View source for Cheektowaga, NY (Thruway Mall)

{| class="wikitable cep-infobox" style="float:right; clear:right; margin:0 0 1em 1.5em; width:24em; max-width:100%;"
! colspan="2" | Source metadata
|-
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | [[File:Cheektowaga, NY (Thruway Mall) - Exterior before closure.avif|frameless|300px]]
|-
! style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top; width:35%;" | Type
| Locations
|-
! style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top; width:35%;" | Dates
| 1982-11-26 – 1985-07-29
|-
! style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top; width:35%;" | Floor space
| 11,500
|-
! style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top; width:35%;" | Coordinates
| 42.9032251, -78.7841007
|-
! style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top; width:35%;" | Tags
| Pizza Time Theatre, Balcony Stage
|-
! style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top; width:35%;" | Contributors
| ThatRockHistorian76
|}

'''''Cheektowaga, NY (Thruway Mall)''''' was a Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre that opened on November 26, 1982, with a Balcony Stage and closed on July 29, 1985.

== History ==

=== Pre-Opening ===

Cheektowaga was mentioned for the first time in an article from the November 15, 1982, issue of ''The Buffalo News'', which mentioned the opening date of the store. <ref name="cep1">[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-buffalo-news-new-hartford-utica-pt/141183105 newspapers.com]</ref> According to an article published in the newspaper on November 18, "The 11,500 square-foot Thruway Mall Pizza Time Theater...will be located in a newly constructed portion of the Mall."

=== Years of Operation ===

The Pizza Time Theatre at the Thruway Mall in Cheektowaga, New York opened on November 26, 1982 <ref name="cep1" />, with Harmony Howlette as the Guest Star and the King as the Lounge act <ref name="cep3">[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-buffalo-news-one-for-the-kiddies/163128396 newspapers.com]</ref>. Upon opening, the restaurant was a great success. Cheektowaga was one of eight New York locations operated by Rochester-based Pizza Concepts, Inc. Cheese E. Street was installed in the store a short time after opening.

=== Closure and Fate of the Animatronics ===

After being open for almost three years, the Cheektowaga PTT closed on July 29, 1985, in part due to underperformance brought on by the company's major financial instability at the time, but primarily due to local competition between the two nearby ShowBiz Pizza Places in Amherst and West Seneca, both of which were rather successful in the area. According to an article published after the store closed, "The shutdown...threw about 50 employees out of work. ... Angry employees complained...that they had not been given any advance warning of the shutdown; employees showed up for work...only to find the doors locked, the restaurant emptied of much of its contents, and signs at the door that said they would be contacted about their final paychecks." <ref name="cep4">[https://cheeseepedia.org[[File:Cheektowaga, NY (Thruway Mall) (8).avif]] cheeseepedia.org]</ref>

An auction of Cheektowaga's animatronics, video games, and appliances was held on September 20, 1985. The current whereabouts of the animatronics, which were sold at the auction, are unknown. The closure of this store led to the nonexistence of a single Chuck E. Cheese's location in the Buffalo area until [[Amherst, NY (4994 Harlem Rd)]] opened on June 14, 1993.

The Thruway Mall closed in November 1995 and was demolished the following year. Thruway Plaza now stands on the site.

=== Remodels & initiatives ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Name !! Start !! End !! Serial !! Notes
|-
| [[PTT Standard Layout]] || 1982-11-26 ||  ||  || 
|}

=== Stages ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Name !! Start !! End !! Serial !! Notes
|-
| [[Balcony Stage]] || 1982-11-26 || 1985-07-29 ||  || 
|}

=== Franchisees ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Name !! Start !! End !! Serial !! Notes
|-
| Calibre Corporation || 1982-11-26 || 1985-07-29 ||  || 
|}

=== Animatronics ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Name !! Start !! End !! Serial !! Notes
|-
| [[Chuck E. Cheese (Cyberamic)]] || 1982-11-26 || 1985-07-29 ||  || Sold at auction.
|-
| [[Guest Star / Helen Henny (Cyberamic)]] || 1982-11-26 || 1985-07-29 ||  || Originally Harmony Howlette upon opening, Helen Henny by 1984. Sold at auction.
|-
| [[Mr. Munch (Cyberamic)]] || 1982-11-26 || 1985-07-29 ||  || Sold at auction.
|-
| [[Jasper T. Jowls (Cyberamic)]] || 1982-11-26 || 1985-07-29 ||  || Sold at auction.
|-
| [[Pasqually (Cyberamic)]] || 1982-11-26 || 1985-07-29 ||  || Sold at auction.
|-
| [[Warblettes (Cyberamic)]] || 1982-11-26 || 1985-07-29 ||  || Sold at auction.
|-
| [[The King / King Kat (Lounge)]] || 1982-11-26 || 1985-07-29 ||  || Sold at auction. Current whereabouts unknown.
|}

== References ==
<references />

== Import provenance ==
Imported from [https://github.com/The64thGamer/cheeseepedia/tree/274f085c7132d784f81b7a4cbd96e7a0922db854 Cheese-E-Pedia] at source revision <code>274f085c7132d784f81b7a4cbd96e7a0922db854</code>. Source material is provided under [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ CC BY-SA 4.0].