A moment of silence please.
Peter L
owner of the first pizza parlour in the US. Johnson opened his first
pizza parlour here in Sacramento. Later he sold out and retired.
So tonight forget about all your New York style or Chicago style or
California style, forget about your stuff crust or thin crust or Thai
chicken. Go order a Shaky's cheese and toast the man in the sky.
Q/O/
Shakey's?
This guy is NOT going to the sky!
- QO
Peter L
First of all I apologize. The guy's name is Sherwood not Charles.
Second he's going to heaven not for his food (he sold out a long time
ago anyway), but for the person he was.
Sherwood "Shakey" Johnson is credited with opening the world's first
"pizza parlor" at 57th and J streets in Sacramento, but friends remember
him more as a one-of-a-kind character who would do almost anything --
even take nearly two dozen friends to Kauai for a three-day luau if the
mood struck him.
And it did.
Mr. Johnson, 73, who died of a heart attack Saturday, was a
wise-cracking, fun-loving, joke-telling, prankster-playing partygoer who
was kind and sentimental as well: For years, he made sure a
poverty-stricken boy he had met in Hawaii had whatever he needed -- even
a new suit when the child was killed.
"He was bigger than life," recalled his daughter, Bonae Paustian. "He
did everything in a large way. He really did have a big heart -- and it
finally gave out on him."
Mr. Johnson's legacy is Shakey's Pizza, a worldwide restaurant chain
that still has scores of parlors in the United States and abroad. He
sold his 50 percent interest in Shakey's for about $4 million in 1967.
After retiring to a 105-acre estate with hacienda-style house in the
Yuba County foothills, Mr. Johnson, then in his 40s, never lost his
perspective or sense of humor. "I don't kid myself that I'm a rancher,"
he said. "I'm just a city boy from Sacramento who's living the life of a
country squire.
"I make a nice living from all these people flushing their toilets. . .
. When I got all that money (from Shakey's), I invested it -- mostly in
municipal sewer bonds."
Sherwood Johnson was born Sept. 2, 1925, in Sacramento, to homemaker
Mildred and Chris D. Johnson, a deputy state attorney general and a
prominent attorney in private practice.
After graduating from Christian Brothers High School in 1943, he joined
the Navy and served two years in the Pacific theater aboard the USS
Alnitah -- where he got the nickname "Shakey."
He weighed about 155 pounds when he entered the service, he once
explained, but had a difficult time eating during his stint in the South
Pacific and began to suffer from chronic malnutrition.
"I just sort of wasted away -- only weighed 93 pounds. I got tremors. My
hands shook. The guys started calling me 'Shakey.' It was a name given
with love, and it's been good to me over the years."
Returning to Sacramento after the war, Mr. Johnson attended Sacramento
City College and later Hastings School of Law in San Francisco. In 1950,
he married Mary Jane Williams, whom he had met at the American Legion
Hall after the war.
Four years later, he and Ed Plummer -- a college friend and fishing
buddy -- each put in $850 and rented a defunct mom-and-pop grocery store
at 57th and J streets to open a neighborhood draft beer place.
They later added pizza, using a recipe Mr. Johnson knew from his
childhood, some of which he spent serving as a recipe interpreter
between Italian housewives and his mother, who was Swedish.
"With the pizza, the business exploded," he told reporters.
The partners soon added a room to their establishment that sold only
pizza. They advertised it as a "pizza parlor," thus coining a phrase
that has since become common usage.
Prior to that time, there were no pizza parlors -- only "pizzerias" in
which pizza was among the menu items, according to a 1975 press release
by Shakey's officials.
Stories abound about Mr. Johnson, though friends say with a chuckle that
some of the most colorful ones are unprintable. Among the ones that can
be told:
He once gave a party in Mulege, Mexico, that lasted seven days and
totaled $10,000 in bar bills. He flew in people from all over. The fun
included Mariachi music, Scottish pipers and even an Arab band and
bellydancer.
