#gigglebees

enjoy

Hi! No I’ve never heard of this place. I’m honestly quite surprised I haven’t come across it before. but wow this place is really interesting and I’m loving wilbur the coyote! 

Here’s an ad from the 1990s

and here’s an article with some great info

Before it was a pizza place, the corner of 14th and Minnesota in central Sioux Falls was a Red Owl grocery store. Gigglebees opened in December 1985 as part of the Piccadilly Circus pizza chain. That chain eventually broke-up and after a contest in 1989, the name changed to Gigglebees.

During the 1990s and into the first few years of the 21st Century, Gigglebees was a destination restaurant for families in the Sioux Empire. The almost 13,000 square-foot building had arcade games, laser tag, bumper cars, and skeeball to go along with the pizza.

The centerpiece of the place was Gigglebees’ mascot Wilbur the Coyote. He was a tricycle-riding robot waiter that delivered pizzas to customers.

As the city grew, competition increased and the cost of business rose. More restaurants opened in Sioux Falls, like Chuck E Cheese’s in 2001, and the building aged. In 2008 the land was sold, and in July that same year, Wilbur delivered his last pizza.

The building at 14th and Minnesota was torn down and a new office development went in, including a bank in the same spot as the former restaurant.

Recently, Wilbur the Coyote made a comeback to the Sioux Falls scene as a sort of celebrity party guest. A former robot operator from Gigglebees who loves family entertainment brought the tricycle rider back to life and visits events around town.

Also Wilbur has his own website:

https://www.wilburthecoyote.com/