Chuck E. Cheese, Applebee’s Change Name To Trick People Into Ordering Take-Out

Let’s be honest, no one has ever gone to Chuck E. Cheese for the Pizza. As for Applebee’s we can’t remember the last time we’ve been to the restaurant in the last decade where the food we got wasn’t just microwaved frozen dinners served incorrectly. So, it’s not hard to imagine why neither of those restaurants have been high on the UberEats wishlist for people who are staying home during COVID-19.

Savvy customers have taken to Reddit on the last couple of weeks after figure out that the two companies have been tricking people into buying their sub-par offerings by changing their names. So, if you order take-out from a place called Pasqually’s Pizza and Wings, be prepared for some cafeteria level trash pizza that’s meant to pass the time while parents nurse a bad beer and kids run around like maniacs.

For their part, Chuck E. Cheese claims that there’s a difference, but consumers aren’t feeling it. Here’s the statement from the company:

“CEC Entertainment, Inc. recently launched Pasqually’s Pizza & Wings nationwide. Pasqually’s Pizza & Wings, named after another favorite member of Munch’s Make Believe Band, shares kitchen space with the Chuck E. Cheese restaurant, ensuring high-quality, fresh ingredients.” (Munch’s Make Believe Band, as we all know, is the same now-defunct animatronic band that played for guests at Chuck E. Cheese.)

The pizza sold at Pasqually’s is different than the cheesy offerings you might remember from Chuck E. Cheese, reportedly featuring “a thicker crust, extra sauce and new blends of cheese and seasoning, giving consumers a more flavorful, more premium pizza experience.”

Meanwhile, Applebee’s has changed its name to “Neighborhood Wings” on delivery services. Much like Chuck E. Cheese, they don’t feel like they are being deceitful, because they are offering only top-selling items and new items that aren’t currently on the menu.

“At Applebee’s restaurants, wings are a top-selling menu item,” Scott Gladstone, vice president of Applebee’s strategy and development told TODAY in an email. “We launched Neighborhood Wings by Applebee’s on GrubHub to make it even easier for guests to get their wings fix and to give us the opportunity to test out new items made for wing lovers that aren’t on our main menu.”