After the death of Carl Estes' wife, Mr. Johnson made it a point to call
his longtime friend every morning to make sure he was up and his spirits
weren't down. "He truly cared," Estes said.
Mr. Johnson liked to laugh about what he felt was a world record by
Shakey's for most beer downed in a single night: 50 kegs or more. Turns
out three times the normal amount of cayenne pepper was put in the pizza
dough.
Asked once why he named the parlor Shakey's, Mr. Johnson reportedly
replied: "Can you imagine anyone saying, 'Let's go down to Sherwood's
for some pizza?' "
A huge Dixieland jazz fan, Mr. Johnson booked bands into his pizza
parlors so patrons could enjoy live entertainment. It became a Shakey's
tradition. Later, he was named the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee's first
"Emperor of Jazz."
His daughter, Bonae, said Mr. Johnson drank and smoked and once said, "
'If I had known I would live this long, I would have taken care of
myself.' He had two mottos: 'You only go around once in life, but if you
live it the way we do, once is enough'"
gom...@sirius.com
> > > It is my sad duty to report the death of Charles "Shaky" Johnson, the
> > > owner of the first pizza parlour in the US.
> Sherwood "Shakey" Johnson is credited with opening the world's first
> "pizza parlor" at 57th and J streets in Sacramento
> Mr. Johnson's legacy is Shakey's Pizza, a worldwide restaurant chain
>... rented a defunct mom-and-pop grocery store
> at 57th and J streets to open a neighborhood draft beer place.
>
> They later added pizza
> The partners soon added a room to their establishment that sold only
> pizza. They advertised it as a "pizza parlor," thus coining a phrase
> that has since become common usage.
>
> Prior to that time, there were no pizza parlors -- only "pizzerias" in
> which pizza was among the menu items, according to a 1975 press release
> by Shakey's officials.
>
i don't get it. what was this guy's claim to fame?
(besides some pretty mediocre pizza, and hitting it rich) --
the fact that he was the the first in the world to have a room
only for pizza? (debatable -- that was his press release)
the fact that he was the first to call his establishment
a "pizza parlor" instead of a "pizzeria"?
was he the first to have a chain of pizza places?
i'm lost!
Larry Kedes
----------
The partners soon added a room to their establishment that sold only
pizza. They advertised it as a "pizza parlor," thus coining a phrase
that has since become common usage.
Prior to that time, there were no pizza parlors -- only "pizzerias" in
which pizza was among the menu items, according to a 1975 press release
by Shakey's officials.
====================
The story that Johnson invented the pizza restaurant seems like public
relations hyperbole. Claiming that by changing the name from pizzeria to
pizza parlor is a big deal is like giving credit to someone for opening the
first "Italian restaurant" because all the previous places had been named
"Ristorante" I ate in pizza parlors as a kid on the East coast long before
Johnson got out of the Navy.
-Larry Kedes
Mike Rael
It reads so easily, and gives us an insight into the heart of
Mr. Johnson.
best wishes,
Mike
Peter L (Nospam...@csus.edu) wrote:
: Sherwood "Shakey" Johnson is credited with opening the world's first
: And it did.
--
Mike Rael, MS, instructional technology
la...@netcom.com
listowner, self-esteem-self-help
owner, COACHING BY PHONE, the rapid way to raise reality-based self-esteem
Dennis Suchta
restaurant
was in chicago (1947) opened by Ike Sewell. He franchised relativly late - the
chain is Unos and is nothing like the original. So I have to keep open the
chance
that Shakys may have had a good pizza. The name is at least as well known as
most franchise names. I wonder if Stucky is still around. Claim to fame?
Problematic.
Dennis
gom...@sirius.com wrote:
> > > > It is my sad duty to report the death of Charles "Shaky" Johnson, the
> > > > owner of the first pizza parlour in the US.
