Shakey's Pizza
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Shakey's Pizza is a
pizza Pizza is an Italian cuisine, Italian, specifically Neapolitan cuisine, Neapolitan, dish typically consisting of a flat base of Leavening agent, leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomato, cheese, and other ingredients, baked at a high t ...
restaurant chain A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate many retail markets, dining markets, and service categories in many pa ...
based in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
. Founded in 1954, it was the first franchise pizza chain in the United States. In 1968, the chain had 342 locations. The chain had about 500 stores globally, and 58 in the United States, as of July 2019. Currently, the stores can be found in the states of
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
and
Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...
, as well as in the Philippines,
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
and
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
.


History

Shakey's Pizza was founded in
Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...
, on April 30, 1954, by Sherwood "Shakey" Johnson and Ed Plummer. Johnson's nickname resulted from nerve damage following a bout of
malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...
suffered during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The parlor opened on a weekend, but since the pizza ovens were not yet completed only beer was served. Shakey took the profits from beer sales and bought ingredients for pizza the following Monday. Shakey personally played
Dixieland jazz Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ( ...
piano to entertain patrons, also hiring the original members of the Silver Dollar Jazz Band, paying the musicians $10 each plus all the beer and pizza they wanted. (Shakey soon realized it was cheaper to pay the musicians scale). This brought the music of
Lu Watters Lucius Carl Watters (December 19, 1911 – November 5, 1989) was a trumpeter and bandleader of the Yerba Buena Jazz Band. Jazz critic Leonard Feather said, “The Yerba Buena band was perhaps the most vital factor in the reawakening of public in ...
to the Sacramento area and caused a local sensation. Jazz historian K.O. Eckland has given this band the credit for the jazz revival in Sacramento that extended to the formation of the Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society. Shakey's also became known outside Sacramento, not for its pizza, but for the jazz program it sponsored on a regional radio network. Shakey Johnson is honored in the American Banjo Museum in
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...
, for his longtime use of banjo music at his pizza parlors. Other live music, including piano, was also a staple in the old Shakey's parlors. Up until the early 1970s printed menus included lyrics to classic barbershop songs so that the customers could sing along with the band while their meals were being prepared. The original parlor (a remodeled grocery store) at 57th and J Streets in Sacramento remained in business until the mid-1990s. The second Shakey's Pizza Parlor opened in
Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
, in 1956. Shakey's opened their third parlor in Albany, Oregon, in 1959, which was the first building Shakey's actually owned and the first building to be built in the distinct building style for which Shakey's is known. It now operates as a used bookstore. According to Johnson, Shakey's Pizza engaged in little market research and made most of its decisions on where to locate stores by going where
Kinney Shoes The G.R. Kinney Company was an American manufacturer and retailer of shoes from 1894 until September 16, 1998. It was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in March 1923, with the symbol KNN. The shoe concern was started by George Romanta Kinney ...
opened stores. By the time Johnson sold his interest in 1967, there were 272 Shakey's Pizza Parlors in the United States. The first international store opened in
Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
, in 1968. By 1975, the company had expanded to the
Pacific Rim The Pacific Rim comprises the lands around the rim of the Pacific Ocean. The '' Pacific Basin'' includes the Pacific Rim and the islands in the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Rim roughly overlaps with the geological Pacific Ring of Fire. List ...
, including
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
(in 1973) and the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
(in 1975). By the early 1970s, Shakey's had become popular with families and youth sports groups in Southern California. The long rows of picnic tables end-on-end facilitated large groups. Youth sports teams would go to Shakey's after their weekend games, where the kids could eat pizza and have fun, and the parents could drink beer and socialize. In fact, the advertising motto for Shakey's was "We serve fun at Shakey's... also pizza". One of the features of Shakey's was its large windows between the dining hall and the kitchen. One could order pizza and then watch as the dough was prepared, sauce and toppings added, and then pizza slid into the oven. Kids enjoyed watching the process and running to tell their parents when the pizza came out of the oven.


