Another long, lost pizzeria

This topic has 12 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 7 years, 7 months ago by Mike Nolan.

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April 4, 2017 at 10:30 am #7153
aaronatthedoublef
Participant
We were talking about Ron Santo's Pizza and Home Run Inn (which is still around!).

I just found this article about McDonald's Pizza.

I vaguely remember it but cannot claim to have ever tried it.

Spread the word
April 4, 2017 at 12:38 pm #7154
RiversideLen
Participant
I recall McD's pizza too, but never had it. McD's tries new items every now and then in select markets, most of those items never go national. Pizza is kind of an odd choice for McD's, as they like to make their food in production line batches.
April 4, 2017 at 1:55 pm #7155
aaronatthedoublef
Participant
There are places that make pizza in production lines. Ever been in the back in a Domino's? I'm not sure what they do now but they used to have an assembly line. Doughs were passed down and received sauce followed by cheese followed by toppings and then into a rolling oven.

It was kind of cool but the results were not great.
April 4, 2017 at 2:24 pm #7156
Mike Nolan
Keymaster
I know McDonald's was looking into pizzas back in the mid 70's when the company I worked for was doing work on Basic Four Computers, who at the time had an office in the McDonald's HQ building in Oak Brook. (That's how I met Ray Kroc.)

The pizza experiment from the early 80's was not one I ever got to.

However, Lincoln NE was the test site for another McDonald's project, the 3-in-1 restaurant. It was a greatly expanded menu with table service. You'd order using phones at each table and they'd bring the food to your table. They had a pretty good pastrami sandwich. It lasted about a year, closing in 2004. (The building they built for the project was then remodeled into a more traditional McD's.)

Although the 3-in-1 menu was a failure, I think they also were testing some of the production methods they use in most McD's now.
April 4, 2017 at 3:59 pm #7157
BakerAunt
Participant
My family sometimes would go to Shakey's pizza--which featured someone playing the piano. Their ad had the jingle: "We serve fun at Shakey's, also pizza." I have no memory of how the pizza tasted.

My family tended not to go out for pizza (except for a couple of times at Shakey's). I come from a large family, so usually my mother either did frozen pizzas, which we usually doctored up for the toppings, or we did take-out pizza. The latter was our go-to dinner on Christmas Eve, as we were desperately trying to make it to a 7:30 church service, in which at least several family members were participating. For a time, there was a pizza place in Glendora, CA that would give a discount on election days to anyone who presented an "I voted" sticker, but at some point the election people put a stop to that. Perhaps they thought that people only voted so that they could get a pizza discount....

A memorable pizza place for me is one in San Diego at Fisherman's Village. I also remember a wonderful stuffed pizza in Chicago. Here in Lubbock, One Guy from Italy is the place to go.
- This reply was modified 7 years, 7 months ago by BakerAunt. Reason: corrected spelling
April 5, 2017 at 8:19 am #7162
aaronatthedoublef
Participant
When I lived in NH there was a Shakey's. They had a piano AND a banjo. AND best of all for young men they had an all-you-can-eat pizza buffet.

We started to pick up take out when a pizza place opened up a couple blocks from our house and my mom did the math and figured out it was a cheap or cheaper than frozen pizza and much better.

Once we all left home pizza was our go to meal for the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Not being a turkey lover I always liked this because I had leftover pizza for Thanksgiving. We had two stuffed pizza places in our neighborhood - Giordano's first and then Eduardo's. We were more of a Giordano's family. They are still a favorite and I am happy Derek Rose helped rescue them from bankruptcy.

I've never been to an experimental McDonald's. There used to be one in Water Tower place that had table service. I do not know if it is still there and if it is if it does. There is another, giant McDonald's a few blocks away that is experimental but I've never been there.
April 5, 2017 at 12:38 pm #7163
RiversideLen
Participant
The McDonalds at Water Tower Place was the nicest one I've ever been to. I don't remember table service there though. I do recall double Quarter Pounders and double Big Macs at that location. I think the most unique McDonalds was the Rock and Roll McDonalds on Clark street, about 600 north if I recall right.
April 5, 2017 at 1:03 pm #7164
BakerAunt
Participant
There is a McDonalds that is located in a building that extends across the Oklahoma turnpike. McDonalds seems to have the Turnpike business (there are two others along the road), but the one that is built across was remodeled--if not replaced--a couple of years ago, and it now has a Subway upstairs as well, and a Kum'n Go store on the first level. The upper-level closes at night. When we're headed east, it is a welcomed sight, as it means that we are almost out of Oklahoma and nearing Missouri. I've occasionally indulged in French fries there.
April 5, 2017 at 1:51 pm #7165
Mike Nolan
Keymaster
I thought there was also be a Rock and Roll McDonald's in Las Vegas, though I'm not finding anything on Google about it, but the one on Clark in Chicago is definitely not your typical MickeyD's.

Rock N Roll McDonalds

McDonald's has locations in some of the oases over the Interstate in the Chicago area, too. So you literally get to drive under the golden arches.

The one on Times Square in New York City may have the highest stateside prices. I remember a Big Mac, fries and a Coke costing nearly $10, and that was back in the late 1990's.

When we were in Maine a few years ago, several fast-food places like Arby's had lobster rolls, but McD's did not.
April 5, 2017 at 2:03 pm #7166
aaronatthedoublef
Participant
I remember going to a McDonald's that had a library in it. It was in Stockholm and was the only place our co-workers could think to take us for food after 10:30 at night.

The one on Clark was the one I was thinking of. Driven by many times but never stopped inside.
April 5, 2017 at 2:14 pm #7167
Mike Nolan
Keymaster
The photo doesn't really do the Rock-N-Roll McDonald's justice, though, it is better at night.
April 5, 2017 at 2:31 pm #7168
RiversideLen
Participant
Mike, I agree, those pictures don't do it justice. The 1950's Corvette that was displayed there doesn't show in those pics.

There was the McD's in Water Tower, appr 800 North, another a couple of blocks south street level on Michigan Av, on the west side of the street and another on Chicago Av just east of State Street. The one that was street level on Michigan Av was decorated more in keeping with the high end decor that one would expect on Michigan Av, it was pretty nice. It's not there anymore. But it was nice having all three of those available back in the day when I was chasing down the Teeny Beanie Babies.
April 5, 2017 at 2:42 pm #7169
Mike Nolan
Keymaster
About the time that we moved to Nebraska (1977) there was a rumor floating that McD's was going to build a drive-through-only location on Lower Wacker Drive, but I don't think they ever did.

Lower Wacker Drive, for you non-Chicagoans, is under the surface streets in the Loop area and is commonly used by delivery vehicles and by locals who know how to make it a much faster way to get through downtown. (But if you don't know your way through, it was easy to get lost, too.)

It shows up in a few car-chase movie scenes.
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