A restaurant that’s been a mainstay in Salina for nearly a half-century will soon look different on the outside, but will still maintain the same pizza taste on the inside many have loved over the years. Big Cheese Pizza, which has been located in the same location at 730 S Broadway since 1978, is in the midst of a major remodel.

Stacy Reed started working at Big Cheese Pizza in 1992. In 2021 she became the owner.

Reed tells KSAL News prior to opening in 1978, the original owner opened a restaurant in the location called Yankee Clipper. He hoped to ride the seafood wave of popularity that was created by the opening of a Long John Silver’s restaurant. It was about a year later that Yankee Clipper closed and Big Cheese was born. There is still a remnant of the long forgotten seafood restaurant inside the building. If you look closely at the high ceiling there are hooks that used to hold netting which created an ocean theme.

When the location first opened in Salina it was part of a franchise chain of Big Cheese Pizza restaurants located across several midwestern states. Today there are only a handful left, and each is now independently owned. Reed says that actually works to her advantage, with customers from cities across the state stopping in for nostalgic reasons.

The first major change came in the early 1980s when a sunken dining area, surrounded by tinted glass, was added to the Salina facility. The Solarium room, as they called it, became a popular dining location inside Big Cheese Pizza.

When the popularity of pinball and video games took off in the 1980s Big Cheese Pizza added a mini arcade area.

Over the years there have been some popular promotions. Among others, 99 cent pitchers of beer in the summer proved popular. Also popular was a “Classic Doubles” deal where two classic pizzas were available for one price.

There have been some zany things that have happened over the years, many of them involving delivery drivers. Reed says among other things a driver encountered an unconscious person in a street. A driver also chanced upon a raid, with police arriving at a house the same time the pizza arrived.

There has been some craziness over the years inside the restaurant as well. Employees chased down a thief dressed in a Santa suit after he left with a tip jar stuffed inside his coat. There was another incident in which a female stripper urinated on the floor.

There was also a brush with fame. Comedian Jay Leno stopped in for a bite to eat late one night, after performing in Salina.

Reed says keeping Big Cheese Pizza open over the years has been a struggle at times. During the pandemic they thrived, though. The restaurant was an essential business, and was already set up for delivery. After establishing curbside pickup protocols they became a go-to for many who grew weary and wanted to order pizza.

According to Reed, the biggest challenge today is staffing. At capacity she has a staff of twelve. Right now there are about eight. She says its been difficult to consistently maintain a reliable staff, and she relies a lot on the help of family.

A major remodeling project started earlier in May. Reed says it began when the HVAC system was replaced and then grew from there. Though she does not own the building, she says the landlord has been fabulous and has included her in many decisions.

The remodel includes a basic upgrade of the entire building. Among other things, the Solarium room has been removed. Reed says though she would have liked to have kept it, it became cost prohibitive over the years to maintain it and keep it open. It could possibly be replaced by an outdoor dining / garden area.

The remodel has been progressing quicker than Reed anticipated, and should by complete by late June or early July. Big Cheese Pizza remains open during the project.

Reed looks forward to inviting everyone in to see the new look once it’s complete. And she looks forward to many more years of Big Cheese Pizza, after all it’s where she met the man who later became her husband!

Photo via Big Cheese Pizza