Philippines

The brand became a well-established franchise in the Philippines, where it began in 1975 under the ownership of the country's largest food conglomerate,
San Miguel Corporation San Miguel Corporation (), abbreviated as SMC, is a Philippine multinational conglomerate with headquarters in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila. The company is one of the largest and most diversified conglomerates in the Philippines. Originally fo ...
, primarily promoting their San Miguel draft beer. Beginning with a restaurant located in
Makati Avenue Makati Avenue () is a major commercial thoroughfare in Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines. It forms the eastern border of the Ayala Triangle and is one of the three main avenues of the Makati Central Business District. The avenue runs roughly n ...
,
Makati Makati ( ; ), officially the City of Makati (), is a highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines, known for being one of the leading financial centers in the country. As of 2013, the city has the highest concent ...
, the restaurant expanded rapidly in
Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila ( ), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; ), is the capital region and largest List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines, metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located ...
, with most of its outlets offering live music. San Miguel had difficulty maintaining the consistency of the branches, and ultimately sold the franchise in 1987 to International Family Food Services, Inc. (IFFSI), a group led by the family of sports executive
Leo Prieto Leopoldo Legarda Prieto, Sr. (May 19, 1920 – April 7, 2009) was a Filipino sports executive who served as the first commissioner of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Prieto also was a president of the Manila Jockey Club and a sup ...
. By 1997, it had evolved into mostly a fast-food franchise. In 2003, the company began "reengineering" the brand as a family-oriented
casual dining Restaurants fall into several industry classifications, based upon menu style, preparation methods and pricing, as well as the means by which the food is served to the customer. This article mainly describes the situation in the US, while categor ...
brand. In 2004, Shakey's partnered with Sports Vision for the launch of the
Shakey's V-League The Shakey's V-League was a non-professional volleyball league in the Philippines established in 2004. It began as a women's collegiate league with teams coming from the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), the National Coll ...
, one of the pioneering volleyball leagues in the country. As of early 2015, there were 153 Shakey's outlets in the Philippines, more than double the number remaining in the United States. In March 2016, the Century Pacific Group and the Singapore-based
GIC Private Limited GIC Private Limited is a Singaporean sovereign wealth fund that manages the country's foreign reserves. Established by the Government of Singapore in 1981 as the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation, from which the acronym "GIC" is ...
acquired the majority shares of IFFSI from the Prieto family, which will retain a minority interest in the company. In October 2016, IFFSI changed its name to Shakey's Pizza Asia Ventures Inc. (SPAVI) and became listed in the
Philippine Stock Exchange The Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. (; ) is the national stock exchange of the Philippines. The exchange was created in 1992 from the merger of the Manila Stock Exchange and the Makati Stock Exchange. Including previous forms, the exchange has ...
on December 15, 2016 with the ticker symbol . It was disclosed that IFFSI acquired ownership of the Shakey's trademark in the Philippines since 1999 and also owns the trademark rights for the Middle East, Asia (except Japan and Malaysia), China, India, Australia and New Zealand. Circa 2017, it signed a joint venture deal to bring the brand to Kuwait. SPAVI has garnered several recognitions over time. The company ranked in Financial Times' feature on Asia-Pacific's 500 high-growth companies in 2020 and 2021. It was also hailed as the "Philippines' Best Small Cap Company" by Finance Asia in 2018. The
Shakey's Super League The Shakey's Super League (SSL) is a women's volleyball league in the Philippines contested within the collegiate and high school levels. The league is organized by Shakey's Pizza Asia Ventures Inc. (SPAVI) and the Athletic Events and Sports Man ...
was formally launched on August 16, 2022, at the Shakey's Pizza ASEANA outlet in
Parañaque Parañaque, officially the City of Parañaque (, ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of ...
. This marks the return of Shakey's Pizza in Philippine volleyball since they served as the title sponsor for the Shakey's V-League (now
Premier Volleyball League The Premier Volleyball League (PVL) is the top-level professional women's volleyball league in the Philippines organized by the Sports Vision Management Group, Inc. The PVL was established in 2004 as the inter-collegiate Shakey's V-League (SV ...
) from 2004 to 2017. On September 30, 2024, SPAVI announced the incorporation of an American subsidiary that would own and operate and franchise stores in the United States.


