Licorice Pizza (store)

Licorice Pizza was a Los Angeles record store chain that inspired the title of Paul Thomas Anderson's 2021 film of the same name.[1] The term is a colloquial expression for vinyl records, comparing them to the color of licorice and the shape of a pizza.[2]

James Greenwood opened the first Licorice Pizza record store in July 1969 in downtown Long Beach.[3] In the next fifteen years, multiple locations spread throughout Southern California. They became known for highly knowledgeable staff, all-request sound systems, getting new releases first, and giving away free licorice.[1] He recalls that the Licorice Pizza name was selected because he heard it to describe a record on the Bud & Travis... In Concert album and it sounded better than "Jim's Records."[citation needed]

Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons, worked at one on Sunset Boulevard in the early 1980s, where he first printed and sold his comic strip Life in Hell.[4]

One of the stores can be seen in the Ridgemont Mall in the 1982 film Fast Times at Ridgemont High.[citation needed][importance?]

Licorice Pizza was acquired by Sam Goody in 1986.[citation needed]

  1. ^ a b Bell, Sadie (2021-11-24). "The Real Licorice Pizza Was an Incredible SoCal Record Store Chain". Thrillist. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
  2. ^ Raga, Pippa (2021-12-29). "Where Did Paul Thomas Anderson Get the Title 'Licorice Pizza' From?". Distractify. Retrieved 2022-03-14.
  3. ^ Nichols, Chris (2021-09-15). "A Look Back at Licorice Pizza, the SoCal Record Store P.T. Anderson's New Movie Is Named After". Los Angeles Magazine. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
  4. ^ Chocano, Carina (2001-01-30). "Matt Groening". Salon.com. Archived from the original on February 4, 2007. Retrieved January 14, 2007.