This Nostalgic Life Issue #10
The Pizza Hut Experience
Welcome to a jam-packed issue of This Nostalgic Life. There’s a lot to take in with this issue as Mick takes us back to that magical time when going to Pizza Hut was an experience. We also look back at the ‘84 Olympics, Scooby’s All-Star Laff-A-Lympics in a Do You Remember? feature, and of course, we have the usual installments of We Got the Beat and Recommended Reading. Let’s go!
When Pizza Hut Was An Experience
by Mick Lee
I miss the “glory days” of Pizza Hut. That magical time in the ’80s and early 90’s when it was a destination, and not just somewhere to eat. I’ve found recently that those days of yore are long gone, and what is left is what seems like a company struggling to hang on.
A while back, we took our daughters to Pizza Hut for lunch, and as I sat there with them enjoying lunch, I looked around the place and just shook my head at how much it has changed through the years. To me, it no longer feels special. It just feels like another fast food joint with nothing to make it stand out.
As you’ve learned by now, my Father traveled quite a bit when I was growing up, and to kind of take the sting out of being gone so much, when he would get back in town on the weekends, he would always take the family out to eat on Friday or Saturday night. This usually meant a trip to Western Steer, Bonanza, or Wendy’s back when they had the Superbar. But a couple of times a year, we would be treated to my favorite place to go in that time frame, Pizza Hut. We only got to go a few times a year because, for the time, Pizza Hut was expensive. But that was part of the appeal. It was a step above other places to eat back then. You weren’t just paying for the food, you were buying an experience.
From the moment you walked into the place, you knew it was something special. You knew this was going to be something you’d remember, and it all started with the decor. The interior didn’t look like a fast-food place with its huge, sprawling windows, cheap-looking walls, or tiled floors. When you walked in, you were greeted by brick walls, with smaller windows, that had thick red fabric curtains pulled back, and a carpeted floor. It just felt higher-class than walking into McDonald’s or Burger King.
The booths were high-backed, with thickly padded vinyl seats and backrests. The high backs were also different from your usual eating out experience. These high backs gave you a sense of privacy, which was great for a date night. Also great for a date night were the candles on the tables. Those little red glass candles were on every table and were lit when you got to your seat. It was a little thing, but when added to everything else, it was quite the contribution. Your silverware was wrapped in a thick, cloth napkin that beat the heck out of the paper napkins everyone else was using at the time. And you could always count on the table being covered by a nice, red and white, checkered table cloth.
The lighting at Pizza Hut back then was lower than what you were used to at other places. This was due to the lower wattage bulbs they used, along with their gorgeous, Pizza Hut log emblazoned, stained glass light shades they used to have. Seeing one of those things now instantly takes me back to another place in time! They still look classy and bring old memories flooding back every time I see or think of one. The private feeling booth, the low lighting, the candle on the table, and the brick wall beside you gave a unique feel to the table you were dining at. It greatly enhanced the overall experience.
As far as the food goes, it was really hard to beat Pizza Hut in the ’80s and early ’90s for taste and quality. For one, they had the salad bar. Even though Western Steer and Bonanza, and other places had salad bars, something about Pizza Hut’s felt different. As a kid, I wouldn’t get a salad anywhere else, but when I was at Pizza Hut, I wanted one. It just felt like it was what you were supposed to do somehow. And later in the early-mid ’90s when I would take young ladies on dates there, you wanted to put forth an air of maturity, I had the salad before the pizza. Their salad bar was well stocked too. The vegetables always looked great, were presently neatly, and had a crisp to them that screamed “I’m fresh” when other restaurants could not always claim the same thing. You could always add a little more flavor to the dishes too since they had the easily recognizable shakers on the table featuring red pepper flakes and grated Parmesan cheese.
