May 6, 2011: Pizza Oom Mow Mow

[Werner Weiss]

As you approach the restaurant, a sign on a blue boogie board invites you in: “Surf into Pizza Oom Mow Mow for an endless summer of party-wave pastas, sunny salads, and perfecto pizzas. In Crust We Trust.”

Link to Pizza Oom Mow Mow.

Please discuss it here.

[SueinSac]

Hey, love your columns, Werner.

But I don't think you mentioned that the pizzas were shaped like surfboards when Oom Mow Mow first opened, or that they were pretty good! Times changed, but I still like the pizza tiki. Hope they find a good home for him.

[jpg391]

Great column. I like your back story. But, I do wonder what the real one is. To bad it is gone!!!!!

[mark]

As far as places to eat goes, I really enjoyed Pizza Oom Mow Mow. The food was pretty good and the atmosphere fun. My bet is if the attractions had been designed with as much care as the shops and restaurants, Paradise Pier would have been a hige hit with a successful surfer theme.

[JiminyCricketFan]

Having grown up in So Cal, I always felt that the restaurant was more of a parody of the surf culture rather than a recreation of it. It did not feel real. It felt more shopping mallesque. Somehow it felt more like it was making fun of surf culture rather than celebrate it. Since the place had no specific time period, it really did not feel fun. If it really tried to bring the guest to the 1960's, it might have been more successful. Where were Frankie Avalon and Annette when you need them?

[Werner Weiss]

Having grown up in So Cal, I always felt that the restaurant was more of a parody of the surf culture rather than a recreation of it. It did not feel real. It felt more shopping mallesque. Somehow it felt more like it was making fun of surf culture rather than celebrate it. Since the place had no specific time period, it really did not feel fun. If it really tried to bring the guest to the 1960's, it might have been more successful.

I didn't want to bash Pizza Oom Mow Mow too much, but i agree with your assessment. Pizza Oom Mow Mow did not feel real. It didn't come across as a Southern California beachfront hangout of the 1960s (or any other particular point in time).

Where were Frankie Avalon and Annette when you need them?

On a movie poster inside Pizza Oom Mow Mow:

[Timekeeper]

I actually liked Pizza Oom Mow Mow (?), because it had a bigger selection in pizzas than Redd's in Disneyland, and that the decor was really cool! Also, wasn't it called Pizza Oom Mow Wow?


Timekeeper

[Werner Weiss]

I actually liked Pizza Oom Mow Mow (?), because it had a bigger selection in pizzas than Redd's in Disneyland, and that the decor was really cool!

It will be interesting to see how the pizza and pasta menu at Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta compares to the pizza and pasta menu at Pizza Oom Mow Mow.

Also, wasn't it called Pizza Oom Mow Wow?

It was always called Pizza Oom Mow Mow, not Pizza Oom Mow Wow. (See the photos in the article.)

[Princess Victoria]

I definitely think the concept of a surf culture-based eatery is a strong one. But like many things in DCA, I don't think it was properly realized. Sure, the building was cool and it was loaded with all sorts of props, but the backstory was hard to pinpoint, and it felt more like a parody of surf culture rather than a recreation of it. As a huge fan of surfer music (well, and pizza), I enjoyed eating in there, but it did feel somewhat amiss due to the aformentioned shortcomings of the restaurant.

[Werner Weiss]

I definitely think the concept of a surf culture-based eatery is a strong one. But like many things in DCA, I don't think it was properly realized.

I think part of the problem was the context. DCA could have been designed with a "land" that captured the essence of a little town on the Coast Highway in the 1950s or 1960s, with surfers, artists, vacationers, fishermen, and so on. The architecture, signs, lighting, street furniture, and even the landscaping could have been carefully designed to immerse guests in that place and time.

Instead, Pizza Oom Mow Mow was located within a random collection of other structures (I called it a hodgepodge in the article) that failed to create any sort of cohesive environment for guests.

[rwsmith]

There was the most amazing hibiscus bush in front...