Pandemic takes a bite, Chuck E. Cheese files for bankruptcy

Pandemic takes a bite, Chuck E. Cheese files for bankruptcy

Chuck E. Cheese - where kids could be kids while parents nursed headaches - is filing for bankruptcy protection.

The 43-year-old chain, which drew kids with pizza, video games and a singing mouse mascot, was struggling even before the coronavirus pandemic. But it said the prolonged closure of many outlets due to coronavirus restrictions led to Thursday's Chapter 11 filing.

CEC Entertainment Inc. has reopened 266 of its 555 company-operated Chuck E. Cheese and Peter Piper Pizza restaurants as restrictions ease, but it's unclear how willing parents will be to host birthday parties and other gatherings. The Irving, Texas-based company said it will continue to reopen locations and offer carryout and delivery while it negotiates with debt and lease holders.

CEC and its franchisees operate 734 restaurants in 47 states and 16 countries. Franchised locations aren't included in the bankruptcy filing, the company said.

Manitoba gains doctors for third straight year, but loses at pandemic-level rate: report

Manitoba is adding doctors at a record clip — but it’s also losing them at a rate not seen since the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, a physicians advocacy organization cautioned Wednesday.

Flash, bang … oops: police raid leads to lawsuit

A couple suing the city allege Winnipeg Police Service officers trying to execute a search warrant at their condominium complex rappelled down the side of the building, broke in their glass patio door and fired off a stun grenade before realizing they were in the wrong unit.

Saeid Ghavami and Shahla Shojaei, a married couple who are academics and scientific researchers at the University of Manitoba, filed the lawsuit in Court of King’s Bench last month over the Jan. 31, 2025 incident.

The claim names the City of Winnipeg and several officers involved in the operation, whose identities are, at this point, unknown to the couple, and are referred to as “John Does.”

Officers were attempting to execute the warrant on the third floor of the eight-storey Pembina Highway building, the court filing says. The couple lives on the fourth floor.

Manitoba has recorded 15 tornadoes this year, roughly twice the annual average

It’s been a whirlwind year for tornado researchers in Manitoba.

“It’s the busiest we’ve ever been, by far,” John Hanesiak, a professor in the department of environment and geography at the University of Manitoba, says.

Hanesiak is a collaborator with the Northern Tornadoes Project, a national research program based at Western University in London, Ont., that aims to better understand tornadoes in Canada.

Since late May, Hanesiak and his team have spent 43 days in the field surveying damage caused by tornadoes and severe weather events across Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Previous seasons have required a maximum of 19 days on the road.

All quiet on the Hellebuyck front

Pull up a chair, folks, as we address the elephant in the room. Or, to be more precise, the decorated goaltender who is not in the room. Or on the ice. Or even in the city.

Not surprisingly, the Connor Hellebuyck situation took centre stage Tuesday as members of the Winnipeg Jets held their first media session following an informal, pre-training camp skate.

“We’re definitely going to get asked about it. That’s no chirp to anybody. I think that’s just the reality of the situation,” admitted veteran defenceman Dylan DeMelo, who took part in an hour-long practice at Hockey For All Centre that involved nearly every member of the organization.

With one very notable exception, of course.

Ferraro, Skinner getting lay of the land before training camp starts

They’ve both been around the NHL block a bit, but make no mistake, Stuart Skinner and Mario Ferraro are experiencing some “new kid at school” type jitters this week.

The pair were prized July 1 free agent signings by the Winnipeg Jets and are now quickly trying to get the lay of the land — from teammates and systems and structure to restaurants, schools and the best routes to the rink — in what is a frantic time on both a professional and personal level.

“It’s a big change, right?” Ferraro said Wednesday following a pre-training camp skate at the Hockey For All Centre.

“Like moving cities, getting settled somewhere else, with my family, my wife, my daughter, our two dogs. But I think it’s gone really well and smooth. We found a great place here, and we’re really happy with where we’re living.”