---
title: "70 years old and 'restarting': Shakey’s Pizza VP outlines fresh strategy for expansion"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/3c94fc51-1a39-45a0-9e02-75e094c0e408
source: "Pizza Marketplace"
original_url: https://www.pizzamarketplace.com/podcasts/70-years-old-and-restarting-shakeys-pizza-vp-outlines-fresh-strategy-for-expansion/
category: "Pizza"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "Pizza"
topics: ["Development & multi-unit"]
published: 2026-06-10T12:00:00.000Z
modified: 2026-10-31T13:17:23.361Z
image: https://nmgprod.s3.amazonaws.com/media/file/e3/69/bdd6814aa79677e9dd6829ea9047/cover_image__PZ2DtMHG__PMC_-_Sonia_Barajas-Najera_-_Thum.jpg
---

# 70 years old and 'restarting': Shakey’s Pizza VP outlines fresh strategy for expansion

**TL;DR:** Shakey's Pizza, a 70-year-old brand, is restarting with a fresh strategy for expansion, including a new flagship location and a rebrand. The brand is seeking passionate franchisees and offers support before, during, and after opening.

*originally published in Pizza Marketplace on 2026-06-10. [Read the original](https://www.pizzamarketplace.com/podcasts/70-years-old-and-restarting-shakeys-pizza-vp-outlines-fresh-strategy-for-expansion/).*

## Story

In this episode of the Pizza Marketplace podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace, chats with Sonia Barajas-Najera, vice president of franchise administration for Shakey's Pizza.

In this episode of the Pizza Marketplace podcast, host Mandy Detwiler, editor of Pizza Marketplace, chats with Sonia Barajas-Najera, vice president of franchise administration for Shakey's Pizza. Shakey's began franchising in the 1950s shortly after it was founded.

After a number of ownership changes, the brand currently has 43 units. There's a new flagship in Culver City that took two years to design and create, Barajas-Najera said, and has been well received by consumers who enjoy the restaurant's retro vibes, warm colors and 1980s memorabilia. Shakey's also did a rebrand, but at the core of the company is its food, which remains the same. Shakey's is known for its thin-crust pizza, as well as its pan pizza and proprietary items like its chicken and its iconic Mojo potatoes.

With an 80s throwback style at its core, how does Shakeys keep the brand feeling cool for Gen Z while still being a home base for the Gen Xers who grew up there?

"There's the Gen X, there's Gen Z. Everyone is in there," Barajas-Najera explained. "We've created a place that has allowed people to come in and just be themselves and disconnect from everything that we're always doing, rushing. We're coining it as slow, casual, because we're not fast, we're not casual. We're just a slow casual. Come in, have a good time, be entertained."

When looking for franchisees, Barajas-Najera said they seek people who are passionate about the Shakey's Pizza brand. The Shakey's team gives its franchisees lots of support before, during and after opening.

Barajas-Najera suggests potential franchisees do their due diligence and really research a brand before signing on the dotted line. Shakey's is a brand with 70 years of experience behind it, but it's going through an exciting chapter.

"We feel like we're restarting," Barajas-Najera said. "We're just relaunching."

## Entities

- unit expansion (topic)
- QSR (sector)
- rebranding (topic)
- franchisee recruitment (topic)
- Pizza Marketplace (publication)
- Culver City (location)
- Mandy Detwiler (person)
- restaurant strategy (topic)
- Shakey's Pizza (company)
- Sonia Barajas-Najera (person)

---
Originally reported by Pizza Marketplace (https://www.pizzamarketplace.com/podcasts/70-years-old-and-restarting-shakeys-pizza-vp-outlines-fresh-strategy-for-expansion/). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/3c94fc51-1a39-45a0-9e02-75e094c0e408).