Mellow Mushroom Pizza Bakers is an American pizza

restaurant chain A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate the retail and dining markets and many service categories, in many pa ...

that was established in 1974 in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

as a single

pizzeria A pizzeria is a restaurant focusing on pizza. As well as pizza, dishes at pizzerias can include kebab, salads and pasta. Many pizzerias offer take-away, where the customer orders their food either in advance or at the restaurant and then take ...

. It operates as a

franchise Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...

under the banner of Home Grown Industries, Inc. of Georgia, with 170 locations throughout the United States. Its headquarters are in Atlanta.

Details

Mellow Mushroom restaurants specialize in pizza, but they also serve

calzone A calzone (, , ; "stocking" or "trouser") is an Italian oven-baked folded pizza, often described as a turnover, made with leavened dough. It originated in Naples in the 18th century. A typical calzone is made from salted bread dough, baked in ...

hoagie A submarine sandwich, commonly known as a sub, hoagie ( Philadelphia metropolitan area and Western Pennsylvania English), hero ( New York City English), Italian ( Maine English), grinder (New England English), wedge (Westchester, NY), or a spuc ...

salad A salad is a dish consisting of mixed, mostly natural ingredients with at least one raw ingredient. They are typically served at room temperature or chilled, though some can be served warm. Condiments and salad dressings, which exist in a va ...

s, appetizers, such as pretzel bites and a wide beer selection. They often feature a large selection of

beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...

, typically 20-40 beers on draft and 50 or more bottled.''Restaurant News: Mellow Mushroom Coming to Sarasota''
column;

Herald Tribune ''Herald'' or ''The Herald'' is the name of various newspapers. ''Herald'' or ''The Herald'' Australia * The Herald (Adelaide), ''The Herald'' (Adelaide) and several similar names (1894–1924), a South Australian Labor weekly, then daily * ''Ba ...

Online; accessed February 2018 Each store is locally owned and operated and decorated differently and sometimes there is a unifying theme to the artwork.

Tie-dye Tie-dye is a term used to describe a number of resist dyeing techniques and the resulting dyed products of these processes. The process of tie-dye typically consists of folding, twisting, pleating, or crumpling fabric or a garment, before binding ...

and colorful

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is t ...

s are a common theme for locations. Some restaurants occasionally feature live music, trivia competitions, karaoke, or bingo.

History

Mellow Mushroom opened in Atlanta, Georgia in 1974 when two college students from

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

, later joined by a third from the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

, founded a business that reflected their eccentric philosophies. The first restaurant was opened on Spring Street in Atlanta. In the late 1980s, the first franchise was opened by an employee, followed by customer-owned franchises, and then to friends of employees and customers. Each franchise is locally owned and operated with its own unique feel. The first franchise to be located outside of Atlanta was in

Athens, Georgia Athens, officially Athens–Clarke County, is a consolidated city-county and college town in the U.S. state of Georgia. Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta, and is a satellite city of the capital. The University of Georgia, the sta ...

, near the University of Georgia. There are several dozen locations operating in Atlanta and elsewhere in Georgia. Beginning in 2000, the franchise expanded outside college markets to urban areas such as

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

. To date, the chain has over 200 locations across 20 states. Its Sarasota, FL location is well known for being the site, prior to its opening, of the infamous 1991 arrest of actor

Paul Reubens Paul Reubens (; born Rubenfeld; August 27, 1952) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and children's entertainer. He is known for his character Pee-wee Herman. Reubens joined the Los Angeles troupe The Groundlings in the 1970s, an ...

, known for his

Pee Wee Herman Pee-wee Herman is a comic fictional character created and portrayed by American comedian Paul Reubens. He is best known for his films and television series during the 1980s. The childlike Pee-wee Herman character developed as a stage act that q ...

character, for public masturbation.

Logo

The visual identity of Mellow Mushroom Pizza was defined during their early franchising phase by Atlanta artist Buddy Finethy. Finethy created and refined the chain's mascot, Mel O. Mushroom, as well as the supporting cast of animated characters that identified the chain.

References

External links

Official website
{{Restaurants in Atlanta Companies based in Atlanta Restaurants in Atlanta Regional restaurant chains in the United States 1974 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Pizza chains of the United States Restaurants established in 1974

Details

History

Logo

See also

References

External links