Freddy Fazbear's Pizza

Industry Restaurant, Pizzeria, Arcade
Open December 1983 - November 1993
(Closed August 1985 - October 1987)
Location Hurricane, Utah
Owned by Fazbear Entertainment Inc

Overview

Freddy Fazbear's Pizza was a local American pizzeria and children's entertainment center, the most successful and longest running of those owned by Fazbear Entertainment, best known for its use of animatronic mascot performers. Though its roster evolved over time, the primary cast consisted of Freddy Fazbear, Bonnie the bunny, and Chica the chicken. Besides its animatronics and dine-in pizza, the building also featured a large arcade and ball pit.

The great success of Freddy's would give rise to the spinoff Chica's Party World and Bandwagon Burger Barn locations.

History

Beginnings

Freddy's opened in 1983 in an attempt to expand the Fazbear Entertainment brand. The location was originally planned to run alongside Fredbear's Family Diner, Fazbear Entertainment's original location. However, after the unexpected closure of Fredbear's in November, Freddy's was instead marketed as Fredbear's successor, and its development was rushed to completion by year's end. Most of the Fredbear's characters would later be reused at Freddy's.

Despite such a troubled opening, the pizzeria saw great success in its early years.

The Missing Children Incident

(See main article)

On June 26th of 1985, five children were reportedly lured to a back room by an employee wearing a mascot costume. The victims were reported missing, as the bodies were never found, but were eventually presumed dead. In the wake of this tragedy, the location would temporarily close in August of the same year.

Reopening

The location reopened in 1987, featuring several new animatronics built in collaboration with Afton Robotics (though still retaining the original cast). These new characters would be discontinued shorty after their introduction due to malfunctions and resulting staff injuries. Nevertheless, the location remained open for several more years, despite increasing financial trouble as a result of poor reputation and the decline of arcades.

After an unsuccessful year-long search for a buyer, the company would go bankrupt in 1993, officially closing in November. The location was abandoned, and the rights to the characters were tranferred to original creator Henry Emily.

"These characters will live on. In the hearts of kids- these characters will live on."

- Fazbear Entertainment CEO

Animatronics

The location featured 4 mainstay animatronic performers, as well as a revolving cast of side characters.

Freddy's Band

The restaurant's main cast consisted of four animal characters who performed together on the restaurant's central stage. These characters first appeared in the Fredbear & Friends television show, before being physically built by roboticist and cofounder Henry Emily. The characters were as follows.

Foxy the Pirate Fox

Foxy was a red fox with a hook and eye-patch. He was featured in the Pirate Cove attraction, which was active for the first 2 years of the restaurant's life. After an unfortunate incident involving guest Kelly Shoals in 1987, the character and his associated attraction would be deemed out of order. They would be reopened and closed again several times thereafter, up until the location's closure in 1993.

The Puppet

Originally appearing in Fredbear's Family Diner, this marionette character would emerge from a large box in the prize counter to give gifts to children. It featured a white face with clown features atop a slender black body. It was discontinued for unknown reasons in February of 1988.

Golden Freddy and Spring Bonnie

The main cast of Fredbear's Family Diner was repurposed for Freddy's, with the leading animatronic being renamed in an effort to move away from the Fredbear's branding, his purple atired replaced with blue-black. These two suits used patented "springlock technology", which allowed them to be worn by employees for manual performance. They were fully discontinued after the restaurant's closure in 1985, due to their key role in the perpetration of the Missing Children Incident.

Balloon Boy and Funtime Foxy ('The Mangle')

These two animatronics were commissioned by Afton Robotics for the restaurant's reopening in 1987. Balloon Boy was a small round boy wearing red and blue stripes, offerring balloons to children near the prize counter. Funtime Foxy, the pink and white fox, was given the 'Kid's Cove' attraction on the building's East wall, opposite to Pirate Cove. The latter would quickly be rebranded as a take-apart-and-put-back-together attraction, allegedly referred to by employees as "The Mangle".

These characters would be retired in November of 1987 due to a technological malfunction which resulted in the severe injury of an employee.

Lolbit

Lolbit was the primary mascot for the location's arcade, a recoloring of the Funtime Foxy animatronic with dark eyes and a purple and orange palette. They were a relatively late addition, first appearing in 1988, and remaining in use until 1991. Afterwards, they were rebranded as a fully digital character.

Arcade

Freddy Fazbear's Pizza housed a relatively large arcade, featuring a wide variety of cabinets over the years. Most notable are those developed by the Fazbear Family Arcade subsidary, including:

Legacy

After its closure in 1993, Freddy Fazbear's Pizza would eventually gain popularity as a subject of horror legend, due to proliferating rumors regarding many of the tragic events and reports associated with the location. This legendary status would spark the creation of the Fazbear's Fright attraction in 2015.

Gallery