What's going in where Chuck E. Cheese used to be at The Pavilion at Port Orange?

Clayton Park, Daytona Beach News-Journal
·3 min read
This is a view of the interior of the Chuck E. Cheese restaurant/arcade at The Pavilion at Port Orange on Sept. 30, 2022. The standalone kids-oriented restaurant at 5539 S. Williamson Blvd. was extensively damaged when the roof collapsed during Hurricane Ian.
This is a view of the interior of the Chuck E. Cheese restaurant/arcade at The Pavilion at Port Orange on Sept. 30, 2022. The standalone kids-oriented restaurant at 5539 S. Williamson Blvd. was extensively damaged when the roof collapsed during Hurricane Ian.

PORT ORANGE ― A construction fence was recently erected around a vacant lot at The Pavilion at Port Orange, but without a sign indicating what was going there. As of Tuesday, construction had yet to begin.

A number of people noticed the construction fence going up and speculated what it could be on Facebook.

Here's the answer: It's going to be a new Chuck E. Cheese pizza restaurant/family fun arcade.

A construction fence surrounds the site of the former Chuck E. Cheese pizza restaurant/family fun arcade at The Pavilion at Port Orange shopping center, pictured Monday, April 15, 2024. A building permit has been issued for a new Chuck E. Cheese restaurant that will be slightly bigger than the one that was torn down after Hurricane Ian in 2022. It is expected to open by the end of 2024, according to City officials.

Wait, wasn't there a Chuck E. Cheese there before?

Yes. CEC Entertainment, the Irving, Texas-based chain's parent company, opened a Chuck E. Cheese at The Pavilion in December 2013.

The standalone eatery at 5539 S. Williamson Blvd. was torn down in late October 2022 after being badly damaged during Hurricane Ian. The damage caused the building's roof to collapse.

Chuck E. Cheese was the only building at The Pavilion to be significantly damaged by Ian. The hurricane had been downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it swept through Volusia County.

Since the closure of the Chuck E. Cheese at The Pavilion, the chain's closest location to Volusia County has been in Altamonte Springs in Seminole County.

Looking east at the The Pavilion at Port Orange shopping center (from Williamson Boulevard) on Monday, April 15, 2024.
Looking east at the The Pavilion at Port Orange shopping center (from Williamson Boulevard) on Monday, April 15, 2024.

The new Chuck E. Cheese will be slightly bigger

The new Chuck E. Cheese will be 13,633 square feet in size, slightly larger than the restaurant that was torn down in 2022.

Volusia County property records showed that the chain's original Port Orange eatery was 12,676 square feet in size. But the original plans for the old eatery indicated that it would be 12,989 square feet in size, according to Mike Springer, a spokesman for the City of Port Orange.

The anticipated cost to build the new Chuck E. Cheese eatery is $2 million, compared with the $1.6 million spent to build the chain's original Port Orange location.

This is a screenshot rendering of the planned 13,633-square-foot standalone Chuck E. Cheese pizza restaurant/family fun arcade at The Pavilion at Port Orange shopping center that is expected to begin construction in the first quarter of 2024. It will replace one that was torn down after being badly damaged during Hurricane Ian in October 2022.
This is a screenshot rendering of the planned 13,633-square-foot standalone Chuck E. Cheese pizza restaurant/family fun arcade at The Pavilion at Port Orange shopping center that is expected to begin construction in the first quarter of 2024. It will replace one that was torn down after being badly damaged during Hurricane Ian in October 2022.

It is expected to open by year's end

Port Orange City Manager Wayne Clark in his weekly City Manager's Weekly Update email newsletter dated Jan. 19 wrote that the City expected to soon issue a building permit for the new Chuck E. Cheese and that it was expected to be completed "by the end of 2024."

Officials with CEC Entertainment and the project's general contractor, Parkway Construction & Associates, did not respond to requests for comment.

Where is The Pavilion?

The Pavilion at Port Orange is an open-air lifestyle shopping center located just west of Interstate 95 Exit 256 in Port Orange. The center is north of Taylor Road, bordered by Williamson Boulevard on the west, and a U.S. Foods distribution center to the north.

What else does it offer?

The Pavilion opened in March 2010. Its anchor tenants today include a Belk department store, a 14-screen Regal Pavilion movie theater, and a co-located Marshalls/Home Goods store. It is also home to dozens of restaurants and shops and has a park where a Saturday morning farmers market is held throughout the year.

Who owns it?

The Pavilion is owned by Chattanooga, Tennessee-based CBL & Associates, the same company that owns Volusia Mall in Daytona Beach.

CBL owns the land where the new Chuck E. Cheese will be built. CEC Entertainment has a long-term lease on the outparcel lot.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: What are they planning to build at The Pavilion at Port Orange?