Chuck E. Cheese (76th St) - CLOSED

[GarySW8]

After 44 years in Omaha, NE. The Chuck E. Cheese on 76th and Dodge St has closed permanently. There's been no announcements about it, but they officially covered up the windows and left papers on the doors stating that the location is permanently closed.

I worked there while it was open, we weren't supposed to find out about it closing until yesterday (the final day it was open), some of us found out weeks ahead of time. There's no more Chuck E. Cheese locations in Nebraska (due to the Lincoln location shuttering in 2020), very interesting seeing a place that's been there for decades go.

[ChadJK]

Thanks for the scoop! I'm very sorry to hear you lost your job there.

RIP Showbiz Pizza

Also know as "Mechanical Rat Pizza and Child Casino"

[bbinks]

Has it been 46 years? I remember the Best Western Hotel taking up a lot of that area when I moved here in 1987.

[Brad]

I never went to Chuck E. Cheese, only went when it was ShowBiz Pizza Place.

Has it been 46 years? I remember the Best Western Hotel taking up a lot of that area when I moved here in 1987.

ShowBiz Pizza Place/Chuck E. Cheese was on 76th and Dodge, the hotel was on 78th and Dodge.

The building with ShowBiz Pizza Place/Chuck E. Cheese was built in 1982 and before that it was a filed.

[djc311]

I loved ShowBiz when I was little... although the giant gorilla freaked me out. Watching robots play 80's hits was awesome along with playing actual video games you couldn't play at home.

I often see people online that have somehow tracked down the animatronics from the restaurants and they fix them up... I'm really surprised no one has done something similar with modern technology given the robots that exist.

Kind of sad to think they're now closed - although it wasn't the same experience for decades. You couldn't have paid me to go into that place in the last 20 years... really attracted an "interesting" mix of customers to say the least.

[zippy]

... built in 1982 and before that it was a filed.

Wasn't it the "76th and Dodge Drive-In" before that?

[Brad]

... built in 1982 and before that it was a filed.

Wasn't it the "76th and Dodge Drive-In" before that?

No, that was right in between the two.

Blue = Hotel, Red = ShowBiz Pizza Place/Chuck E. Cheese

Screenshot 2026-07-02 080910.jpg

[omaha79]

Man, going to a birthday party at that place during the Showbiz days in roughly 1986 for a schoolmate when I was in first grade was such a core memory. Loved the animatronic Rock a Fire Explosion band. remember the games, play area, and mini rides they had in there. so cool. Held it against my parents for a long time they wouldn't let me have a birthday party of my own there. But, yeah, Chuck E Cheeses was never as good as Showbiz was. Never understood how it hung on this long. But, it's still a piece of history for that area.

Side note, I still remember the hotel being on 78th until the early 90's, then sitting vacant for a while until the strip mall was built in the mid to late 90's. always thought it looked like a cool place. I have no memory of the drive in, unfortunately.

That area has changed so much over the years.

[bbinks]

... built in 1982 and before that it was a filed.

Wasn't it the "76th and Dodge Drive-In" before that?

No, that was right in between the two.

Blue = Hotel, Red = ShowBiz Pizza Place/Chuck E. Cheese
Screenshot 2026-07-02 080910.jpg

What website are you using for your historical imagery?

[Brad]

What website are you using for your historical imagery?

https://maps.dogis.org/

[bbinks]

Wasn't that a Burger King lower left of the drive in? Before it moved to the east. I vaguely recall seeing an old aerial where a BK was by the creek.

[Brad]

Wasn't that a Burger King lower left of the drive in? Before it moved to the east. I vaguely recall seeing an old aerial where a BK was by the creek.

I thought that was one of those Arby's competitors called Rax? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rax_Roast_Beef

[Busguy2010]

Wasn't that a Burger King lower left of the drive in? Before it moved to the east. I vaguely recall seeing an old aerial where a BK was by the creek.

I thought that was one of those Arby's competitors called Rax? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rax_Roast_Beef

FWIW the only time anybody ever talked about that building, they told me "the Burger King used to be here".

[bbinks]

I found this again on the Omaha Nostaliga Facebook group.

It was a Rax when I moved here, but the building design looked like it was a D'Lites of America before that. It had that canopy design over the drive-thru. Similar to the D'Lites on the NE corner of 90th & Fort before it bedcame a Hardee's. I can't say if it BK was removed or not.

[nativeomahan]

Maybe the Asian Market located in the same building will further expand?

[Busguy2010]

Maybe the Asian Market located in the same building will further expand?

That was my first thought til I realized they're separated by the alley.