Every time we head north to Christine’s hometown of Grants Pass, Oregon, there are two places we have to eat at. One is Millie’s Sandwich Shop on NE 7th Street and the other is Abby’s Legendary Pizza on Williams Highway. And since I somehow managed to not take pictures at Millie’s this year, I’ll tell you about Abby’s instead!
Not only is the food fresh, cheap and delicious, but the Abby’s we frequent even has an “old school” video game area in the back that used to house a super cool “Phantom Menace” pinball machine!
Sadly, the “Star Wars” pinball machine has moved on, but the memory of that strange pinball/video game hybrid and the rocking good pizza we enjoyed while playing it, lives on…seriously, I think about that game a lot!
Initially known as Abby’s Pizza Inn, the first Abby’s was founded in 1964 by former high-school classmates Albert Broughton and James Harrell — better known to their friends as Abby and Skinny — in nearby Roseburg, Oregon. Once word got out that these guys knew how to make some damn fine pizza, the legend of Abby’s grew to the 34 store chain that exists today.
And though you have to drive to Oregon or Washington to sample Abby’s, let me tell ya, it’s worth the trek. Though everything on the menu is fantastic, we always order the same thing, which I guess you could call the “founder’s special” since they are named for Abby and Skinny themselves.
My favorite is the Abby’s Special, which is your basic “works” pizza with black olives, fresh mushrooms, ground beef, pepperoni, salami and sausage. And Christine and the ladies generally favor the Skinny Special with Canadian Bacon and fresh tomatoes. I honestly cannot think of a more perfect pizza combination on your plate than these two pizza pies…this stuff is amazing.
But the real star of the show at Abby’s are the spuds. Nothing really more than silver-dollar-sized potato slices, the spuds are scattered on a pizza pan and served fresh out of the fryer with sides of ranch dressing. I know it sounds weird to eat even more starch with pizza, but man alive, these spuds make the meal!
Of course, we usually leave feeling a tad over-stuffed and in desperate need of some exercise, but hey…that’s what the video game area is for, right? Rock on, Abby’s Legendary Pizza!
make. see. eat. do. 