The drinks were never-ending back in those days, essentially because no matter what you ordered, you were brought a full pitcher of it along with your glass. Do you like Mountain Dew? Here you go, here’s a full pitcher of the light green goodness. Enjoy! Pizza Hut sold beer back in those days, and it was commonplace to see some guys hanging out with a pitcher of beer on their table, or a husband and wife out on the town enjoying a pitcher of Michelob. I’ve never been much of a drinker, but the image of a pitcher of beer at Pizza Hut is iconic in my memories of the place. It added to the atmosphere.
The pizza itself was the main piece of the whole puzzle though. Back in the day, they treated their pan pizza like royalty. You got the feeling that if you wanted a thin crust or hand-tossed pizza, that was OK, but if you wanted to eat like royalty, then the pan pizza was the only way to go. No matter what the crust you preferred, they were all served the same way. A waitress would bring the piping hot pizza to your table. She would lay down the cork mat to keep the pan from melting through the table cloth, and then sit your pizza down in front of you. She would allow a moment for the steam to rise up in front of you to make your eyes grow wide with anticipation and then the best part. She would cut and serve the first slice to everyone at the table. I don’t see this being done anymore, but it’s a small thing that could easily still be part of their service that would enhance their current experience significantly. In my mind’s eye, there is no more iconic pizza than a Pizza Hut large pan pizza supreme with pepperoni, sausage, green pepper, onions, mushrooms, and black olives.
Pizza Hut was always known as the king of cheese breadsticks as well. Again, to me, their breadsticks with cheese were an amazing part of the experience. It goes back to how I said Pizza Hut just felt like a destination and an experience. Serving the cheese sticks separately added the feel of a high-class restaurant serving multiple courses. They’d seat you, take your drink order, and return with them before taking your order. Then you’d get your salad and enjoy it, and just before you finished it, here come the cheese sticks. You’d enjoy those while talking with your family or your date, and then here comes the pizza, and the serving experience I described earlier begins.
Also adding to the ambiance were the jukebox and the arcade game. In my opinion, every good joint needs a jukebox. As far as this goes though, it was probably the songs that were on it back then and not really the jukebox itself. Going there on Friday or Saturday nights in the ’80s, and again, even on dates in the ’90s, the music enhanced the whole experience. To this day, whenever I hear “Heartache Tonight” by the Eagles, or just about any Bob Seger song, I’m taken away back to that point of time because it seems like that’s what was playing most of the time while there. Even in the ’90s when I would take a girl there, I would play those songs to bring back that nostalgic feeling, and to potentially stir some kind of emotion in my date…if you know what I mean.
The arcade game they featured at my local Pizza Hut, and I believe most of them, is kind of iconic in its own way. It was a machine that featured two games. Mrs. Pac-Man and Galaga. The unique feature was that it was a sit-down cabinet, with a chair on each side in which you and a partner/opponent could both sit comfortably and play. My old man would give my brother and I some quarters, and we’d go hit the machine between the salad and cheese stick courses, usually arriving back at the table finding that the cheese sticks had already arrived, and my parents were already enjoying them.
Once the meal was over, it was time to pay the bill and end the experience for that visit. Now, the pricing back then was upscale as well. That’s why it was a place we visited much less frequently than we did others. I can remember back in like 1987, my Dad would shell out around $30 for the meal. Putting the figure in the inflation calculator comes out to around $65 in today’s money, so it was not the cheapest eating out option back then. And here is where I feel everything changed. Once Little Caesars rolled out their $5 Hot and Ready promotion years ago, Pizza Hut felt it couldn’t compete. In response, they started offering their $10 Any Pizza promotion. The problem is, Pizza Hut didn’t need to cheapen their prices. It wasn’t just the pizza you paid for at their restaurants, it was the experience, pizza and all. They have cheapened themselves when there was really no call for it. If you wanted a cheap meal, you could go to McDonald’s or Little Caesars. If you wanted a mid-priced dinner, then you go to Pizza Hut.
