I remember when Nolan Bushnell of Atari fame started the chain. I had the same experience as you, though. Went for my nephew’s birthday party. The kids loved the games and 3-year-olds aren’t particularly fussy about their pizza. The adults, on the other hand...!
The stories I’ve seen on FR regarding Chuck E Cheese are brawls where mothers bring their kids to Chuck E Cheese for a party and one or more chaperones get drunk.