When I was a kid, eating out was a special event that might only happen 2 or 3 times a year and pizza was never one of my parents' choices. Though I rarely got to eat it, it was my favorite. I can recall a couple times my older sister took my other sister and I to Pizza Hut, but other than that, my pizza exposure was limited to Totino's or Jeno's frozen pizza at home when my parents went out without me.
But there was a golden period of about 4 years when pizza was a once-a-year guarantee. Starting in 7th grade, members of the school band could go to a week-long summer camp (yes, Band Camp) hosted on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. My sister, four years older than me, started going in 1977. I would attend beginning in 1981.
Essentially, you practiced with same-aged kids from bands gathered from around the St. Louis Metropolitan area and at the end of the week on Friday night, give a concert for parents.
After the concert, we would go out to eat. I'm not sure how it happened, but Shakey's Pizza was the decided restaurant. The restaurant itself was in an old brick building, similar to this:
I'd never been to a Shakey's Pizza Parlor before (there were none in my area) and didn't know what to expect, but hey, it was pizza.
The inside was decorated with picnic table and bench seating. Finding a seat, we placed our order. Pepperoni pizza for my mom, sister and I, and fried chicken and what I now know were called "Mojo Potatoes" for my dad. I guess he didn't like pizza.
Midway through the meal, someone came out from back with a reel of 16mm film. They threaded it onto a projector and suddenly we were watching Our Gang comedies. Pizza and a show? How can you beat that? I recall watching "The First Round-up" and "Spooky Hooky". They also showed a W. C. Fields short, but I don't recall what it was about. I never was a big fan of his shorts.
We all agreed it was a great place (even my dad) and it became our standard for the next few years for dinner after the concert. One year we went to eat there and it was closed. I never stepped inside another Shakey's after that.
It might seem like a simple memory, but it's one of my favorites from childhood. And it's the reason I couldn't leave these hats at an estate sale a couple weeks ago.
I've since learned that Shakey's was known for it's olde-tymey dress and Dixieland Jazz. I don't recall that or the waiters wearing these hats, but here's proof.
Shakey's Pizza was founded by Sherwood "Shakey" Johnson in Sacremento, California in 1954. He had been given the nickname "Shakey" during his service in World War II due to the tendency of his hands to shake. He attributed this to malaria he contracted while overseas.
Sherwood was a fan of Dixieland Jazz and hired musicians to play at his restaurants where he often accompanied on piano. Given the atmosphere, Johnson coined the phrase "Pizza Parlor" to describe his restaurants.
Shakey's was also the first franchised pizza chain. Throughout the 1960's it spread across America and in the '70's, branched out internationally with locations in Japan and the Phillipines.
By the mid 1980's, Shakey's was declining (probably around the time the one I went to closed). Today, only 51 restaurants still exist in the United States, with the majority in California. However, it continues to thrive in the Phillipines with over 150 locations.
I have faint memories of Shakey's. Never actually got to watch a film through, but recall the projector was on a little platform suspended from the ceiling. There was one near my old place which closed probably around the same time as yours. After a year or so it was elaborately and flashily made over as a neon-covered 50s diner. That folded and the building became a paint store. I always figured part of the problem was a too-small parking lot for a restaurant.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely remember the styrofoam hats, which also appeared at Farrell's Ice Cream Parlors and I think some other theme restaurants. As a teen was in a youth production of "The Music Man" and the barbershop quartet had styrofoam hats. The original paper bands bore the logos of Shakey's or some other establishment, but were replaced. They were fragile, at least when handled by kids.
Thanks for sharing your memories, D. Yes, the hats look like they would break if you looked at them funny. Surprised they survived all these years.
DeleteThanks for stopping by!
We lived near a Shakey's in central Maryland in 1976 and '77, and it was much as you describe --- I remember Three Stooges shorts projected on a brick wall, though maybe it was just a screen on a brick wall. That Shakey's was also the first place I ever saw or played a video game (the arcade game Sea Wolf).
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your memories, Alec. The first time I ever saw a video game was in a local Buffet place called Heritage House. They had a lone Pac-man.
DeleteI can't remember going to eat at Shakeys but I do remember how eating out in the 1970's was a rare occurrence. Even fast food was a treat for special occasions like vacation or birthdays. Our families favorite was Youngs Chinese Food or the Parthenon Greek restaurant in downtown Chicago. Both are sadly gone now.
ReplyDeleteI didn't eat Chinese food until I was in college. My dad refused to eat it. But yes, eating out, fancy or fast-food was rare for us too.
DeleteYep, we had one in my podunk hometown--It opened in early 1967, and closed in the late Nineties. The '70s version was pretty much how you described it--Rows of wooden picnic tables and a projection TV. In later years, they would go on to have one of the largest video game rooms in town (still remember seeing "Dragon's Lair" there for the first time),and their famed "Cartoon Room", where they showed a loop of mostly Warner Bros. cartoons taped right off Saturday morning TV (my brother and I thought that was hilariously chintzy).
ReplyDeleteOh, and they were called "Rojo" potatoes at this location.
Thanks for sharing your memories, Top Cat. They might have been called Rojo potatoes back when my Dad ordered them too. I just remember he really liked them.
DeleteI can't be sure, but I think the first one I went to had a coin operated video game projected onto a screen that you could play at the table, something very mid 70s. Later we frequented one in Artesia, ca that is now an Indian buffet. Man those mojos...I can taste them now
ReplyDeleteI never had the opportunity to try the Mojos. My Dad guarded them pretty heavily, besides, I was in it for the pizza. Thanks for stopping by and sharing your memories.
DeleteThat's hilarious, about your dad. Mojos are like kfc level of deep fried batter taste. In no way possibly good for your health
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