These days, when I visit a Pizza Hut, everything is different. There are not more stained glass lights above the tables, just a cheap brass light fixture. The candles and the checkered table cloths are gone. The cloth napkins have been replaced by a roll of paper towels on the table. The waitress doesn’t cut and serve your first slice. The beer and pitchers of drinks are a thing of the past. The jukebox is filled with modern tunes, and the sit-down arcade console is gone. Now, you just go and get a pizza, but not the experience. The shakers of pepper flakes and Parmesan cheese are still there, but that is about all that is left of the experience. Even the quality of the pizza has dropped off significantly from their heyday. Even the classy carpet floor looks old and dingy these days from lack of upkeep.
I greatly miss the whole experience that I grew up with and came to love, and it breaks my heart a little that I can’t give the same experience to my daughters now for them to reflect on in the future like I am now. Sometimes, you don’t need to cheapen your product to fit in with everybody else, because you’re Pizza Hut, which means you’re not like everyone else, you’re something special. I wish they would realize that, and find that magic again. The magic they had when going to Pizza Hut was an experience.
by Eric Vardeman
The 2024 Paris Olympics are here! This is like Christmas for me because I’m a HUGE Olympic nerd. No seriously. I have an Olympic flag waving outside my house right now. I’ve been known to decorate my house for the games. When people find out what a huge fan of the Olympics I am, the questions I most often get asked are why and how I’m such a huge fan. I can trace it back 40 years ago this very summer, to the 1984 summer games in Los Angeles. They are the first Olympic games I remember watching with great interest. I think that was due, in large part, the media and marketing blitz that happened with these games that had never happened with the Olympics before.
The TV ratings were astronomically high. More than 180 million Americans watched, making the 1984 Summer Olympics the most viewed event in television history. Ninety percent of all U.S. households had tuned in to the Games at some point. The sponsors that had committed roughly $150 million were thrilled with those numbers. I, myself, was glued to the television every night.
Some of the “firsts” and highlights of the LA games:
These were the first games that had an Olympic village for the athletes instead of men’s and women’s dormitories.
The LA Olympic committee asked John Williams to compose something especially for the games and he create “The Olympic Fanfare”, probably the second most recognizable song associated with the Olympic games.
These are the first games that made use of technology extensively.
The United States topped the medal count for the first time since 1968, winning a record 83 gold medals and game us American Olympic heroes like Carl Lewis, Greg Louganis, Jackie Joyner Kersey, the entre men’s gymnastics team and Mary Lou Retton and more.
Later that summer, with America still drunk on sweet, golden Olympic success, a large group of the gold medal winners went on tour, making appearances in shopping malls across the country. The nearest appearance to my hometown was Dallas, Texas. Somehow, my family had a trip planned to the DFW metroplex the same weekend and I talked my father into taking me to the mall while we were there (I had fallen IN LOVE with Mary Lou Retton that summer and was hoping to get her autograph and others). The mall was a complete mob. Even standing on the second level we couldn’t get near the railing to look down at the stage. I was able to get small glimpses of the athletes but we got nowhere near the autograph tables. No matter, my Olympic obsession had taken hold and it exists to this day.
I’ve curated a few articles that go in-depth into the history of the ‘84 Los Angeles summer games, from the Soviet led boycott to the original “Dream Team” to how these were the first games that turned a profit for the host city:
Memories From the 1984 Olympics
Soviets Boycott the 1984 Olympics
How the '84 Olympics Changed the Games
Michael Jordan and the Original Dream Team
America's Unforgettable Olympics
By Eric Vardeman
We’ve got two songs peaking out on their respective charts this week.
In 1984, “Legs” from ZZ Top reaches it’s peak of #8 and is the bands highest charting single to date. "Legs" was the third installment of a trilogy of similarly themed videos shot by Tim Newman for the band’s Eliminator album, and the video was placed into heavy rotation on MTV, which helped to lift the single high on the charts. The video won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Group later in ‘84.
