Inside Pipe Organ Pizza, Monroe & I-45

Another one on my list for some time has been Pipe Organ Pizza. I tried to dig up what I could find online back in March and came up mostly empty handed -- but here is the original "wish" post. 

Here is the HAIF discussion where it appears there was another on the other side of town, as well. But no interior photos.

Now, thanks again to Michelle Roeder and her parents who took their camera everywhere except apparently the Foley's Kids' Shoe Ship, I have a few photos from inside!

I've lightened these up as clearly as possible -- it was pretty dark inside and the little square flash bulb on the top of an instamatic wasn't great at catching backgrounds -- so they're a bit grainy, but still clear. This one, in particular, was almost skipped in the album. We had to squint a bit to realize, while Dad was trying to catch Scooby and the Pink Panther together in one shot, he also managed to get the organ player, a smidge of the organ itself on the right, and that bell that I had completely forgotten about! (And the tip jar.) They'd ring the bell right before the organist would start playing, and sometimes when someone made a request and left a tip. 

At the far right you can see the hallway, lined with Hollywood photos. You'd walk in the door and be funneled down this hallway into the line to pay. The long rows of family style seating made this a popular big group setting. You could get a round red tray, a couple of pitchers of soda, and be good to go without having to refill everyone's glass over and over. I remember coming here for both birthday parties, once on a school field trip (Easthaven), and with the Sagemont church youth group.

Scooby was not originally part of Pipe Organ Pizza that I remember, but at some point they must've either merged with a company who owned the rights or contracted them out. Later on, it would be known as Scooby's Pipe Organ Pizza and sometimes just Scooby's Pizza.

Still on the hunt for photos of the arcade, with was in the far back left side of the place when you walked in, near the restrooms, as well as pictures of the organ itself. If memory serves, those were hard to take, because the giant thing was laid up against the front wall and took up a ton of space. There was never a great angle or room enough to back up and get a full shot. But hope abides.