ShowBiz Pizza Place
The logo, as seen in a vintage TV advertisement
ShowBiz Pizza Place was a chain of family-oriented pizza restaurants that opened its first locations in 1980, and—similar to Chuck E. Cheese, their one-time competitor which they eventually acquired—featured an animatronic band show and arcade games.
The original logo was set in Frankfurter Bold. The logo of their animatronic “house band”, The Rock-afire Explosion, was based on a Bookman, with a generous use of swashes and alternates.
ShowBiz Pizza acquired their competitor Chuck E. Cheese in 1984, and in the early 1990s gradually phased out all ShowBiz Pizza theming in favor of Chuck E. Cheese. The restaurant and, in particular, the band have become something of a cult favorite, and The Rock-afire Explosion was even the subject of a 2008 documentary.
Restaurant signage
Plastic sign with the band logo
The members of ShowBiz Pizza’s animatronic band, The Rock-afire Explosion
Print ad with coupons featuring Helvetica Compressed
The stage setup for the animatronics
A set of five vintage Rock-afire Explosion dolls
The Bloomingdale, IL, Showbiz Pizza Place, opened in 1981 and closed circa 1988. The sign above the door uses ITC Korinna with faux small caps.
