Dwight Thomas plays Chattanooga Choo Choo at Roaring 20s Pizza and Pipes

[ironwolf9999]

i miss the plaze they had good pizza and the music was essilent and u were never forced to leave when you were done eating

[aceladude2251]

I can't belive this place turned into a library :(

[wljmrbill]

Sorrry to hear it closed. When I lived in Sarasota I went there a number of times and I did buy cd's too as well as food and it wasn't that bad. But I am an organist so music was most impotant even if only had bologna sandwiches.

[evandolah]

I too am sad to see that this place has closed, but it doesn't surprise me. The "Mighty Wurlizer" was truly a gem, but it wasn't enough to keep me coming back. The food was not very good and the service was minimal (you had to order at the counter and then pick it up yourself. I will miss the Wurlizer, but not the restaurant.

[choirfreak26]

My grandmother and I drove down to Roaring 20's last week only to find out it had closed. We ended up at another restaurant and asked what had happened and the stewardess said that even the employees didn't even know the place was closing; they showed up for work and the place was closed. I wish we had been there 6 months ago when it was still open. I would have loved to see this jewel of an instrument :)

[robwilke]

Thank god the pizza and organ music phenomenon is coming to an end. It doesn't get much worse. I guess it's a phillistine redneck dream. Only in Florida.

[EccentricRichard]

@robwilke - I've heard of pizza restaurants with organs in NY, Nevada and AZ too...

[JonasClark]

@EccentricRichard The only remaining ones are Organ Piper Music Palace in Greenfield, Wisconsin, and Organ Stop Pizza in mesa, Arizona, which shows similarities to Roaring 20s in its interior design, the rotating lift and the black console. It used to have the same Modernistic/Waterfall console, too. Organ Stop is the 2nd largest theatre organ ever put together, at 78 ranks. There are rumors that a pizza place with a 5 manual, 36 rank Wurlitzer (not all original) may open in Reno, NV in 2012.

[337nicole]

It was illegal to record video of the organist. If you had been caught you would have been kicked out. And the reason it doesn't exist anymore is because everyone who came was cheap and would buy a drink for $2.00 and sit there for 3 hours listening to music. You were never charged an entrance fee, which you should have, yet everyone was still pissed they had to buy food. I don't think any of you realize how expensive these organists are..and how much money goes into this building every year.

[MrYoufailsir]

@337nicole very true.

[RonRizzy]

@337nicole This is very true.

A "small" pizza, and a pitcher does not pay for:

Purveyors, Electric bill, building maintenance, payroll, taxes, etc.

People are just simply "cheap" anymore.

I believe "part" of the reason the place didn't survive was because of certain "concept changes"....there's an old adage that still remains true after all these years:

"Don't f*ck with the formula...!"

[ironwolf9999]

@337nicole i always placed 5 to 10 dollers in tip jar

[njguy2]

Sadly, Roaring 20s Pizza and Pipes closed on June 6, so we will not hear the Wurlizer again, unless a new owner takes over.

[goldiecolorado1]

@njguy2 Hi dam when did this happen!!?,that sucks to hear about that.Here a long time ago we had something like that here in Ohio in Springdale just north of Cincinnati,it was called the Music Palace.It was a great place to go to here back a long time ago,until one day the organ caught on fire and that was the end of that.I wish we would have something like this up here around Columbus,Ohio.

[PandaFerret]

Rest in peace Roaring 20's. You were loved and will be missed.

[livesteamfan1]

@PandaFerret Yes indeed. What do you think will happen to the Wurlitzer?

[PandaFerret]

@livesteamfan1 What I hope will happen is that they will sell the resteraunt and the wurlitzer to the same person/company, and the resteraunt will just go under new management. What I think will happen is it will go to a place that will be like the roaring 20', probable also serving pizza. Really, it all depends on who has 200k to burn and would want a unit orchestra. There aren't that many people who would, I just hope it stays around here.

[livesteamfan1]

@PandaFerret From what I heard, the new management they've been under had been taking money and that's why they're now out of business.

[PandaFerret]

@livesteamfan1 From what I heard it was because they didn't make enough money. They thought they would be fine because they were doing really well, but that was because of all the jobs the sensus created. I either heard that from the local news (which is where I learned of the depressing news) or from their site. I forget where (I think it was the first)

[RayManzarekGod]

It closed today and I forgot!! NOOOOOOO!!! WHY GOD WHY!

[Wendy712]

Roaring 20s Pizza and Pipes will be closing forever! Last day, 6/06/10. So sad!

[COMALiteJ]

But how good is the pizza? ;-)

[njguy2]

@COMALiteJ

To be honest, the pizza and the food isn't that great, but the organ music is fantastic. That's why I go there.

[raamjames1]

@njguy2 I used to go to the one in Grand Rapids MI when I was a kid back in the 70s. They closed down about 30 years ago. I remember their pizza being great back then.

[toorimaSMG]

i live in jersey...but i come to Floria every year 4 my bithday in july to visit mommom....this year will b the 3rd time ill be there 4 my birthday.i love this place

they should consider buildin one arond hear

[grettagrids]

I was just here in July:D VERY EXCITING!!

[FourFootFagott]

This definitely excites my sphincter!...MORE, MORE, MORE!!!

[davidgray2]

I love this organ! It was the first pizza organ I had experienced, and I nearly fell over when I heard it!

[JLitBakerstreet]

This is my favorite place to go.

[hillbillyclimber]

You are all right, this was a fantastic experience. When he makes the train sounds the room shakes!

[TONORAD]

This is a great rendition! Organist really gets the authentic sounds down to a "t"!

[gtothereal]

ROARING 20s PIZZA AND PIPES RULES!!

BILL VLASAK RULES!!!

DWIGHT THOMAS RULES!!

FROM MOE, LARRY, and CURLY (THREE STOOGES)

[njguy2]

Roaring 20s Pizza and Pipes is actually on US 301 in Ellenton, Florida about 10 miles north of Sarasota. You are right about the lighting with the pipes/horns/vibes on the walls and ceilings. LED lights are illuminated when an instrument is being played by the organist. The sound is much better than I could capture with a small camera.

[badgerman1949]

We have a place like this in Milwaukee, and I can say that we visited the Pizza and Pipes in Sarasota while visiting family and the place here in Milwaukee is LAME compared to P&P. The stuff to see, hear, lighting, it is all very theater-like. Only good thing about Organ Pipers in Milwaukee is the pizza is really good.

If you are ever in Sarasota, take a trip to Pizza and Pipes. You will NOT be disappointed!

[Organsk8er]

@badgerman1949 Good pizza is exactly the reason we're still around. Most of these places closed because the food was very sub-par. This one included, from what I understand. I apologize for the lack of the "entertainment" factor at the Organ Piper...but I'm happy to report that it's coming back. Much work has been done since just before Christmas. I invite you in to check it out! I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. And the food won't disappoint you. :-)

[organloft2001]

Excellent Playing!