CHAMPAIGN, IL — We folks of Greater Lafayette are suckers for nostalgia. Swimming around Columbian Park’s “Monkey Island” pool, recalling which family members were born at Home Hospital, surviving the Blizzard of ’78.
But when cattle-calling for restaurants of the past, one seems to be the front runner of most missed: Garcia’s Pizza In A Pan.
The Chauncey Hill Mall hangout closed its doors in the mid-1990s despite its popularity across Greater Lafayette. Operating for roughly 15 years on the edge of Purdue’s campus, co-owner Ralph Senn said Garcia’s was a success.
If Garcia’s was ultimately a successful business, then why did it close? Sitting at a table inside Garcia’s Pizza In A Pan about 10 minutes away from the University of Illinois’ campus, the only location left of the pizza chain, Senn said there were a lot of reasons.
Might the beloved Garcia’s ever return to Greater Lafayette? Senn said there’s a possibility it could someday, but that would require a few things to happen.
A legacy still living in Illinois
In a large strip mall, at 313 N. Mattis Ave. in Champaign, Garcia’s Pizza In A Pan lights up a corner of the building with neon signs advertising pizza by the slice. Stepping through the doors is like walking into a time capsule.
There’s no shag carpeting, but Senn said the Champaign store has much of the same feeling as the West Lafayette location did. Wood paneling lines the walls, decorated with memorabilia of the “Flying Tomato Brothers,” who can both be found as miniature versions of themselves in a somewhat miniature hot air balloon suspended from the ceiling.
The atmosphere of Garcia’s was part of what made it a popular hangout for young adults and college students, Senn said, which matched the affordability of any other “fast food.”
“You can’t bring your date to McDonald’s; she’ll think you’re a real piker. But for the exact same money, you can bring your date to Garcia’s Pizza In A Pan,” Senn said. “It had fern plants all over the place, wood paneling, a fireplace in the middle; it looked like a nice place that you could bring a date.”
When Garcia’s began expanding to college campuses around the Midwest, and even in Texas, Senn said it was at a time when it was uncommon for the majority of students to have cars on campus, making the stores’ proximity to campuses crucial to their success.
But by the mid-90s, Senn said he could see the writing on the wall.
“By ’95, students were getting cars, and that changed the whole texture of campus. Instead of students being limited to walking to the nearest place to hang out, socialize and eat, they could drive, especially to bigger bars off campus,” Senn said. “That made a huge difference. Going forward, if you wanted to succeed, you needed a drive-through.”
The primary decision to let leases go stemmed from the inability to add a drive-through, Senn said. That was ultimately why he and co-owner Joe Ream chose to close the West Lafayette store, despite it being a $1 million store, which Senn said would likely look like $3-$4 million in today’s economy.
It’s been 30 years since a slice of Garcia’s was served out of the Chauncey Hill Mall, but Senn said he had no idea the pizza spot was beloved by so many in Indiana.
So what would it take for Garcia’s to return to Indiana? Garcia said that would be up the next owners, when he and Ream decide to sell and retire in the next year or two.
“I want to sell this business to a company, or person, that will take it nationwide. I am still in shock that after 54 years of selling pizza by the slice as a single item, there is no national chain doing that,” Senn said. “There are secrets to doing it successfully, and I believe Joe and I have become experts at it. So, if you want to buy out Ralph and Joe, we’ll tell you all the secrets, and if they want we’ll even show up to their openings and wave.”
Show up? Senn said, yes, he still has his license to fly a hot air balloon. And, yes, he does still in fact have the famous, flying tomato hot air balloon.
Learning to adapt to changing times
Senn can recall a time when he and Ream regularly flew their hot air balloon over Ross-Ade Stadium during Purdue football games. Their flights were free advertising, he said, often earning Garcia’s national attention.
“In the mid-90s, Purdue was playing Notre Dame, and we flew over three times. The second time we flew over, we took ABC off the air for about 40 seconds,” Senn said, demonstrating with his hands how the hot air balloon eclipsed the station’s satellite dish that broadcasted the game. “It was perfectly legal for us to do, and the third time we flew over, they took a picture of us and showed it on national television to visualize why they were off the air. I had people calling us from all over the nation telling us they saw us on TV.”
In the last 10 years, Senn said he has flown the hot air balloon over the Champaign area a handful of times, but it isn’t the same as it once was.
“We would be flying over a community, it’s 6 p.m., and we’re 100 feet above houses. It’s 80 degrees out and just gorgeous,” Senn said. “We’ve done this for years, and normally we would see people running out, waving and screaming, with people following us to see where we land, but that’s not how it is anymore. We look down on the rooftops and we see swimming pools, gardens, back porches, all empty. Occasionally we’ll see someone walking their dog, but people just aren’t out like they used to be.”
Senn said the ceasing of the hot air balloon flights is similar to the gravitation toward drive-through service and now third-party delivery apps. But Senn said that was some of the future he saw nearly 30 years ago.
Most days, Senn said, the dining area of Garcia’s in Champaign is relatively quiet. But the drive-through line is constant. The product of pizza by the slice is identical to how it began over 50 years ago, and the menu remains largely unchanged. Thanks to specialty ovens, slices are cooked to order in two minutes flat, making the product ideal for a drive-through setting.
And that model would still work for Lafayette, Muncie, and Columbus, Ohio, and all of the other cities Garcia’s used to serve, he said. But that’s up to whoever sees the opportunity for the pizza eatery.
“We were in West Lafayette for 15 years, and that’s a long time for a restaurant. That’s not a failure,” Senn said. “Our Lafayette store was a success, and I think that success could still be had, but I’m 78 years old. That’s a venture for the next guy.”
Celebrating Lafayette’s 200th birthday with Christmas ornaments
The Tippecanoe County Historical Association is celebrating Christmas in July alongside the city of Lafayette’s bicentennial, offering commemorative ornaments in honor of the milestone.
The snowflake-shaped ornaments, featuring the city’s bicentennial logo in the center, can be purchased in person at the TCHA’s Frank C. Arganbright Genealogy Center, 1001 South St. Ornaments are $20 each.
Raising Cane’s wants to give you a finger
No, no, not that finger.
On July 27, Raising Cane’s will give each customer an extra chicken finger with the purchase of a box combo, the company said in a news release. No coupons or codes are needed, and there are no limits to the promotion.
Raising Cane’s has two Tippecanoe County locations. The West Lafayette store can be found at 100 S. Chauncey Ave., Unit 100. The Lafayette store can be found at 5 N. Creasy Lane.
Jillian Ellison is a reporter for the Journal & Courier. She can be reached via email at jellison@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: ‘Spending Time’: Might Garcia’s Pizza return? Owner says maybe, but new owner required
Reporting by Jillian Ellison, Lafayette Journal & Courier / Lafayette Journal & Courier
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