cheese’s newer updates and will use game cards instead of paper tickets, and while the process may be easier and more timely, you can’t deny the heartbeat the ticket munchers used to bring to the old school Chuck E. Cheese’s.

Unlike Chuck E. Cheese, there is no alcohol at Chuck’s Arcade, according to Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Mark Kupferman, Executive Vice President, Chief Insights & Marketing Officer of CEC Entertainment, told St. Pete Catalyst that Chuck’s Arcade brand gears locations toward the older crowd. “We didn’t want to confuse anybody. We didn’t want to, for example, put Chuck E. Cheese in the name per se. We didn’t want little kids showing up because the games are really for older kids and adults,” he added.

Worry not, however, each Chuck’s will feature an animatronic character that once dwelled in the pizza-scent ridden Chuck E. Cheese.

Chucks is expanding quickly with a location coming to Brea, CA soon and already has locations in Trumbull, Connecticut; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Victor, New York; Buford, Georgia; El Paso, Texas; Nashua, New Hampshire; Salem, New Hampshire; and Kansas City, Missouri.

Subscribe to Creative Loafing newsletters.

This article appears in Jul 10-16, 2025.