Sherwood “Shakey” Johnson and his partner “Big Ed” Plummer opened the first Shakey’s Pizza Parlor® more than 50 years ago.  It all started in a remodeled grocery store on 57th and J Street in Sacramento, California back in 1954. Shakey wanted to open a plain ol’ pizza & beer joint, but with a little something unique. They provided delicious Shakey’s pizza, ice cold beer and live Dixieland music for entertainment. Shakey’s quickly became known as the World’s Greatest Pizza.®

Shakey's® adds Ye Olde Back
Room featuring games and a
cozy flagstone fireplace, and
provided a place for families,
clubs, sports teams and parties
to socialize while listening to the
live sounds of the Silver Dollar.

Shakey's® pioneers franchising.
Instead of using existing remod–
eled structures, the franchise
units introduced a standard
Shakey's® building design. This
new concept would later become
extremely popular in modern
business culture.

Shakey's® introduces crispy
chicken and the world's first
Mojo® potatoes! This began
Shakey's® shift from pizza parlor
to family restaurant featuring a
variety of delicious menu items
still offered today!

Shakey's® moves its corporate
offices from Sacramento to San
Francisco and employs a large
advertising agency which
wrestles with pitching an Italian
restaurant owned by a Swede
that sells German beer in an
English pub environment!

Shakey's® begins releasing col–
lectable baseball cards featuring
coaches and players from the
past. Although discontinued,
Shakey's® baseball cards are still
very popular and can fetch a 
pretty penny on the trading card
circuit.

Shakey's® celebrates 50 years of
food, family and fun. We dusted
off the vintage posters, deco–
rated the stores with retro trade
dress and offered a special meal
deal for $19.54.

2006 marked the launch of a
renewed Shakey's Pizza Parlor®
– a refreshed concept that
embraces its heritage while mod–
ernizing the aesthetics, service
system and overall Shakey's®
experience to meet the needs of
time–pressed busy families.