In 1954, Sherwood Johnson and Ed Plummer opened the first Shakey’s Pizza Parlor restaurant in Sacramento, California. Johnson’s nickname was “Shakey,” because he had suffered a case of malaria while serving during World War II; Johnson and Plummer decided to use this name for the restaurant. He encouraged other franchisees to hire banjo players, and this became one of the chain’s trademarks. The second Shakey’s Pizza Parlor opened in Portland, Oregon, in 1956, and two years later Shakey’s began franchising the restaurant. The chain had more than 272 outlets by 1967. The first franchise in Canada established in 1968, and by 1975 outlets reached Japan and the Philippines. Johnson was a banjo player, and he sometimes played at the restaurants to entertain the customers.