Ownership changes and decline

Shakey Johnson sold his half of the company for $3 million to Colorado Milling and Elevator in 1967, which acquired Plummer's half for $9 million the next year when Colorado Milling merged with Great Western Sugar Company to become Great Western United Corporation. In 1974, Shakey's was sold from Great Western to Hunt International Resources, famous for their attempt to corner the silver market. At the time Hunt International bought Shakey's in 1974, the restaurant chain had approximately 500 stores throughout the United States, including stores as far east as
Latham, New York Latham is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place in Albany County, New York, Albany County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is located along U.S. Route 9 in New York, U.S. Route 9 in the Administrative divisions of ...
and
Westbrook, Maine Westbrook is a city in Cumberland County, Maine, United States and a suburb of Portland, Maine, Portland. The population was 20,400 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the fastest-growing city in Maine between 2010 and 2020. ...
. Two franchisees bought the chain in 1984 and they sold out to Inno-Pacific Holdings of
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
in 1989. By that time, the number of franchises had declined to 221. Most of the remaining U. S. stores closed during the time Inno-Pacific owned the chain. Some of the remaining franchisees took Inno-Pacific to court in 2003. Before the case could come to trial, Shakey's was sold to Jacmar Companies of
Alhambra, California Alhambra (, , ; from "Alhambra") is a city located in the western San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States, approximately east from the downtown Los Angeles civic center. It was incorporated on July 11, 190 ...
in 2004. Jacmar had been the franchisee of 19 Shakey's restaurants. , there were 51 Shakey's Pizza restaurants in the United States - 48 of the locations are in California (all, except Oroville, are in Southern California), and two in Washington. The last location east of the Mississippi River, in
Auburn, Alabama Auburn is a city in Lee County, Alabama, United States. It is the largest city in eastern Alabama. The population was 76,143 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a principal city of the Auburn metropolitan area, Alabama, Aubu ...
, closed in April 2019. The location in
Renton, Washington Renton is a city in King County, Washington, United States, and an inner-ring suburb of Seattle. Situated southeast of downtown Seattle, Renton straddles the southeast shore of Lake Washington, at the mouth of the Cedar River. As of the 202 ...
closed on January 20, 2025, leaving Pasco as the only remaining Washington location. There are six locations in the Greater Mexico City metro area. All locations closed their dining rooms in mid-March 2020 to combat the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, with
take-out A take-out (US, Canada, Philippines) or takeaway (UK, Ireland, Commonwealth) is a prepared meal or other food items purchased at a restaurant or fast food outlet with the intent to eat elsewhere. A concept found in many ancient cultures, take ...
service still available. Dining rooms re-opened in May 2021. One of the locations (since torn down) was shown in the 1988 Movie
License to Drive ''License to Drive'' is a 1988 American teen comedy film written by Neil Tolkin and directed by Greg Beeman in his feature film directorial debut. It stars Corey Haim, Corey Feldman, Heather Graham, and Carol Kane. The film was in produ ...
.


Gallery

File:Shakey's Pizza, 11530 Washington Blvd, Whittier, CA.jpg, A Shakey's restaurant in
Whittier, California Whittier () is a city in Los Angeles County, California, and is part of the Gateway Cities. The city had 87,306 residents as of the 2020 United States census, an increase of 1,975 from the 2010 United States census, 2010 census figure. Whittier ...
Image:HKNTPShakeyPizza_20070806.jpg, A Shakey's restaurant in
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
Image:Shakeyspledge.jpg, Shakey's had its own "pledge of allegiance" in the early 1970s. Image:Shakeysign2.jpg, A "Ye Old Notice" sign


See also

*
List of pizza chains of the United States This is a list of pizza chains of the United States. This list is limited to pizza chain restaurants that are based, headquartered or originated in the United States. The distinction between national chains and primarily regional chains is only ...


References


External links


Shakey's USA

Shakey's Japan
(in Japanese)
Shakey's Philippines
{{Portal bar, Companies, Food, United States Restaurants established in 1954 Pizza chains of the United States Pizza franchises Companies based in Los Angeles County, California Restaurants in California Restaurant chains in the United States Alhambra, California 1954 establishments in California