SHOWBIZ KUWAIT BLOG

Blog by- Michandrelle on Reddit

Email- smnlaclo@gmail.com

ShowBiz Pizza Place, or ShowBiz Pizza for short, was an American family entertainment center and pizza chain founded in March 3, 1980 by Robert L. Brock and Aaron Fechter of Creative Engineering (CEI). It emerged after a separation between Brock and owners of the Chuck E. Cheese franchise, Chuck E. Cheese Pizza Time Theatre. ShowBiz Pizza restaurants entertained guests through a large selection of arcade games, coin operated rides, and animatronic stage shows, this ones being built by Creative Engineering.

But now... What was ShowBiz Kuwait?

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ShoBiz Bizza Bleis (Also known as Showbiz Kuwait) was a family entertainment center located in the AL-Bajat Salmiya area near Gulf Road, the place opened with a renovation after the closure of the mermaid restaurant on 1988/1989, lately In 1991, during the gulf war it was bombed because apparently, Kuwait hidden weapons in places like showbiz, his owner was Mohammed Nasser Al-Sanousi (former Minister of Information and prominent media professional). After the invasion, in around 1993/1994, it was renovated and numerous new fun games were added. It became a tourist and entertainment center characterized by its traditional and electronic games that attract large crowds of young and old, especially during holidays and festivals. It was located in Ras Al-Salmiya and includes two floors, the first floor was just an arcade and the second floor was a complete restaurant.

1990 advertisment>

Rare photo from the bombing>

The claim that it was hiding weapons or missiles is not supported or confirmed by any official websites or fonts, so take it with a grain of salt, although it is probable since several civilian buildings did so, one of the most documented cases was the AL Badawiyal Cience Scho-ol for Girls, an Institution that hidded missiles and other Militar materials inside.

ShowBiz after the bombing>

There's a problem with the timeline of this place, several photos seem in very good condition like this one and others that you can easily find on Google or other navegators, this could be just tons of remasters of the photos, because there's no videos with good quality except for this one.

In 1995/1996, the place got a Sally Corp™ Animatronic band named "Billy Jo and the Bluegrass Boys" on the second floor.

In around 1997, showbiz completely changed its facade, both structurally and internally due to its remodeling, as we will be able to appreciate in this video By Jenna_965 on YouTube.

Lately on the 2000's, the restaurant had another renovation, this one being more minimalist>

This Look, apparently lasted until 2005 when the restaurant closed permanently.

Extra: On reddit I remember seeing a user comment on a post related to the topic, that in 2013 the animatronics were still preserved inside the building, sadly, I didn't found anything from this post and its respective URL.

Demolition:

In 2020, all the attractions and buildings in that place were demolished due to the actions of some members of the National Assembly, who considered it an infraction of state transgressions.

[Extra bc there's no footage/photo of the demolition].

Lately, in around 2021, a project began to be planned, the idea was to convert the old Showbiz land into a large shopping mall with the same name in memory of the original Showbiz>

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Photo Dump:

Old mermaid restaurant before ShowBiz in 1986.

Kids crying with the destroyed atractions behind them.

Best view of the place after the bombing from a helicopter.

"Showbiz Amusement Park, located in the Salmiya area, is still paying compensation and fines to Kuwait after Iraqi forces invaded Kuwait during the Iraq-Kuwait War in 1991."

Panoramic view of the place in 2003.