Zapp's Bar & Grill

Source metadata
Type	Companies/Brands
Dates	1983-05 – 1993-08-17
Tags	Pizza Time Theatre
Contributors	sudo-trans-pony

Zapp's Bar & Grill, (Also known as Zapp's Cabaret in Canada) was a small chain of barcades spread across the US and Canada- mostly consisting of former Pizza Time Theatre locations from May of 1983 to August of 1993. Between 1984-1985 the company was sold or spun-off to not be part of the PTT brand. The bar concept would later be continued by Chuck E. Cheese's in 2001 with TJ Hartford's Sports Grille.

Confusion With Gilbert Zapp's

The chain commonly gets confused with Gilbert Zapp's World Tour, sometimes shortened to Gilbert Zapp's. Gilbert Zapp's was formerly Stan Becker's The Prune Pit which opened in January of 1979 in at Campbell, CA (30 S. Central Ave) before becoming The Bodega in August of that year. The Bodega would continue with its bar and weekend live shows until being remodeled into Gilbert Zapp's in September of 1982. The location would continue into the early 1990's before closing.

Gilbert Zapp's had no relation to Pizza Time Theatre or the Zapp's Bar & Grill brand despite one of the locations being open nearby in Cupertino. No mentions of a Campbell location were ever made when PTT discussed Zapp's. Gilbert Zapp's Incorporated was started by Dennis Nino in 1979, while Zapp's Bar & Grill Inc. was ran by Jack Campbell of Pizza Time Theatre corporate in October of 1983.

Wolfman Zapp Animatronic

An unknown amount of Zapp's locations, possibly all of them, came with a Wolfman Zapp (Cyberamic) as their retrofit of the existing Chuck E. Cheese cyberamic character. The animatronic came in multiple styles and iterations, with only the Reno, NV (651 E Moana Lane) store being linked to a particular bot given its use in a parade in Reno in 2015. No marketing or interviews ever mention the animatronic, or if any of the other Cyberamics made appearances in Zapp's locations. It is also unclear if the animatronic was for display or had a showtape set up, though parts and cosmetics for the bot could be ordered in a catalogue for maintenance, suggesting at least some use of animation.

History

The first Zapp's would open in the former Pizza Time Theatre at Cupertino, CA (975 S De Anza Blvd) in May of 1983. The location was noted as wanting to create the "...same kind of video dining fantasy land that has made the company's chain of Chuck E. Cheese restaurants one of the USA's hottest businesses...". The goal would be targeting the 25-35 year old crowd that frequented T.G.I. Friday's and Bennigan's Tavern. Gene Landrum would be guiding the brand, while Jack Campbell is also noted under the subdivision. The location is noted as having over 100 games, but only a quarter being video arcades, with the rest being items such as pool, shuffleboard, chess, darts, and backgammon. Private rooms are also provided with curtains. These rooms provide a telephone, a TV, and a big red button to summon a waitress.

On July 11th, 1983, Pizza Time Theatre would note plans to open a location in Tampa and Dallas, with plans 3 months out to decide whether to expand the chain into a "full-fledged operation". It is likely the Dallas store was of Dallas, TX (8021 Walnut Hill Lane), as a mention of the Zapp's is being "Across town..." from the first Dave & Busters, which was in Dallas, TX (2481 Manana Dr). The other candidate PTT is Dallas, TX (2905 Forest Lane), but that location is only 3 miles away from the D&B.

Captain Zapp

In a December 1983 ad for the Reno, NV (651 E Moana Lane) location, a light-haired character would appear in a superhero outfit with sunglasses and a 'Z' printed on their shirt. In January of 1984 "Captain Zapp" is mentioned as a new mascot for the arcade portion of the brand. However, this character is mentioned as having dark hair and a mustache, with no mentions of the superhero attire.

Bankruptcy

After Pizza Time Theatre filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March of 1984, an interview with Nolan Bushnell would mention Zapp's in May, where he would note the brand was for 21-35 year olds. He noted "city fathers" not liking the concept which forced the brand outside of larger city areas. He also mentioned only 4 stores opened, "Tampa, San Jose, Dallas, Reno..." and one opening soon in Boulder, CO., likely in the then or soon to be closed Pizza Time Theatre at Boulder, CO (633 S Broadway). There is no evidence for if a Zapp's in Boulder ever eventually opened.

The company would note later in June during discussions of the sale of Pizza Time Theatre locations that it had Zapp's "on the block" alongside other divisions of the company. The 1983 annual report for the company, filed some time after March of 1984, also mentions "The sale of Zapp's is currently being negotiated and will also be subject to Court approval."

Post-PTT Sale

Zapp's was either sold or spun-off as an independent company before Pizza Time Theatre's merger with ShowBiz Pizza Place completed in May of 1985. ShowBiz Pizza Time, Inc.'s earliest known 1989 annual report mentions nothing of Zapp's despite locations still being open at the time. Post-sale would see the opening of the Fremont and Kelowna stores.

The company would close on August 17, 1993.

Locations

Address	Dates	Former PTT?
Cupertino, CA (975 S De Anza Blvd)	May 1983 - Unknown	Yes
Tampa, FL (2363 E. Fowler Ave)	October 1983 - Sometime after July 1985	Yes
Reno, NV (651 E Moana Lane)	December 1983 - Summer 1986	Yes
Dallas, TX (8021 Walnut Hill Lane)	1983 - Last mentioned 1995	Yes
Boulder, CO (633 S Broadway)	Unclear if ever reopened	Yes
Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada	Mentioned in 1988, says closed by 1991	No
Fremont, CA (44350 S Grimmer Blvd)	Mentioned in 1991	No

Import provenance

Imported from Cheese-E-Pedia at source revision 274f085c7132d784f81b7a4cbd96e7a0922db854. Source material is provided under CC BY-SA 4.0.