>
> > Sherwood "Shakey" Johnson is credited with opening the world's first
> > "pizza parlor" at 57th and J streets in Sacramento
>
> > Mr. Johnson's legacy is Shakey's Pizza, a worldwide restaurant chain
>
> >... rented a defunct mom-and-pop grocery store
> > at 57th and J streets to open a neighborhood draft beer place.
> >
> > They later added pizza
>
> > The partners soon added a room to their establishment that sold only
> > pizza. They advertised it as a "pizza parlor," thus coining a phrase
> > that has since become common usage.
> >
> > Prior to that time, there were no pizza parlors -- only "pizzerias" in
> > which pizza was among the menu items, according to a 1975 press release
> > by Shakey's officials.
> >
>
Dennis Suchta
Dennis
Peter L wrote:
> It is my sad duty to report the death of Charles "Shaky" Johnson, the
David Hatunen
bizbee <tub...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
>>i don't get it. what was this guy's claim to fame?
>>(besides some pretty mediocre pizza, and hitting it rich) --
>>
>>the fact that he was the the first in the world to have a room
>>only for pizza? (debatable -- that was his press release)
>>
>>the fact that he was the first to call his establishment
>>a "pizza parlor" instead of a "pizzeria"?
>>
>>was he the first to have a chain of pizza places?
>>
>>i'm lost!
>
>Apparently you are.... no one claimed this guy was a pizza god, it
>was simply a statement of fact that the guy who started a highly
>successful chain of pizza places died. He was a businessman. It
>doesn't matter what you think of his pizza, obviously enough
>people liked it to make him successful and rich. Private opinions
>are just that, and matter little in the business world, as long as
>you are giving the majority what they want. Geez, this isn't
>rocket science here.... do you have to have a golden penis to get
>recogized where you come from?
The claim was that he had the first "pizza parlor", not just that
he started a chain that enjoyed a modicum of success before going
downhill. Is there some difference between a "pizza parlor" and the
sort of pizza joint we used to call a "pizza parlor"?
Claiming the guy invented something is a bit different from simply
saluting some guy who had a successful business.
--
********** DAVE HATUNEN (hat...@sonic.net) ***********
* Daly City California: *
* where San Francisco meets The Peninsula *
******* and the San Andreas Fault meets the Sea *******
sean...@home.net
Pizza Parlors were loads of fun. They used to have live piano players
playing Ragtime music, real roaring log fires in their fireplaces, and black
& white silent comedy classics like Laurel & Hardy and the Keystone Cops
projected on a screen hung from the ceiling. It was always loud from the
piano music and the playing kids and the families talking. As a child, it
was an exciting place that we looked forward to visiting with our families
on a Friday or Saturday night.
I have many fond memories at the Straw Hat I frequented as a kid in the
South Bay. I remember that Shakey's had a pretty similar atmosphere. I do
remember the pizza as being pretty good at both places, but that was back
when pizza was just pizza, not the zillion gourmet-style variations they
have on it now. For us, it was basically Pepperoni or not. There was no
California Pizza Kitchen or Wolfgang Puck's Gourmet Pizzas. The thought of
BBQ Chicken on a pizza would have been insane, and the pineapple/Canadian
ham combo was pretty exotic for the time.
Come to think of it, back then Shakey's and Straw Hat were some of the very
few sit-down chain restaurants to serve pizza in my part of town. Pizza Man
and Red Devil Pizza were some of the other pizza delivery services before
Pizza Hut and Domino's took over and ruled the land, which is a good thing
because the pizza always arrived cold. The food at Shakey's and Straw Hat's
seemed almost secondary to the atmosphere, though. I don't even think Straw
Hat Pizza Parlors are still in business today.
