--- description: The parent company filed for bankruptcy protection after the coronavirus pandemic shuttered its locations and kept families at home. title: Chuck E. Cheese Parent Company Files for Bankruptcy image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt178ccb89f9503ed5/698a0fb34ee262a37d317a6d/chuck-e-cheese-bankruptcy.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Companies](/tag/companies/) ## Companies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Chuck E. Cheese Parent Company Files for Bankruptcy by [Katherine Doherty / Bloomberg](/author/bloomberg/) ## Katherine Doherty / Bloomberg Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 25, 2020 8:14 AM CUT  An image of the sign for a Chuck E Cheese store as photographed on March 18, 2020 in Hicksville, New York. An image of the sign for a Chuck E Cheese store as photographed on March 18, 2020 in Hicksville, New York.Bruce Bennett–Getty Images by [Katherine Doherty / Bloomberg](/author/bloomberg/) ## Katherine Doherty / Bloomberg Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 25, 2020 8:14 AM CUT CEC Entertainment, the parent of [Chuck E. Cheese](https://time.com/5854254/chuck-e-cheese-memes/ "undefined") and Peter Piper Pizza, filed for bankruptcy protection after the coronavirus pandemic shuttered its locations and kept families at home. The filing in the Southern District of Texas U.S. Bankruptcy Court makes CEC the latest in a string of companies upended by Covid-19\. Lockdowns have drained revenue, keeping consumers at home and pushing corporations past the brink of bankruptcy. CEC, acquired by private equity firm Apollo Global Management Inc. in a 2014 leveraged buyout, has more than 600 Chuck E. Cheese outlets and over 120 Peter Piper Pizza venues. Entertainment and leisure have been among industries hardest hit by state and federal guidelines to stay at home. Though restrictions are starting to ease, it’s unclear how many consumers are ready to return to family entertainment destinations. Irving, Texas-based CEC was originally incorporated under the name ShowBiz Pizza Place Inc. The company changed its name in 1998 to CEC Entertainment and today its franchisees operate venues with locations in 47 states and 16 foreign countries and territories, according to its [website](https://cecentertainment.gcs-web.com/investor-overview "undefined"). A plan to take CEC’s parent company Queso Holdings Inc. public through a merger with shell company Leo Holdings Corp. was abandoned last year — a deal that would have valued the firm at about $1.4 billion. –With assistance from Ken McCallum. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5859137/chuck-e-cheese-bankruptcy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5859137/chuck-e-cheese-bankruptcy/"},"headline":"Chuck E. Cheese Parent Company Files for Bankruptcy","datePublished":"2020-06-25T08:14:19.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T08:55:45.688Z","description":"The filing makes CEC Entertainment the latest in a string of companies upended by coronavirus","url":"https://time.com/5859137/chuck-e-cheese-bankruptcy/","keywords":["Companies","wire","overnight","COVID-19"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt178ccb89f9503ed5/698a0fb34ee262a37d317a6d/chuck-e-cheese-bankruptcy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katherine Doherty / Bloomberg"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt178ccb89f9503ed5/698a0fb34ee262a37d317a6d/chuck-e-cheese-bankruptcy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Business Signage","caption":"Business Signage","creditText":"Bruce Bennett–Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/companies/","name":"Companies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5859137/chuck-e-cheese-bankruptcy/","name":"Chuck E. Cheese Parent Company Files for Bankruptcy"}}]}] ```