Let’s take it back to the 1990s for this one. I’d like to fire up the nostalgia machine and relive some glory days from my childhood. There was nothing like a good old fashioned Friday night with pizza, Toys R’ Us, and maybe some staying up late watching movies. That was the quintessential TGIF for a young Stoney. I have fond memories of my father getting home from work, and us piling into the car heading for Sir Pizza in Hickory Hollow back when Hickory Hollow was our mecca of shopping and entertainment. Growing up, we didn’t have Providence out here in Mount Juliet. There was a Wal-Mart in Hermitage, but if you wanted to hit the mall….and I mean the classic Stranger Things-esque mall, you had to hit Hickory Hollow, Rivergate, Bellevue, or Cool Springs. Hickory Hollow was the closest to us, so Hickory Hollow it was.
Anyway, it was simpler times. The world moved a lot slower back then in an era that feels timeless to me to this day. I was reminded of that simple pleasure by seeing this tweet….I mean, this X…
eating at Pizza Hut in the 90s/early 2000s pic.twitter.com/bFE9uCLcAT
— Nostalgia From Your Childhood (@NostalgiaFolder) August 10, 2023
There was always something about that buffet at the Pizza Hut that just felt like a special occasion to me. I wish we still had that somewhere. I don’t know….maybe there are places around Nashville these days that appeal to this certain nostalgia. But, I don’t see ’em anywhere. Nowadays, the pizza itself is more important. I have to have that Five Points…that Emmy Squared….or that Calabria if I’m out here in Mount Juliet. There are no arcade games….just good pizza with adult conversations. There’s no magic in that.
I can’t even begin to describe the limitless possibilities that a Cici’s Pizza in 1999 had. It was like walking into Narnia. You never knew what you’d find, but it would damn sure be an adventure. It didn’t matter that the pizza was shitty. Actually, it wasn’t even shitty at the time. It’s only now, with the advanced age I’m at, that I realize the pizza wasn’t good. Back then, it was five star gourmet. They say we all have to inevitably grow up and give up childish things, but the magic of a Pizza Hut on Friday night is one thing I wish I never let go of. It’s a nostalgic hole that no amount of #GinFriday can fix.
Editor’s note: My wife will point out that I still indulge in the occasional Little Caesar’s pizza and wings, to which I would say “the headline reads *shitty* pizza places.” Little Caesar’s is only the finest of gourmet pies.
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Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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