AMHERST, N.Y. — The Amherst Town Board has approved a new gaming room license for the Chuck E. Cheese located on Harlem Road in Amherst.
In 2018, Chuck E. Cheese made headlines when a brawl broke out inside the kid friendly restaurant.
This brawl caused the Town of Amherst and New York State to conduct investigations into whether Chuck E. Cheese could keep its gaming room license and state liquor license.
MORE: Amherst Town Board to decide fate of Chuck E. Cheese game room license
MORE: State Liquor Authority investigating Chuck E. Cheese on Harlem
The town has decided on the fate on the gaming license.
Chuck E. Cheese's license application has been approved by the town with a unanimous 5-0 vote.
For an issue that's lamented for months, the town board spent all of 25 seconds on the matter at Tuesdays' meeting
"It's been a remarkable turnaround over the last six months," said Town Supervisor Brian J. Kulpa.
Kulpa said the town board moved to renew the license after consultation with its police department and building inspector.
By last June, town officials had documented what they determined to be 18 serious incidents over the course of four years, including melees among customers.
After the last such occurrence last spring, it was threatening not to renew the Harlem Road restaurant's game room license
"Doing so would have effectively put them out of business. That's when we got their attention." Kulpa told WGRZ-TV.
The town's demand for action prompted the restaurant chain's COO Randy Forsythe to all the way from Texas to Amherst to address the town board, where he promised changes would be made, primarily to security.
Kulpa says Chuck E. Cheese made good on its vow.
They brought the security officer up front, and they now keep a security guard on duty at all times," he said.
Kulpa also cited several other steps taken by the company, including teh installation of more than a dozen TV monitors to show guests they're being watched on camera, replacing half of the restaurant staff, providing conflict resolution training for all current staff, and cutting the.maximum attendance at birthday parties from 194 guests to 75.