Pizza in Laredo circa 1980

    It seems that all the good times in Laredo have passed us by. Judging from an old phone book, circa 1980, that I came upon, I guess all the cool pizza places in Laredo no longer exist. Locally owned, mom-pop places have given way to stale and predictable pizza from national chains such as Pizza Hut, Dominos, Cici's and others of their ilk.

However, this was not always the case. Back in 1980, Laredenses could choose from a variety of different pizzerias, both local and national chains. Unfortunately, I have no idea how any of these tasted or whether they were around for a long time. At least the ads in the phonebook look pretty neat and enticing. Take a look at some of the pizza choices we had 30 years ago.

Rustic Cedar atmosphere? How quaint..

1) Pizzazz Pizza actually looks pretty fun. Wine, beer, "rustic cedar atmosphere". Heck it even rhymes! How awesome and how so 1980. This place seems to have been located on Clark St, somewhere in the Heights area of town. Anyone out there remember this place? I sure as heck don't. It's a shame though. It seems like it was a fun place. They even had "Chicago style pizza". Now that kicks Pizzazz..

2) Another pizza choice we had in 1980 was a place called Shakey's. By the looks of it, this was a pizza chain that had games, movies as well as the "world's greatest pizza". Pretty bold statement, I know. I've never heard of this place either, for it seems to have been long gone by 1989 (that's as far back as I remember). Watch a video of a TV commercial here.

3) Sal's Pizza of course is a local landmark that according to a buddy of mine, had some pretty neat bands play live there back in the day. Is Sal's still open? Not sure if it is, but I think I'll call the number on the phonebook Ad (727-4600), just to see who answers. I feel like having a pizza anyway. I hope they deliver...