Family fun

“We serve fun at Shakey’s, also pizza. Shakey’s!”

The old ad jingle evokes memories of crew cut teens in Bermuda shorts and horn rim glasses, all piling into a wood-paneled van with their surfboards. In California in the ’60s, SHAKEY’S was where you hung out, mostly for the pizza and the irreverence. (Sample vintage sign: “In case of fire, remain calm and stay seated until all employees have left the building.”)

In the ’60s and ’70s, there were a couple of Shakey’s outlets on East Sprague; in the mid-’80s, there were a couple more on East Francis. Now the “Pizza Parlor and Ye Public House” has returned — and they’re still making their own pizza dough on the premises, fresh daily.

Steve Hersey, who owns the new Northpointe Shakey’s, says, “Everybody has a Shakey’s story — like standing on the bench and peering through the window as the dough was being made.”

Hersey tells of families driving in from the Tri-Cities and Seattle just for the taste. (Nearly all of Shakey’s U.S. locations are in California.)

The menu features appetizers, a salad bar, fried chicken (eight pieces with Mojos for $16), nine specialty pizzas (from Ultimate Meat to Garden Veggie, both thin-crust and pan, $7.50-$21), make-your-own pizzas ($4-$19), kids’ meals ($5), family meals and party packages.

Everything caters to large gatherings and family fun: the sports-bar nook (beer and wine only, but with big TVs), the arcade games in the next room (win long snakes of tickets on the Spin-N-Win!), the long-bench seating.

When Hersey says that he likes to “bring in the large groups,” he means it. Got 20 people you need to feed fast? Get four one-topping pizzas, two dozen pieces of fried chicken and Mojo potatoes (thin, lightly battered and fried potato slices) for $110. (It’s on the menu.)

From the oddball slogans to the fun room, from the uniformed sports teams slurping down soft drinks to the nostalgic gray hairs cuddling their grandchildren, it’s clear that Shakey’s is fixated on making sure that you have fun.

Oh, and they also serve pizza. — MICHAEL BOWEN

Shakey’s Pizza Parlor, 9602 N. Newport Hwy., is open Sun-Thu 11 am-10 pm, Fri-Sat 11 am-11 pm. Call 464-0200.