Dinner and a show take on a whole new meaning at Organ Stop Pizza in Mesa, Arizona. It is an experience, a show and a full-on thunderous symphony played on one of the largest and loudest musical instruments in the world, a Mighty Wurlitzer theater organ.
Last week when I was in Phoenix, it reached a high of 114 degrees. There wasn’t much you could do outside because of the heat. Organ Stop, just east of Phoenix in Mesa, offers good food, incredible musicians and a Mighty Wurlitzer theater organ – the perfect solution. This wasn’t a one-time visit for me. Every time I am in Phoenix, at least twice each year, I must visit Organ Stop. I think it is the most unique restaurant in the country.
This isn’t your typical pizza joint. This beloved Arizona institution is home to one of the largest Wurlitzer theater organs. It features more than 6,000 pipes, a full range of percussive instruments, sound effects (think car horns and bird calls), and enough sheer sound to rattle your pepperoni right off your slice. The console – a custom four-manual beast – is mounted on a hydraulic lift that rises from the floor in dramatic fashion before each performance, giving the word “showstopper” a whole new meaning.
Only a handful of similar theatre organs still exist in the U.S. They were originally designed to provide accompaniment to silent films in the 1910s and 1920s, offering a “one-man orchestra” in the days before synchronized sound. When the talkies took over, most of these majestic instruments were removed.
Organ Stop musicians, Brett Valliant and Glen Tallar, are the regular “greatest showmen” along with three other guest and substitute organists. Playing a theater organ is a niche craft that requires not only manual dexterity and pedal-footed coordination but also a deep knowledge of registration, timing and showmanship. It’s estimated that fewer than 50 organists in the U.S. are fully qualified to play a theater organ at this level. Organ Stop employs a handful of them, each taking turns delighting the crowd with bells and whistles on the walls in this massive hall. All are controlled by the organists. The special effects are indescribable!
My grandchildren were amazed at special effects for “Under the Sea,” “Orange Blossom Special” and “Chattanooga Choo Choo.” Never did I think an organ could replicate a train!
Organ Stop’s food menu focuses on pizza and a salad bar; and the food is good! There’s also a small bar for those who want to pair their music with a cold beer or glass of wine. Nobody’s mistaking it for fine dining, but that’s not the point. You’re here for the music, the atmosphere and the joy of hearing “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Phantom of the Opera,” “Let it Go” and so much more. The tunes played are Broadway hits, movie and pop favorites. The two main organists have a varied routine for every show, but they will take requests. They play without reading any music!
As far as I can find, there are no other restaurants in the U.S. with live theater organ performances. Organ Stop is the only full-service restaurant that’s centered entirely around nightly live performances on a historic Wurlitzer. This hall seats 700 at full capacity, but don’t’ let that scare you. The lines to order are not long and they move along quickly.
In 1972, the original Organ Stop Pizza restaurant premiered in Phoenix with a Wurlitzer pipe organ which was originally built for Grauman’s Hollywood Egyptian Theater. This unique concept of a pizza parlor with a pipe organ was envisioned by William P. Brown, a Phoenix real estate developer whose enthusiasm for the theater pipe organ and its music led to the creation of this landmark attraction. A new mega facility in Mesa was designed specifically to accommodate the expanding scope and size of the Organ Stop Wurlitzer. The grand opening was Thanksgiving weekend of 1995.
Organ Stop is as charming as it sounds, and it’s exactly the kind of place you didn’t know you needed until you’re sitting there, watching an organist rise from the floor on a glowing console, fingers flying, pedals pumping, land lights flashing, conjuring a whole orchestra from a single, breathtaking machine.
Organ Stop isn’t just a restaurant. It’s a musical theater experience with pizza and breadsticks.
Mighty Wurlitzer in Knoxville
In Knoxville, we are fortunate to have one of the remaining Mighty Wurlitzers at the Tennessee Theater. Installed in the Tennessee Theatre at the time of the building’s opening in 1928, the organ was built by the Rudolph Wurlitzer Company in North Tonawanda, New York, and cost about $50,000 at that time. Today, it is one of the few theater organs still installed in its original location.
Experience the magic of the Mighty Wurlitzer prior to each Summer Movie Magic presentation and at the free monthly organ concert, the James A. Dick Mighty Musical Monday Series, featuring the organ and talent from the Knoxville area.
Melanie Staten is a public relations consultant with her husband, Vince.
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