Shakey’s Pizza Restaurant logo
A sudden wave of nostalgia washed over me as I read Marshall King’s latest Quick Bites dispatch.
It brought back memories of Friday nights after football games, Saturday nights after basketball games, laughing with my high school buddies on just about any other occasion and playing video games in the back corner.
Shakey’s — or at least its much beloved fried chicken and mojos — is making a one-night comeback in Elkhart at the Knights of Columbus hall. The family who owned the local franchises will be preparing the two customer favorites from 3 to 6 p.m. Jan. 26. See Marshall’s post to find out how to buy tickets.
Why was Shakey’s so beloved? For me, it was the quintessential high school hangout for my generation. Its Nappanee Street location was only about a mile from Memorial High School, where I graduated in 1988. After football and basketball games, it was the place to be. When we talked about going out after the game, we didn’t have to say where. Everyone understood.
The food was reasonably priced and its lunchtime buffet of pizza, fried chicken and mojos (fried wedges of potatoes with a salty/crunchy coating) was right in the wheelhouse for hungry high school students. All you needed were a few bucks for pizza, pitchers of Coke and a handful of quarters for Galaga and you were set.
The Shakey’s on Nappanee Street closed down sometime in the mid-1990s. The building is gone (a car wash occupies the property) and I hadn’t given Shakey’s any thought for years. But it turns out they’re still around, with locations mostly on the West Coast. The chain changed hands several times in the 1980s and ’90s, during which time many locations closed before some franchisees took over the company.
It’s a little before my time, but here’s a commercial from the 1970s:
Maybe I’ll see you at the Knights of Columbus next month. Some friends plan on getting a group together to eat up the chicken and mojos and drink up the nostalgia.
What are your favorite memories of Shakey’s?
Sing-a-longs with the piano and banjo with the Kingeries’.
Also, when I was doing the weather on Ch. 28 back in the 70′s, Shakeys was one of the sponsors. Joe Eppers, Shakeys owner, made be a deal I couldn’t refuse. If I would wear a straw hat (trademark of Shakeys) while doing the weather, Joe would give me a free pizza. My family ate free pizzas for quite a while, at my expense.
Being drop off at West side for a ” school dance ” mom giving money for said dance and meet all my buddies at Shakeys to play video games eat mojo’s and drink coke. The go ol dazes.
I didn’t grow up in Elkhart, but Shakey’s was also near me in Calumet City, Illinois. It was a place that bound together a lot of memories, from after wrestling season get-togethers, to birthday parties, to just chowing down before heading to the arcade Friar Tucks across the street. The food was decently good and our Shakey’s had a large screen TV that often played Three Stooges episodes, if it wasn’t broadcasting NFL football games with the Bears.
We still have the Shakeys styrofoam hats with the logo. We as kids enjoyed going there after doing our paper routes and play video games and get the buffet at lunch.
I worked at the one located next to Flavor Freeze while I was in high school 1989-93???. I truly loved working there. All the “free” food a teenager could eat. If I had a chance to do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing. Great times.
We would go to Shakeys after the Elkhart Police Dept (Uniform vs Detectives) softball games on Sunday at McNaughton Park. I remember the sign on the wall behind the cashier, “Shakey’s doesn’t cash checks, and the bank don’t make pizza”.
i worked there summer of 1995 before they closed it was my first real job and remember going there as a kid in the mid 80s it was always fun and they had cable and a big screen tv which was rare at the time. strange but i was always requested by name to make pizza for take out orders but never knew the people or how they knew my name every time. but it was fun
thanks for the memories..
My best memory from Shakey’s is watching the Notre Dame vs FSU game in 1993 and hearing NOTRE DAME IS #1 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!