Sometime last year I walked into a Shakey's for lunch (on a coworker's
suggestion). The fireplace was still there but probably unused for many
years, maybe decades. In front of it was a big projection TV showing the
soap opera All My Children. The player piano was gone, and the picnic table
setup was still semi-intact, and they had a sort of a small arcade section
towards the back with skee-ball, air hockey, and videogames. I wondered if
the pizza had changed or if my palate had just become more discriminating
since I was a kid because everything tasted like institutionalized cafeteria
food. Overall, it was pretty depressing experience for me because I had so
many great memories at these places, but the one I visited seemed so run
down now. I also visited one in La Palma about five years ago and it was
pretty much the same experience.
Can't a revival of this sort of old-fashioned family restaurant be
successful these days? Chuckie E. Cheese's just doesn't cut it for me!
mrfuss
sean...@home.net wrote in message <71qdcp$4...@chronicle.concentric.net>...
>This was many, many years ago (30+) but I thought Shakey's and Straw Hat
>Pizza Parlors were loads of fun. They used to have live piano players
>playing Ragtime music, real roaring log fires in their fireplaces, and
black
>& white silent comedy classics like Laurel & Hardy and the Keystone Cops
>projected on a screen hung from the ceiling. It was always loud from the
>piano music and the playing kids and the families talking. As a child, it
>was an exciting place that we looked forward to visiting with our families
>on a Friday or Saturday night.
And let's not forget the king of all L.A. pizza parlors, McGoo's on
Hollywood Blvd. In high school in the 60's we also looked forward to McGoo's
and Straw Hat without our families on Fridays and Saturdays, when they had
old-time sing-alongs.
Marshall Fuss
Jim Mackey
otherwise known as sean...@home.net, came out of the closet with...
> Come to think of it, back then Shakey's and Straw Hat were some of the very
> few sit-down chain restaurants to serve pizza in my part of town. Pizza Man
> and Red Devil Pizza were some of the other pizza delivery services before
> Pizza Hut and Domino's took over and ruled the land, which is a good thing
> because the pizza always arrived cold. The food at Shakey's and Straw Hat's
> seemed almost secondary to the atmosphere, though. I don't even think Straw
> Hat Pizza Parlors are still in business today.
The Straw Hat on Landess Ave. in Milpitas is still there. The last time
I was in there, they were still showing the old cartoons and other
shorts, but that was a few years ago.
--
Jim Mackey, GM, ex-PTE
San Jose, CA
http://home.earthlink.net/~jmackey
Replace "moon" with "earth" to email
Will Borgeson
Goleta was the only pizza place within many miles, and it was cheap, to
boot. That pizza might not hold up that well compared to some of the
deluxe versions that can be found these days, but hey, we thought it was
great at the time, and patronized it regularly. My recollection is that
it was fairly basic, but nicely executed - thin crust, chewy and puffy at
the edges, with a pretty tasty sauce.
Will
David Griffith
: In article <71qdcp$4...@chronicle.concentric.net>, sean...@home.net,
: > Come to think of it, back then Shakey's and Straw Hat were some of the very
: > few sit-down chain restaurants to serve pizza in my part of town. Pizza Man
: > and Red Devil Pizza were some of the other pizza delivery services before
: > Pizza Hut and Domino's took over and ruled the land, which is a good thing
: > because the pizza always arrived cold. The food at Shakey's and Straw Hat's
: > seemed almost secondary to the atmosphere, though. I don't even think Straw
: > Hat Pizza Parlors are still in business today.
: The Straw Hat on Landess Ave. in Milpitas is still there. The last time
: I was in there, they were still showing the old cartoons and other
: shorts, but that was a few years ago.
There's still a Straw Hat in Bakersfield, CA.
--
David Griffith Keeper of the
dgr...@ultrix6.cs.csubak.edu alt.pizza.delivery.drivers FAQ
--> Dave's Pizza Page <http://www.cs.csubak.edu/~dgriffi/pizza.html> <--
xstitchcrazy
>
**Thank you** very much! This is the essence of the matter--I felt this
way when everyone was saying "good riddance to bad rubbish" about Little
Joe's' closing near Chinatown. Sometimes we have nostalgic feelings
about a place because we went there as children (we went to Little Joe's
when I was young--I remember the sawdust on the floor) and the quality
of the food mattered little to me then and I still feel sad about it's
leaving, even if it hadn't the best food in town. OK?!
