Dinner gets an unexpected British twist at Clara’s Pizza King in Richmond, where a vintage red double-decker bus sits right inside the restaurant. Guests can climb aboard, settle into a booth, and even use an old-school phone to place an order for pizza and breadsticks.
The quirky setup has helped turn this longtime local favorite into a family tradition, while its location near I-70 makes it an entertaining discovery for travelers passing through eastern Indiana. There is plenty of nostalgia packed into the experience before the first slice even arrives. For anyone who loves unusual restaurants, eating pizza aboard the bus makes this stop especially memorable.
A London Bus Parked Indoors in Richmond
Nobody expects a bus. The outside of Clara’s Pizza King on NW 5th Street looks like a regular neighborhood pizza place, the kind you might drive past without a second glance. Then the door opens, and a bright red British double-decker is sitting right there in the dining room.
The bus runs along one wall, and its lower deck works as real seating. Tables are tucked inside where passengers would normally ride, so you can eat a slice while looking out through bus windows at the rest of the restaurant. It is a strange and wonderful swap, since you are inside a building and inside a vehicle at the same time.
Look up and you will see the upper deck too. That top level is a facade, built to complete the look from inside the building, so you cannot climb up there to eat. Still, the full two-story shape makes the whole thing look like it rolled in from London and decided to stay.
Kids tend to spot it first. They point, they tug on sleeves, and they ask if they can sit inside before anyone has even looked at a menu. Adults are not much calmer about it, honestly.
The bus also changes how the room moves. People walk around it, peek in the windows, and snap photos before finding their own table. It acts like a centerpiece the way a fountain does in a town square.
One small heads-up: getting into the bus involves a step up. Shorter guests or anyone with mobility concerns may want to pick a regular table nearby, which still gives a perfect view of the red paint, the round headlights, and the windows glowing with lamp light from inside.
Stained Glass, Swing Seats, and Wooden Walls
Turn away from the bus for a minute, because the rest of the room deserves attention too. Colorful stained glass chandeliers hang over the tables, throwing soft pools of red, gold, and green light onto the wood below. A large stained glass window adds even more color to one side of the space.
The walls are covered in old wood that gives the place a warm, lived-in look. Antique-style chairs and decorations fill the corners. Nothing here looks like a modern chain restaurant with plain white walls and plastic booths.
Upstairs, things get even more playful. Swing seats hang in part of the upper level, so diners can sway a little while waiting for food. It is the kind of detail that makes a ten-year-old forget about their phone for a while.
Small cozy nooks are scattered all through the building. Some feel tucked away and quiet, good for a family that wants a calmer meal. Others sit near the action, where you can watch servers carry steaming pizzas past the bus windows.
Here is a smart move. Take a slow lap around the restaurant before you sit down or after you finish eating. The building does not reveal everything from one spot, and you could easily miss the swings or a great piece of glass if you stay parked at your table.
There are no big history plaques explaining the decor, so the space leaves you to discover it yourself. That turns a dinner into a little scavenger hunt. Bring a camera, too, because the chandeliers look especially rich in photos taken in the evening, when the outdoor light fades and the colored glass becomes the brightest thing in the room.
Ring the King From Your Table
Ring, ring. At most restaurants you wait for a server to come take your order. At Clara’s, you pick up a phone sitting right at your table or booth and call it in yourself.
This phone ordering system is a classic Pizza King tradition, and the company even has a cheerful name for it: Ringing the King. You look over the menu, lift the receiver, and tell the kitchen exactly what you want. It is simple, a little old-fashioned, and surprisingly fun.
Kids especially love it. Letting a child place the family order gives them a job and a small thrill, like they are running a pretend restaurant that happens to be real. Grandparents often smile because it reminds them of how things used to work.
The system is also practical. You can order more breadsticks or another drink without waving your arms to catch someone’s attention. When the dining room is busy, that convenience really helps.
First-time visitors should know one thing, though. Not every table gets a full explanation when guests arrive, and some newcomers have sat waiting for a server who was never coming to take the order. If you are seated and nobody appears, look for the phone and use it.
A good plan is to decide on drinks and food before you call so the order goes smoothly. Read through the menu, settle the pizza debate with your group, and then make one clear call.
Servers still bring the food out, refill drinks, and check on tables, so the phone does not replace people completely. It just puts the start of the meal in your hands, which is a neat twist you will not find at the burger place down the road.
Royal Feast, Pepperoni Crumbles, and Those Breadsticks
Ask a regular what to order and you will probably hear two words: Royal Feast. This loaded pizza is a Pizza King signature, piled with toppings that run right out to the edge of the crust. It is hard to find anything quite like it outside this chain.
Pizza King also cuts its pies into squares instead of triangles. That style is common in the Midwest and makes sharing easy, since everyone can grab small pieces. The middle squares are soft and loaded, while the edge pieces bring extra crunch.
