Ever notice that you can still find some of your favorite chain restaurants in other cities, long after they shut down their Chattanooga operations? Why did they leave? Was it something that we said?

For instance, Backyard Burgers closed its last Chattanooga location a few months ago. However, according to the company’s Web site, they still serve other cities in the Southeast.
Similarly, Boston Market and Schlotzsky’s vacated buildings in Chattanooga, yet are still in business elsewhere. Del Taco was once a favorite on Lee Highway, and can still be found out in the West.

There is one dearly departed restaurant whose products still trigger salivary memories – Godfather’s Pizza. According to their Web site, the location nearest to Chattanooga is at Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. There is also a Godfather’s in Knoxville.

Godfather’s Pizza was founded in 1973 in Omaha, Nebraska by William Theisen. The company promoted its products through campy advertisements featuring “The Godfather,” who was always offering to make customers “a pizza you can’t refuse.” From 1977 to 1979, the chain topped the industry in terms of increase in sales.

The Chattanooga area welcomed its first Godfather’s in 1979, according to a May 6, 1979 article in the Chattanooga Times. The pizza parlor opened in a former American National Bank office in the Osborne Shopping Center in East Ridge. Godfather’s décor included exposed cedar beams and a raised section of the dining room.

Dan Zellars, area manager of Godfather’s Pizza, was interviewed for the Times article. Commenting on Godfather’s ingredients, he said, “Our crust is like that of Italian bread, about 1/4 inch thick in order to support the weight of the pizza. We even have our boxes specially made with heavy corrugated cardboard bottoms.”

I remember that a Godfather’s pizza usually held together better than the competition. The cheese never slid off the crust, and was very well-integrated with the tomato sauce. Exactly one pound of fresh cheese went into a large Godfather’s pizza. The chain held annual pizza-eating contests, where the contestant who could finish a medium Godfather’s Combo in an hour got that pizza, plus one more, free.

Brainerd was the next community to have a Godfather’s, getting its store in 1980 at 5789 Brainerd Road. The company frequently ran commercials on Chattanooga television, sponsored advertisements in school annuals, and was a sponsor of Chattanooga Lookouts baseball.

By 1985, the Chattanooga area was well-represented in the Godfather’s chain, with these sites:

* 3805 Ringgold Road
* 5789 Brainerd Road
* 101 Battlefield Parkway
* 1906 Dayton Boulevard
* 4738 Highway 58
* 3927 Hixson Pike (Highland Plaza)

In the mid-1980’s, Pillsbury acquired the Godfather’s franchise, and subsequently sold it to a group of investors in 1990.

Godfather’s soon closed all but one of its area stores, with the Red Bank site being the only one remaining as of 1995. By 2000, all had made their last pizza that no one could refuse. Today, both the East Ridge and Red Bank storefronts house Amigo’s restaurants.

If you have memories of Godfather’s Pizza or other restaurant chains that checked out of Chattanooga, please send me an e-mail at jolleyh@bellsouth.net.