When Mellow Mushroom arrived in Atlanta in the early 1970s, it was designed to capitalize on the carefree attitude and values of the hippie nation. Looking to draw attention from the younger, hipper crowd, the fresh-faced pizza joint hoped to mark itself as the alternative to your parents’ and grandparents’ pizza restaurant. Feeding off some of the debauchery of the late 60s, even the name “Mellow Mushroom” was meant to embody “coolness” in every way. My father, in fact, was living in Atlanta during that time and remembers the atmosphere surrounding Mellow Mushroom’s opening. “Everyone wanted to be mellow—it played off Donovan’s big hit ‘Mellow Yellow’—and every hippie out there was familiar with the magical properties of mushrooms.” (I assume he’s not talking about chanterelles here.) He went on to say that as a bunch of misguided Atlanta youths, “many a late night hanging out with friends was spent eating a cold slice of their pizza and a beverage.” Suffice it to say, I think he enjoyed the pizza.
Now, after 39 years and thousands of pizzas served, Mellow Mushroom finds itself settling down in Little Rock, Arkansas…in West Little Rock, no less. The air around this Mellow Mushroom is probably much less hazy than it was in those days, there’s probably much fewer cases of the “munchies” surrounding their tables (perhaps not?), fewer people are talking about the last time they saw Led Zeppelin play live. Today you’re more likely to find a youth soccer team than a flower child. But the new WLR location is brightly colored, clean, and decorated with all sorts of memorabilia and signage from generations past. It’s a large space, able to accommodate a sizable number of people, but it’s no stretch to say it’s probably the busiest restaurant in Arkansas right now. On weeknights, the waits have been turning many weaker, more impatient folks away. (Something WLR folks are getting used to…right, Local Lime? Chuy’s?)
I stopped in last weekend to get a first look at the place and to sample a bit of what they had to offer. This was my first time with the chain, but given the amount of excitement and level of hype surrounding the coming of this place, expectations were probably slightly higher than they would have been otherwise.