The Pepperoni Feast is another favorite with a twist. Instead of only flat round slices, the pepperoni comes in crumbles spread across the whole pie. Every bite gets some, and now and then you hit a bigger chunk that feels like a bonus.
Prefer a thicker base? The pan pizza bakes up crispy on the bottom rather than soggy, which is exactly how a pan crust should be.
Now, the breadsticks. They might be the most talked-about item on the menu, and for good reason. Warm, soft inside, and golden outside, they come with a dill butter for dipping that tastes different from the usual garlic sauce.
Other choices fill out the menu nicely. The Stromboli Wrap-Up and sub sandwiches like ham and cheese work for anyone not in a pizza mood. Shoestring fries make a good side for kids, and salads and desserts round things out.
For a group of four, try one Royal Feast, one Pepperoni Feast, and an order of breadsticks to share. That gives everyone a taste of the classics without ordering way too much food.
An Indiana Pizza Tradition Since 1958
Back in 1958, Pizza King started serving pies in East Central Indiana. Decades later, the brand is still a homegrown favorite, and Clara’s in Richmond has become one of its most famous locations.
Many people who eat here today first came as children. Now they bring their own kids, and sometimes their grandkids, to sit in the same bus and order the same Royal Feast. That kind of family chain is rare in a world where restaurants open and close quickly.
Some fans drive over an hour just to show friends the place. Others call it their go-to special occasion spot, the restaurant they choose for birthdays, report card celebrations, or a big family get-together. Even people with a Pizza King in their own town make the trip, because their local one usually does not have this kind of decor.
Clara’s has held its look over many years. The wood, glass, and bus have stayed in place while generations of diners have come and gone. For returning visitors, the room can feel like stepping back into an old family photo.
Pizza King itself is a truly Indiana thing. Outside the region, most people have never heard of it, which makes it a fun stop for travelers wanting a taste of local food culture instead of a national chain.
Richmond sits right on the Indiana and Ohio border along I-70, so the restaurant also catches road trippers. Families heading east or west can pull off the highway and get a real slice of Hoosier tradition. Kids in the back seat will have a story about eating in a bus, and parents get pizza that locals have trusted for more than sixty years.
Timing Your Visit Off I-70
Hours are generous. Clara’s opens at 11 AM every day of the week. It stays open until 11 PM Sunday through Thursday, and until midnight on Friday and Saturday nights.
Those late hours make it a handy stop after a high school game, a movie, or a long drive. If you are crossing Indiana on I-70, the restaurant is a short trip from the highway in Richmond.
Crowds change the experience a lot. On a quiet weekday afternoon, the dining room can be calm and relaxed, with plenty of time to wander and take pictures. Busy weekend evenings bring more families, more noise, and longer waits.
Pizza can take a while when the kitchen gets slammed. On some busy days and short-staffed shifts, waits have stretched close to an hour or more. Planning ahead keeps everyone happier, especially hungry kids.
A few smart tips help. Arrive a little before typical lunch or dinner rush, roughly 11:30 AM or before 5 PM. Order breadsticks right away so the table has something warm while the pizza bakes.
If your heart is set on sitting inside the bus, earlier visits give the best shot. Those bus tables are the most wanted seats in the house, and they fill up when families pour in.
Bring patience on Friday and Saturday nights. Have a card game, a coloring book, or a plan to explore the swing seats upstairs while you wait.
Carryout and delivery are available too, but the real fun lives inside the building. A pizza in a box at home tastes fine, yet it skips the red bus, the glass, and the phones, which is what turns an ordinary dinner into an outing.
Why the Bus Beats Any Booth
Plenty of pizza places have good pies. Very few let you finish a slice and then look out a bus window at a stained glass chandelier. Clara’s stacks several unusual ideas into one building, and they actually work together.
The bus gives the room a wow moment. The table phones give kids something to do. The glass, wood, and swings give everyone reasons to wander. Each piece adds a different kind of fun, so the visit never feels like a plain sit-and-eat dinner.
Food keeps it grounded. Square-cut slices, the Royal Feast, crumbled pepperoni, and breadsticks with dill butter are the kind of dishes people crave long after the drive home. Without solid pizza, the decor would just be a gimmick.
Prices run a bit higher than a basic pizza shop. A full family dinner adds up, especially with sides and drinks. Most families treat it as a special night out, and that framing makes sense for a place this distinctive.
Service can swing depending on staffing, so a little flexibility goes a long way. Friendly servers here often get called out by name, and a good one can make the whole meal brighter.
For the best visit, go hungry, go a bit early, and claim a bus table if one is open. Order a Royal Feast and breadsticks, let a kid make the phone call, then walk the whole building before dessert.
Leave with a few photos of that red bus parked under the chandeliers. Back home, friends will ask where on earth you ate. The answer, a pizza shop in Richmond, Indiana, will surprise them every single time.
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