1968 ad
1968 ad
1970 ad
Former Shakey's location on Independence Blvd
Former South Blvd location
Ad with a sketch of the famous street-side sign
One of the many signs that dotted the walls
The Shakey "Pledge of Allegiance"
1970 Shakey's Commercial
Shakey's Pizza arrived in Charlotte in the late-60's. Charlotte was home to two locations--the Independence Blvd location opened in 1967 and the South Blvd location opened in 1965. They immediately became popular with families for their great pizza, large pitchers of beer, and the unique live Dixieland band that featured banjos and pianos. Who could forget the trademark red and white striped uniforms and straw hats worn by the servers? Kids also loved Shakey's for the picture window that looked into the prep area (you had to go up a little ramp to a bridge) that allowed you to watch the pizzas being assembled (I always remember the giant paint brushes that were used to put the sauce on the dough). Shakey's pub atmosphere (including neat stained glass windows) allowed them to compete successfully with the other pizza chains in town (Pizza Hut, Godfathers). Shakey's continued their run in Charlotte through the early-80's when both locations would close for good.
Very cool. I still go to Shakey's sometimes when I'm in LA. There are a few out there. You can't watch them make the pizza anymore, but it tastes exactly the same as it did in the 70s.
ReplyDeleteShakey's is revitalizing its brand. We just opened the first new store east of California in 40 years - in Auburn, AL. It has been a huge hit! If you are ever in the area, come check us out. We will expand our franchise from here.
ReplyDeleteI Like the pizza crust that was made in the early 1970's the the that is made today does not taste the same nor dos the sauce
ReplyDeleteI remember going there as a young kid. Our neighbor up the street - George played in the band.
ReplyDeleteGeorge never worn a shirt in the warm months - he was a nice neighbor.
I grew up going to the Shakey's on South Blvd. in the 60's and 70's. One of my favorite childhood memories! I live in SC now and wish there was a Shakey's I could take my kids to! Please come this way again!! Nothing like it here in upstate SC!
ReplyDeleteMy wife and I both were working at the Independance Blvd. store the night we closed. I was asst. mgr and she normally work the south blvd. store. We met there in 1978 and are still married. We both love Shakeys. My parents took me there when I was 5 and 2 of my 3 brothers all worked there from time to time. I still have a few items from there that I took at the closing. We drug all the kegs out back after the clean up and the whole crew sat out back and killed as much of the kegs as we could. Most of us woke up in the parking lot abput 9am and said goodbye and went home. I have been to several since then, and the one in Warner Robbins GA. is the only one I know of that is in the original condition. The Auburn AL. store is great but not the same.
ReplyDelete