Lines bust out the door as last Western Washington Shakey’s is set to close

The last Shakey’s Pizza Parlor in Western Washington announced earlier this week it will permanently close Monday.

Dozens of customers were lined up out the door at the Renton location Friday eager to get one final taste.

An announcement on the page devoted to the restaurant in Renton on the Shakey’s website states the location “must close it’s doors due to the redevelopment of the property.”

The short statement includes a thank you to those who have visited the restaurant over the years.

“We’d like to extend a heartfelt thanks to our customers and friends who have shared meals and made memories here,” the statement reads.

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KIRO Newsradio Resident Historian Feliks Banel visited the Renton restaurant Friday afternoon and reported counting 85 people outside the restaurant waiting to get food. He spoke to customers on the scene and owner Lori Bender.

Bender told Banel she has owned the Shakey’s for nine years and she plans to retire once it closes.

“I’m kind of hoping that a younger person will step in and open up. They need a bigger place,” Bender said.

When Banel asked about the real estate being redeveloped, Bender acknowledged that was going to happen. But when the owner approached her about next steps, the two worked out an agreement.

“When he came in to talk to me, my lease was almost over, so we worked out a deal and I’m very happy with it,” Bender told Banel.

Bender said the lines had been long and extended out the door since Tuesday. She was shocked by the reaction.

“They’re coming from all over the state for a last Shakey’s visit,” Bender said to Banel.

“It’s a good gathering place,” Bender said. “My favorite part is when people were bringing their kids and they say this is where daddy or mom went when they were little. That’s what warms my heart … the generations turning it over and the families that gather again, especially after (the COVID-19 pandemic).”

Banel appeared on KIRO Newsradio’s “The John Curley Show” Friday and he told host John Curley a lot of the people he talked to at the restaurant had been going there for a long time.

“A lot of people told me this is where they’ve come for years,” Banel said. “People say this is their family restaurant in this neighborhood, and Shakey’s was definitely a big thing.”

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Shakey’s has a long history as it dates back to the 1950s and the veteran who started the business.

“It goes back to 1954,” Banel said. “It was founded by Sherwood ‘Shakey’ Johnson. He got that nickname because during World War II he had malnourishment and developed, literally, tremors. But he embraced the nickname because he was a fun, jovial guy and he loved jazz and he loved pizza.”

John then played a clip of Shakey’s USA Vice President of Marketing Cindy Staats talking more about company’s founder “Shakey” Johnson, from an interview she did with Feliks earlier Friday.

“He embraced the nickname and you know, he was a lover of jazz music, especially the banjo,” Staats told Banel.

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Once the Renton location closes, there will be just one Shakey’s restaurant left in the state of Washington. That one is in the Tri-Cities, in Pasco. A story from The Seattle Times’ archives reported there were 20 Shakey’s restaurants in the Puget Sound region in 1991, 16 of which were in Seattle.

The chain is nearly gone in the state of Washington, but there are more than 40 locations left in Southern California with most of those in the Los Angeles area.

In addition, the brand is alive and well in The Philippines as there are more than 200 stores there as well.

Steve Coogan is the lead editor of MyNorthwest. You can read more of his stories here. Follow Steve on X, or email him here.