6 Beloved Pizza Chains That Completely Vanished

We'll just come right out and say it: Americans love pizza. In fact, according to research by Gozney, a third of people in the U.S. eat pizza every week. That's hardly surprising when you consider the sheer number of pizza options available. The U.S. frozen pizza market, for example, was valued at more than $6.6 billion in 2022 (per Grand View Research). And then there are all the pizza restaurants — we're talking, quite literally, about thousands upon thousands of pizzerias. According to Statista, there were more than 74,000 pizza restaurants in the U.S. in 2024.

Without a doubt, the U.S. pizza market is saturated. So it's probably not a shock to learn that over the years, likely due to all of this competition, some pizza chains just didn't make the cut. Remember ShowBiz Pizza Place? How about Eatza Pizza? Or Pizza & Pipes? Yep, all gone. Find out more about what happened to each of these, and more forgotten pizza chains in the U.S., below.

If you were a kid in the 1980s, there is a good chance you remember ShowBiz Pizza Place. If not, we'll refresh your memory: There was a four-piece animatronic band of animal characters, called The Rock-A-Fire Explosion, who would play rock songs while you scoffed down pizza and guzzled soda. After that, you could play video games, like the 1980s favorite "Dragon's Lair," for example. Has it all come flooding back? 

We can't blame you if ShowBiz Pizza Place was locked in some far, rarely accessed corner of your memory, because the chain has been gone for quite a long time now. While it once had more than 200 locations in the U.S., these all disappeared when it merged with its biggest competitor, Chuck E. Cheese. By the early 1990s, any trace of ShowBiz Pizza Place was gone.

Chuck E. Cheese is, of course, still around, with just under 470 locations left in the U.S. But it hasn't been an easy ride. The beloved family-friendly chain filed for bankruptcy in 2020, but luckily, it managed to emerge a few months later with a new owner. Sadly, though, the animatronics are all gone now. Our take: Chuck E. Cheese is the worst popular pizza chain of all. 

Arizona-based pizza favorite Eatza Pizza opened in Phoenix in the 1990s, and by 2005, over 75 locations were either open or preparing to open. The chain was a big hit, thanks to its salad bar, fried chicken, dessert pizzas, and the star of the show, the all-you-can-eat pizza buffet. Many remember heading to an Eatza Pizza after school was over to gobble up as many slices as they could. Like ShowBiz Pizza Place, there was also plenty of room dedicated to arcade games, too.

But Eatza Pizza didn't have an easy ride. In 2007, for example, it was sued by two creditors, which led to the closure of seven stores. And then things got really bad. The chain was bought out by International Franchise Associates, then practically vanished in the course of just a few months. By the end of the year, its locations dropped dramatically from 100 to fewer than 10.

As of 2025, Eatza Pizza is just a mere memory. But if you miss the pizza chain, there is one way you can still keep it alive. At the time of writing, there are several old Eatza Pizza arcade game tokens listed on eBay.

Back in the 1970s and 1980s, if you wanted to eat pizza with your family while listening to people play the organ, that was absolutely possible. All you had to do was head down to Cap'n's Galley Pizza & Pipes, or, as it was commonly known, Pizza & Pipes. This highly unique destination gave organ players steady work, all while providing families with treasured memories. To this day, people remember sitting and munching away on $5 pepperoni pizza after making requests for songs like "The Phantom of the Opera" and the theme from "2001: A Space Odyssey."

Despite how fun Pizza & Pipes was for many families, it didn't last forever. The biggest issue was the competition, including the aforementioned Chuck E. Cheese. While it once had locations in Santa Clara, Daly City, Fresno, Redwood City, and Washington, these are all long gone. There are a handful of similar restaurants left in the U.S., though, so if you are interested in listening to the organ while you enjoy pizza, you can always head to Organ Piper Pizza in Greenfield, Wisconsin, or maybe Organ Stop Pizza in Mesa, Arizona.

If you lived in Texas in the 1980s, you might remember Pistol Pete's Pizza. The chain was loved for its Chuck E. Cheese-style branding and its iconic commercials. Many remember heading down to Pistol Pete's to play video games, and there were even fairground-style rides, too. The chain was a Texas favorite, and many recall visiting Pistol Pete's Pizzas in El Paso, San Antonio, and Leon Valley, for example, but there were locations in New Mexico and Arizona, too.

Pistol Pete's Pizza was a fun evening out for so many families, but it didn't last. In 1995, it was acquired by a regional rival, called Peter Piper Pizza, and by 2000, all restaurants with the Pistol Pete's Pizza branding had completely disappeared. Peter Piper Pizza is still going, though, with several locations in California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Just like the original Pistol Pete's Pizzas, you can count on Peter Piper Pizza restaurants for game rooms, birthday party packages, and plenty of pizza deals.

The Aronson family opened the very first My Pi pizzeria in Chicago in the early 1970s. Of course, like most Chicago-based pizzerias, it specialized in deep-dish pizzas, all cooked meticulously to a special family recipe. At its peak, it had grown to 25 locations, some outside of Chicago, in states like Florida, New York, Colorado, Minnesota, and Connecticut, but by 2025, the other spots had vanished, and it had shrunk to just one, single location in Bucktown, Chicago. In May 2025, that location announced it was closing for good.

The news hit Chicagoans hard, and many took to social media to reminisce about their time spent at the chain's locations. Some remembered eating at the My Pi's restaurants back in the 1980s, for example, or working there during their high school years. Others loved its more modern offerings, like the vegan pizza options. Some even said that reading about the chain's final restaurant closing had brought tears to their eyes.

You've probably never heard of this vintage pizza chain, but there was a time when Pizza Haven was a relatively big deal in the pizza world. It was founded in Seattle in the 1950s and then grew to more than 40 locations. In fact, it even had restaurants in the Middle East and Russia.

Pizza Haven offered, well, pizza, of course, but interestingly, one of the menu items people seem to remember the most from Pizza Haven was the chicken bisque soup. People also remember that, like many pizza restaurants at the time, it also had an all-you-can-eat buffet and classic arcade video games, like "Ms. Pac-Man."

By 2010, there was just one Pizza Haven left, in Seattle's Center House. However, in 2012, after renovations on the Center House (which is now called Seattle Center Armory), the final Pizza Haven was quietly closed. Instead, a Skillet location took its place.