Chuck E. Cheese's parent filed for bankruptcy with half its stores still shut

Chuck E. Cheese had been the American birthday-party institution since 1977 — pizza, arcade tokens and an animatronic mouse — and its parent CEC Entertainment also ran Peter Piper Pizza. The business model depended on exactly the things a pandemic forbids: crowded rooms, shared arcade cabinets and indoor parties.

When venues shut in March 2020 the cash ran out fast: same-store sales fell 21.9% in the first quarter, the company stopped paying rent in early April, and with nearly half of its company-owned locations still closed, CEC filed for Chapter 11 on 25 June 2020. The filing was a lease-and-balance-sheet restructuring: the company planned to reject 45 leases and close at least 34 stores, negotiating with landlords while it reopened what it could.

It worked as a rescue rather than an exit. The reorganization plan was confirmed on 15 December 2020, and CEC emerged from Chapter 11 on 30 December 2020 with its debt obligations reduced by roughly $705 million and more than $100 million of liquidity — the mouse, the tokens and most of the rooms still standing.