By Lindsey Larson
- Local restaurant opens third pie shake parlor
- Grand opening featured live music by J. Wride, The Neighbors, DJ Dub-Dee and DJ Spinari
Sammy’s Cafe opened its new Pie Shake Parlor in Pleasant Grove Saturday on Saturday.
The parlor, at 25 W. Center, is the third Sammy’s location opened by Utah County entrepreneur Sam Schultz.
“There was an opportunity with the facility and the building here with the full kitchen, and I just saw an opportunity there and took it,” he said.
[/media-credit]- Sammy’s Cafe is located on Center Street
Because Schultz usually operates in college towns,opening a store in Pleasant Grove was different for him.
“There’s a little bit of home for me here,” said Schultz, who lived in Pleasant Grove at one time. “I’ve always loved the downtown feel here.”
The opening featured live music in the parking lot next to the new parlor, with performances by local bands J.Wride and The Neighbors, with DJ Dub-Dee and DJ Spinari mixing tracks in between.
Ricky Collister, a recent graduate of Pleasant Grove High School, said he heard about the opening party on Facebook and was curious about the bands playing.
“I hadn’t heard of The Neighbors before, but I’d seen J.Wride in concert down in Provo, and so I was excited to hear they were playing tonight,” Collister said.
J.Wride, comprising vocalist/keyboardist Jesse Wride, bassist Court Eccles, and drummer Austin Anderson, performed first. All band members have a jazz background, but try to incorporate what they feel is the best of current music. Wride brought his friends, Eccles and Anderson, together after meeting Eccles in Virginia.
“We’ve been playing together for a couple of years now,” Wride said.
For DJ Spinari, a sophomore at Copper Hills High School, the opening was his first gig.
“I intend to take this as far as I possibly can. This is what I want to do for my entire life,” Spinari said.
Dub-Dee said traveling to Utah was worth it.
“When he [Schultz] offers me free Sammy’s food, plus I get to come out here and party, and DJ and do what I love, I have to say ‘yes,'” he said.
BYU-Idaho students, Marissa Breedlove and Ciarra Butler, drove from Rexburg, Idaho, to Pleasant Grove to attend the opening.
“I think it’s super cute,” Breedlove said. “I think everybody here will really like it.”
They said the lure of live music was partly what prompted them to make the drive.
Schultz is thinking of expanding, most likely into another college town. In the meantime, the Pie Shake Parlor is open, serving the full Sammy’s menu.
“I think Pleasant Grove is going to be pleasantly surprised,” Dub-Dee said.
