Still making memories
The show never stopped.
What began in 1986 became something independent, wonderfully unexpected and still alive today.
Our beginning
A family-fun original.
Billy Bob's story began in 1986 as a ShowBiz Pizza Place in Barboursville, West Virginia.
In 1989, rather than converting into a corporate chain, the restaurant chose independence. That decision created Billy Bob's Wonderland—and protected a kind of family entertainment that people still travel to experience.
The idea was simple and lasting: make room for food, games, music and the sort of joyful weirdness that turns an ordinary afternoon into a story families keep telling.
The timeline
From ShowBiz to Wonderland.
The story begins
The Barboursville location opens as a ShowBiz Pizza Place.
Billy Bob's is born
The restaurant becomes independent and Billy Bob's Wonderland takes on an identity of its own.
A bigger home
Billy Bob's moves to its current, larger location at 5 Cracker Barrel Drive.
A new generation joins in
Families, longtime fans and first-time visitors share arcade games, parties and the restored Rock-afire experience.
The Rock-afire Explosion
Not a replica. Not just a memory.
The characters, stage and songs still have the power to light up a room.
Renewed restoration efforts and a growing fan community have given this piece of entertainment history new energy. For some visitors, it is a reunion. For others, it is the first time the curtain ever opened.
Why it matters
Old memories. Brand-new ones.
Billy Bob's is not frozen in the past. It keeps its history working by sharing it with the next family through the door.
A place to play together
Games, food, birthdays and an experience that feels different from a corporate entertainment center.
A destination worth the trip
A chance to see the characters and atmosphere that built a lifelong community.
A local story still unfolding
Decades of birthdays, first visits and familiar faces in one independent West Virginia venue.
Come be part of it