Grand Junction's Best Place To Celebrate a Birthday in the 1970s

Were you living in Grand Junction in the 1970s and early 1980s? If so, you probably attended a birthday party or two at this awesome pizza joint.

Sadly, this business no longer operates in Grand Junction. Back when it was up and running, I seem to recall it occupying a couple of different locations. At the time of this picture, you could find it at 8th and North Avenue.

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Ahhhh, The 1970s

Back in the 70s, we all celebrated birthdays at Shakey's Pizza in Grand Junction. They had hats. They even had pizza.

I would estimate this photo to be April 1977. Two of the kids in the photo are now aggressively working on their retirement portfolios. That's me at the bottom right with the hat. I'm pretty sure I stole it from the kid sitting two spaces behind me, the one flashing gang signs.

Watch Them Make The Pizza

One of the more captivating features of Shakey's involved a giant picture window between the seating area and the kitchen. You could watch them make the pizza dough. Back then, they actually performed the "throw it up in the air and spin it" trick.

Shakey's Had Something No One Else Had

Shakey's brought something else to the table no other restaurant offered (that I'm aware of, anyway). They had one of these bad boys.

You Can Really Date a Decade By the Pizza Commercials

Behold, the latest piece of life-changing technology... the pizza box. This thing will blow your mind. This commercial from 1978 unveils a new device which actually... get a load of this... keeps the pizza warm.

Bring Back The Good Ol' Days?

A few years ago I released an in depth, no-holds-barred investigative report detailing what it would take to bring Shakey's back to Grand Junction. My findings suggest it would take:

More money than I have
More time than I have
More patience than I have, or for that matter, plan to have anytime soon

Bye Bye, Shakey's

Here it is 2021, and we don't go to Shakey's anymore in Grand Junction. My heart goes out to the kids now living in Grand Junction who won't get to go there to celebrate their birthdays.