The original poster was just stating an item of interest and even though
this newsgroup is about food, there are other things related to
restaurants, of interest, (e.g. as business ventures). It was still an
interesting way to pass the time (reading the thread!)
:-)
Marilyn, who's feeling a little feisty today--had a successful job
interview, which may lead nowhere, but I was liked.
> (gom...@sirius.com) wrote:
>
> >
> >
> >i don't get it. what was this guy's claim to fame?
> >(besides some pretty mediocre pizza, and hitting it rich) --
> >
<<snip>>
gom...@sirius.com
> .......... --I felt this
> way when everyone was saying "good riddance to bad rubbish" about Little
> Joe's' closing near Chinatown.
Little Joe's, rain or shine there's always a line, near Chinatown,
is closing?
>Sometimes we have nostalgic feelings
> about a place because we went there as children (we went to Little Joe's
> when I was young--I remember the sawdust on the floor) and the quality
> of the food mattered little to me then and I still feel sad about it's
> leaving, even if it hadn't the best food in town. OK?!
>
> The original poster was just stating an item of interest
and all that was asked, and never answered, was:
did this shakey guy really have the first pizza-only place,
or was that just some pr stuff?
cheers!
Donald Martinich
: This was many, many years ago (30+) but I thought Shakey's and Straw Hat
: Pizza Parlors were loads of fun. They used to have live piano players
etc., etc.
:
: Can't a revival of this sort of old-fashioned family restaurant be
: successful these days? Chuckie E. Cheese's just doesn't cut it for me!
The original Shakey's, opened by Shakey Johnson, still exists in
Sacramento on J st. Still has the same ambience and decent basic pizzas.
It's not owned by the chain but by an individual or two. That style of
pizza joint started up in the mid 50's when, previously, pizza parlors
were pretty much ethnically Italian. Anyone remember Me'n'Ed's?
D.M.
Zach Baker
> This was many, many years ago (30+) but I thought Shakey's and Straw Hat
> Pizza Parlors were loads of fun. They used to have live piano players
> & white silent comedy classics like Laurel & Hardy and the Keystone Cops
> projected on a screen hung from the ceiling. It was always loud from the
> piano music and the playing kids and the families talking. As a child, it
> was an exciting place that we looked forward to visiting with our families
> on a Friday or Saturday night.
OK, so now I know why it's a "Pizza Parlor and Ye Public House" after
all these years. Doesn't explain the odd phrasing, but I thought it
was a "Ye Public House" all this time just because they served beer.
I've always enjoyed that bit of antiquated charm, like the Arby's sign
that proclaims "Arby's -- Roast Beef Sandwich -- Is Delicious." Oh,
thanks, it's _delicious_, I had assumed it tasted like shoe leather.
It is delicious though; it's too bad there's not one of those funky
old-style Arby's near Burbank.
---
Zach Baker <za...@instantplanet.com>
"So easy to use, no wonder it's #1!"
Geoff Miller
hat...@sonic.net (David Hatunen) asks:
> Is there some difference between a "pizza parlor" and the
> sort of pizza joint we used to call a "pizza parlor"?
A legitimate question.
Yeah. What we *used* to call a pizza parlor was a dark, cavelike
place with varnished picnic tables, cooler doors featuring big steel
handles with roller latches that closed with a solid *clack*, and
those nifty electric Hamm's beer signs ("From the land of sky blue
waters") hanging behind the bar. Also actual bars that were equipped
with stools, as opposed to a spot to which people were expected to walk
up, order drinks, and return to their tables. Children were often
present but were generally quiet and well-behaved. These were fine
places to go have a beer or five, and none of their pizzas had <gag>
chicken or Feta cheese on them.