In 1990, “Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)” from Motley Crue is at it’s peak of #19. It’s the fourth and final single from the band’s most successful (and what is widely considered their best) album, “Dr. Feelgood”. It’s the first album the band recorded sober and producer Bob Rock had to resort to having each member record their parts separately so they wouldn’t kill each other.
Playlist: This Week In 1984
Playlist: This Week In 1990
Scooby’s All-Star Laff-A-Lympics
Scooby-Doo dug up new Saturday morning ground once again with this series, the cartoon extravaganza Scooby’s All-Star Laff-A-Lympics. This was the very first two-hour Saturday morning animated show, and it ran successfully through 1980, airing under the shortened title of Scooby’s All-Stars in the 1978-79 season.
Taking a page from celebrity-laden chase films such as The Great Race and It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, as well as Hanna Barbera’s earlier success The Wacky Races, this show incorporated nearly every major Hanna–Barbera character from the 1950s through the 1970s. Laff-A-Lympics separated these characters into three teams that competed against each other in races and obstacles.
First, there were the Scooby Doobies, led by the dog-king of Saturday morning television and his faithful pal Shaggy. Scoob and Shag’s team featured then-current HB Saturday morning characters like Captain Caveman, Babu, Hong Kong Phooey, Blue Falcon and Dynomutt, and Speed Buggy.
Led by Yogi Bear and Huckleberry Hound, the Yogi Yahooeys featured mostly 1950’s and 1960’s characters such as Boo Boo, Wally Gator, Quick Draw McGraw and Yogi’s girlfriend, Cindy Bear.
Rounding out the three-team line-up were the Really Rottens, led by snickering dog Mumbly. A gaggle of sinister no-gooders was at his side, including Daisy Mayhem and Sooey Pig, the Daltons (Dirty, Dastardly, Dinky), and Mr. and Mrs. Creepley.
Everyone’s favorite mountain lion turned thespian, Snagglepuss, covered the play-by-play as co-commentator alongside Mildew Wolf, formerly of Motor Mouse and Auto Cat, and The Cattanooga Cats.
Voiceman extraordinaire Daws Butler provided over one-third of the voices for this show, including two-thirds of the Yogi Yahooeys. Don Messick filled in many vocal roles, with additional voices from Mel Blanc, former Stooge Joe Besser, and several others.
Racing from Egypt to Sherwood Forest, the North Pole to Tahiti, South America to Transylvania, and several other trans-global routes, Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics proved that bigger sometimes does mean better.
In every edition of This Nostalgic Life, we like to share a curated list of nostalgia-themed articles, stories, and posts that we’ve come across recently. It gives you a chance to discover great content and remember things from your past that you may have forgotten. With that in mind, here are some things we wanted to share with you this week. (All links will open in a new tab.)
19 Discontinued Pizza Hut Items We Probably Won’t See Again (The Daily Meal)
Get Back Home Before Dark (Nostalgia Nation)
Marvin the Martian: A Celestial Icon (Animated)
10 Scandals That Rocked the Summer Olympics (Mental Floss)
The 20 Best NES Games of All Time (Watch Mojo)
Nostalgic Toys From the 1970s (Laughing Squid)
Thanks for reading this issue of This Nostalgic Life. Drop a comment below if any of this has struck a chord with you this week. And you can always reach out directly to Eric and/or Mick on X to connect personally. Eric can be found at @eric_vardeman and Mick is always available at @yesterdayville.
Loved reading this. Pizza Hut, when you walked in it smelled like what I imagine Heaven would smell like. The arcade sounds once you got close and heard someone playing. What a time! A friend of mine was fortunate enough to get one of those chandeliers!! I still have a couple of Pizza Hut soda cups also. Times have certainly changed!
Laff a lympics is still one of my all time favorite cartoons. Love all of those characters interacting in same show. Kind of like Battle of the Network Stars.