Old World Comfort Food
The History
Mary Fazio opened her first Pizza Shack in 1959 with her father’s recipes and pots and pans from her own kitchen. She shared her old world comfort food, making each dish from scratch and the customers just kept coming back. Crowds filled the restaurant and its rickety porch lined with tables, week after week. With love and fresh ingredients, Mary made her fresh pizza dough, authentic sauces and a host of Italian entrees to serve her guests. Today the family uses the same love, original recipes and fresh ingredients in each of its twenty locations.
The Inviting Ambience
I love the ambience at Mary’s, clad in rugged wood with bright red and green decor. Pictures of the old days at Mary’s accent the walls along with nostalgic kitchen tools and other memorabilia creating a wonderful welcome. Both the Anderson and Redding locations feature a full bar and offer happy hour appetizer and bar specials from 3 to 6 pm daily.
Charles Byerly, grandson of Mary, his wife Kathy Byerly, and their daughter Trisha own and operate Mary’s Pizza Shacks in Anderson and Redding. Kathy told me that all of Mary’s grandchildren are still involved in the family business that stretches from Walnut Creek to Redding. The company has not lost sight of Mary’s original dream of serving the finest pizza and Italian food to customers, who are treated like family.
They are open 7 days a week at 11 am, until 9pm Sunday through Thursday, and 10 pm on Friday and Saturday nights. Large dining rooms and a friendly, efficient staff make the busy restaurants run smoothly. Mary insisted on employing only people who enjoyed what they were doing, and the same seems true today.
Cooking From Scratch Since 1959
The menu at Mary’s is packed with choices sure to please every palate. Deciding what to order is the fun part. I suggest trying something new on each visit. I have never been disappointed! I always start with their dinner salad, which is more like a mini salad bar on a plate and homemade dressings of course.
Mary’s Caesar salad and Minestrone soup made from scratch are also great. In fact all the dressings are home made. Enjoy a basket of fresh garlic bread and something from their wonderful line-up of appetizers, which includes Chicken wings, Calamari and Shrimp Bruschetta just to name a few. You can choose from a long list of delicious hot and cold sandwiches or choose from Mary’s legendary pizzas, which keep the customers coming back. Hearty meat and seafood dishes are many, including Chicken Piccata, Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo and Linguine with Clams; classics like Spaghetti or Gnocchi with a Giant Meatball, Lasagna and Chicken or Eggplant Parmesana add to the large menu.
All in all, whether you are headed up I-5, going to Shasta, Whiskeytown, or to Anderson for the fairground or Shasta Outlet Stores, you are sure to enjoy the old-world family recipes at Mary’s Pizza Shack in Anderson or Redding.
Open 7 Days Sun-Th: 11-9 • Fri/Sat till 10
Anderson: 1901 Highway 273
+1.530.378.1110
Redding: 1177 Shasta Street
+1.530.247.1110