What are called "pizza parlors" today are bright, airy places with
upholstered booths, faux Tiffany lamps, and <shudder> salad bars.
They can be identified by the fleets of minivans parked out front
and the hordes of noisy, misbehaving yuppie hellspawn running around
inside and creating an atmosphere worthy of Bedlam.
HTH.
Geoff "What, me bitter? Miller
--
"Of course, unlike Miller, I could be wrong." --Glen Quarnstrom
Geoff Miller
sean...@home.net writes:
> I don't even think Straw Hat Pizza Parlors are still
> in business today.
I didn't think so either, but I stumbled across a Straw
Hat fairly recently. It was in a suburban shopping center
at Fremont and Mary Avenues in Sunnyvale. Unfortunately,
when I drove past there a couple of weeks ago, the place
had changed hands and been reincarnated as some presumably
one-of-a-kind pizza establishment. I haven't gone over to
check it out yet, but I intend to. Maybe I'll write a
review.
> Can't a revival of this sort of old-fashioned family
> restaurant be successful these days?
I've often wondered the same thing. I'd like to think that
there's still a niche market for that kind of place. Nice
post, by the way. You brought back a lot of childhood memories.
Geoff
Greg
> > Can't a revival of this sort of old-fashioned family
> > restaurant be successful these days?
>
> I've often wondered the same thing. I'd like to think that
> there's still a niche market for that kind of place. Nice
> post, by the way. You brought back a lot of childhood memories.
Does anyone remember Farrell's Ice Cream Parlors? Are anystill in existence? I
enjoyed visiting those as a kid.
Greg
David Braun
>Does anyone remember Farrell's Ice Cream Parlors? Are anystill in existence? I
>enjoyed visiting those as a kid.
>
children in the early 80's, and dreading all the misbehaving,
screaming little rotters we had to share the place with. Good spot
for kids' birthday parties. Better that all the ice cream ends up on
their floor, rather than our carpet. They even had decent burgers.
I could be wrong, but I believe the chain is defunct. In any case,
the Serramonte store is now "Toons", or something similar.
DAVID BRAUN
David Braun Photography
Specializing in groups of all sizes--Conferences/Special Events,
Corporate/Industrial, Editorial, P. R.
Web: http://www.davidbraun.com Email: br...@davidbraun.com
Elson Trinidad
Greg <kcellis...@aimnet.com> wrote in article
<364661FC...@aimnet.com>...
> Geoff Miller wrote:
> Does anyone remember Farrell's Ice Cream Parlors? Are anystill in
existence? I
> enjoyed visiting those as a kid.
Oh man, that takes me back...I also remember one of the Farrell's in the
Valley (forgot which one exactly) was where I first played Pac-Man...
E
Jamie Marks
"S. Andrew Roberts" wrote:
>
> On Mon, 09 Nov 1998 03:31:02 GMT, a fine sunny day in LaLaLand, Greg
> <kcellis...@aimnet.com> spoke about Re: shakey, at best...:
>
> >Does anyone remember Farrell's Ice Cream Parlors?
>
> >Are anystill in existence?
>
> Funny you should ask. The Woodland Hills store was just torn down two
> or three months ago to make room for new development on that land. I
> wonder what took so long?
Rumor has it that a Whole Foods Market is going up in it's place.
Jamie
Keith Bacon
<kcellis...@aimnet.com> wrote:
>
> Does anyone remember Farrell's Ice Cream Parlors? Are anystill in
existence?
The chain was bought out (by Marriott, I think) and promptly hit the
skids. There are only a few left, some now independently owned and
operated under a different name. I think one of the few "remaining"
Farrell's is in San Diego, in the Mira Mesa area.
As for Shakey's, you can watch your childhood memories take on a new twist
(or roll over in their graves) by visiting the Santa Monica Blvd/La Brea
location, where transvestite prostitutes takes turns slaughtering the hits
on karaoke night.
