Chuck E. Cheese Offers At-Home Party Packages to Keep Kids Entertained During Coronavirus

While dining room closures are hitting all food service franchisors particularly hard during the COVID-19 outbreak, Chuck E. Cheese, a brand that's built its entire appeal on hosting in-store birthday parties, is positioned for an even more devastating effect. 

According to a press release, CEC Entertainment has temporarily closed its dine-in service at its Chuck E. Cheese and Peter Piper Pizza restaurants until March 31. To keep customers entertained and business up during that time, Chuck E. Cheese will offer delivered birthday celebration packages featuring pizza, cake and goodie bags. The packages also include resources to facilitate at-home birthday parties through game apps and virtual award tickets that can be redeemed in-store once locations re-open. The brand also offers dance videos through YouTube Kids.

This opportunity to create some in-home entertainment and break up the monotony may be appealing as parents cope with mass school closures and cooped up kids. Luckily, this off-premise concept isn’t completely foreign to Chuck E. Cheese. In 2019, the company rolled out delivery party packs as it began to expand more into off-premise offerings following a decline in revenue from increased competition.

For many entertainment-focused chains, the sudden transition to in-home offerings may be difficult due to their reliance on in-store activities. TopGolf announced it would be closing its Vegas location indefinitely while Dave & Busters has remained open as its stock shares fell 45.7% on Monday.

Although some of the nation’s biggest food service franchisors are closing dine-in service in the hopes that it will stave off spread of coronavirus, including McDonald's, Dunkin’ and Taco Bell, most major QSRs already generate the majority of their sales from drive-thru transactions so the impact should be manageable. Many QSR brands have also been making significant investments in boosting their digital offerings through third party delivery partnerships and mobile apps that facilitate ordering, rewards programs and notifications. 

Chuck E. Cheese will also remain open for carryout orders and third-party delivery through DoorDash, UberEats and GrubHub. Since ordering Chuck E. Cheese to-go isn’t exactly a popular option for most customers, the brand debuted new value-priced family packages for pick-up or delivery.