ALMOST 40 YEARS OF ZANY.
Some restaurants just serve food. This one became part of the town. Here’s how a 30-seat sandwich counter turned into the sushi-slinging, fajita-shouting, milkshake-crafting institution Lewiston knows today.
A 30-seat sandwich shop with big ideas.
When Zany Graze opened in 1987, it shared a building with a frozen yogurt shop called Lulu’s and a Godfather’s Pizza. The original dining room held about thirty people, and the early menu leaned on barbecue and made-to-order deli sandwiches, briskets by the stack, and a rotisserie chicken longtime staff still talk about.
The name came from contractor Dennis Johnson, who suggested it as a playful nod to “crazy eating” during construction. He passed away before the build was finished, and the name stuck as a tribute to him, not, despite the local myth, a reference to novelist Zane Grey.
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS.
The location turned out to be ideal. Sitting near the center of town and sharing space with the already popular Godfather’s Pizza gave Zany Graze steady visibility from the start. What we now think of as “Zany’s” was originally just the family dining side of the building. In fact, the dessert case next to the hostess stand today once belonged to Lulu’s Frozen Yogurt. Lulu’s, which was also owned by Happy Day, holds the distinction of being the first frozen yogurt shop in the Lewis-Clark Valley.
Lulu’s was managed by none other than Deb Grove, who has now been with Happy Day Restaurants for an incredible 44 years. Deb originally worked at Lewiston’s Taco Time before leaving to run Lulu’s. At the time, she even ordered yogurt shipped all the way from Massachusetts. The uniforms were just as memorable as the desserts: poodle skirts paired with sandal shoes. For a while, Lulu’s thrived. But eventually competitors arrived, including TCBY and a frozen yogurt chain called Polar Bear that had the convenience of a drive-thru. That proved tough to compete with, and Lulu’s eventually closed its doors. Back then, Zany Graze didn’t serve desserts of its own. If a customer ordered a milkshake or ice cream, the team at Lulu’s would actually make it and send it over.
FAJITAS!
In the early days, the dining experience included a little extra theatrics. Anytime a sizzling plate of fajitas left the kitchen, a bell would ring and every server, no matter where they were in the restaurant, would shout “FAJITA!” Zany’s continued to evolve with the times. One of the most transformative changes came when sushi entered the picture. The idea originated with Chef Nicholas Garcia, who had previously worked with Japanese cuisine. At the time, sushi was almost unheard of in the valley. Chef Garcia believed he could introduce it in a fun, approachable way.
The first sushi station was tiny, tucked into the back of the kitchen, and run by Alex Finch under the name Zushi. The first popular roll was the Dragon Roll. In the beginning, sushi sales were modest. Alex recalls making about seven rolls a day on average, and maybe twelve on a really good day. But every single order felt like a victory. The team celebrated every roll and every new customer willing to give sushi a try.
"You need to have passion to do it right."
-Chef Nicolas Garcia, with Zany’s for 22 years
The ones who've built it
Zany’s history isn’t corporate, it’s a handful of people who stuck around and made it weirder and better, year after year.
HELP US FILL IN THE REST OF THE STORY.
Old photos, forgotten menu items, a server you still think about. We’re collecting Zany Graze memories from the people who lived them.