-k
--
hold the burger to reply via email
sean...@home.net
Keith Bacon wrote in message ...
>As for Shakey's, you can watch your childhood memories take on a new twist
>(or roll over in their graves) by visiting the Santa Monica Blvd/La Brea
>location, where transvestite prostitutes takes turns slaughtering the hits
>on karaoke night.
I've been there several times because my ex-girlfriend used to live close by
in Hollywood. I liked it and thought it was interesting. La Cage a Folles
in a pizza parlor. Surreal and fun. Pizza still sucked, though. :)
Keith Bacon
or become something else. The one in Mira Mesa is still in business, it
opened just about 5-10 years ago.
-k
In article <19981109194639...@ng59.aol.com>,
her...@aol.comQNOSPAMQ (Herc Wad) wrote:
> Keith Bacon wrote:
>
> >The chain was bought out (by Marriott, I think) and promptly hit the
> >skids. There are only a few left, some now independently owned and
> >operated under a different name. I think one of the few "remaining"
> >Farrell's is in San Diego, in the Mira Mesa area.
>
> I remembered seeing ads for it in a tourist newspaper distributed at the Hotel
> Circle in Mission Valley. It had to be close to there. It may have even
been in
> Fashion Valley Mall.
Herc Wad
>The chain was bought out (by Marriott, I think) and promptly hit the
>skids. There are only a few left, some now independently owned and
>operated under a different name. I think one of the few "remaining"
>Farrell's is in San Diego, in the Mira Mesa area.
I remembered seeing ads for it in a tourist newspaper distributed at the Hotel
Circle in Mission Valley. It had to be close to there. It may have even been in
Fashion Valley Mall.
"Lousy Smarch weather."-Homer Simpson
SoCalTIP-http://socaltip.lerctr.org
Southern California Transit Advocates-http://socata.lerctr.org
Nick Nelson
I remember passing a Ferrel's on Rosemead Blvd in Rosemead when I rode
the bus, probably late 80's.
"Elson Trinidad" <DONTSPAM!el...@westworld.com> wrote:
>
>
>Greg <kcellis...@aimnet.com> wrote in article
><364661FC...@aimnet.com>...
>> Geoff Miller wrote:
>
>> Does anyone remember Farrell's Ice Cream Parlors? Are anystill in
s...@bob.eecs.berkeley.edu
>I remember passing a Ferrel's on Rosemead Blvd in Rosemead when I rode
>the bus, probably late 80's.
Ferrels was a destination restaurant (if that's the right
phrase) among a subset of Cal-techers in 70's. I think the
one on Rosemead was the closest.
I have only foggy memories of the place.
S.
Greg
> The chain was bought out (by Marriott, I think) and promptly hit the
> skids. There are only a few left, some now independently owned and
> operated under a different name. I think one of the few "remaining"
> Farrell's is in San Diego, in the Mira Mesa area.
>
> As for Shakey's, you can watch your childhood memories take on a new twist
> (or roll over in their graves) by visiting the Santa Monica Blvd/La Brea
> location, where transvestite prostitutes takes turns slaughtering the hits
> on karaoke night.
Given the local, that would probably be the closest thing to 'family night'one
might find. So what would happy hour be like there I wonder?
Still, the question remains, why the disappearance of these types of
family theme restaurants? I suppose the old-fashioned theme became
old-fashioned after a while, clientele became bored with it. Shakey's
initial rise came about by introducing 'pizza' to the steak and potatoes
burbs folk for the first time. Adding the saloon atmosphere, pork pie
hats, and feeling of gaiety gave it more distinction. This was new and
exciting back in the sixties, but times and demographics change. Oh
the good 'ol days.
Greg
JackBAss
>
> Jim Mackey (jma...@moonlink.net) wrote:
> : In article <71qdcp$4...@chronicle.concentric.net>, sean...@home.net,
> : otherwise known as sean...@home.net, came out of the closet with...
>
> : > Come to think of it, back then Shakey's and Straw Hat were some of the very
> : > few sit-down chain restaurants to serve pizza in my part of town. Pizza Man
> : > and Red Devil Pizza were some of the other pizza delivery services before
> : > Pizza Hut and Domino's took over and ruled the land, which is a good thing
> : > because the pizza always arrived cold. The food at Shakey's and Straw Hat's
> : > Hat Pizza Parlors are still in business today.
>
> : I was in there, they were still showing the old cartoons and other
> : shorts, but that was a few years ago.
>
> There's still a Straw Hat in Bakersfield, CA.
>
Here in West Virginia we have Billy Bob's (how fitting). They have been
in business for quite some time. The funny thing is (along with the
redneck name) is the entertainment. They have these goofy robotic bears
dressed up in hillbilly outfits singing. The kids love it though. They
have a huge ass game room for the kids. Knowing the mentality of some
of the people around here, I would assume the bears are for the
adults...
Tom Dowdy
<kcellis...@aimnet.com> wrote:
> Still, the question remains, why the disappearance of these types of
> family theme restaurants? I suppose the old-fashioned theme became
> old-fashioned after a while, clientele became bored with it.
Well, those of us with a cynic in us would say something like:
"Because you make gobs more money by replacing the people with animated
plastic animals, serving cheaper food, and getting the adults to cough up
the dough for quarters in video games. And once you get the kids hooked,
they won't want to "eat" anywhere else."
Quodlibet9
been the last surviving specimen. It is now, I think,
still an ice cream parlor--though, of course, a
Chinese-run ice cream parlor.
Me Again
>
> Nick Nelson <ni...@pacificnet.net> wrote:
>
> >I remember passing a Ferrel's on Rosemead Blvd in Rosemead when I rode
> >the bus, probably late 80's.
>
> phrase) among a subset of Cal-techers in 70's. I think the
> one on Rosemead was the closest.
>
> I have only foggy memories of the place.
>
> S.
yp.gte.net lists two Farrell's Ice Cream Parlors in San Diego, (the only
listings for Farrell's in California).
jc
Dave_an...@lamg.com
>I remember passing a Ferrel's on Rosemead Blvd in Rosemead when I rode
>the bus, probably late 80's.
It's still there, although now it went from "Farrell's" to "Farrell's
Dixieland" to its current name of "Dixieland Ice Cream Parlor," but it's still
very Farrell's-ish, both in decor and menu. There never seems to be much of a
crowd in there, which cuts down on the atmosphere. What's the fun of having
them run through the whole restaurant pounding a bass drum to announce your
birthday if there's only two other tables with people at them? Still, it's all
we have left in L.A. county.
In San Diego county, the much better Farrell's in the Fashion Valley Mall
closed because the adjoining small multiplex was being torn down to make way
for a mega-multiplex, so, as far as I know, it's been relocated to the Mira
Mesa area. All I know is that the old one disappeared about the same time as
the new one appeared, so I assume there's a connection between the two. :-) I
haven't been to the new location, but the Fashion Valley had some of the
touches that Rosemead's Dixieland is missing, like a player piano, a working
siren, and, well, crowds!
I've also heard that there's still one in Oregon. I did a web search and found
a homepage for the Mira Mesa location and a couple restaurant reviews of the
Oregon location, but I don't have my browser up right now to find the
bookmarks. Try AltaVista.
-> Thinking Different - The LAMG BBS
Greg
Tom Dowdy wrote:
I suppose I was not specific enough. The OLD Shakey's often had live
pianoplayers playing ragtime music, and like I said, an old saloon type
atmosphere.
Trust me, I am not a fan of the Chuck'ECheese electro-dives, which came
to the scene in the late seventies. No tears shed on their demise.
Greg