Animal House Pizza - Beckley, WV

Animal House Pizza was a short-lived restaurant in Beckley, West Virginia that had a Rock-afire Explosion. They opened significantly later than many other entertainment centers with an animatronic band. Their show was relocated from Stageshow Pizza, a restaurant that existed a few years prior in the same city.

History / Background

Very little is known about Animal House Pizza as a restaurant. The restaurant was most likely owned by the same people who ran Stageshow Pizza, its predecessor and where the Rock-afire was originally purchased for. It was at the Raleigh Mall in Beckley, opening on September 12th, 2000. It stayed open until December 31st, 2003 followed by ads offering the closed business for sale, including the show. The show was a classic 3 stage Rock-afire Explosion, a combination of bots from a ShowBiz Pizza Place in Akron, Ohio and Mega Maze in Florida.

A unique thing to note about this show is the extremely small size of the stages and the bright green color they used to paint it. Mitzi somehow lost the M on her sweater and now had her name written in glitter sharpie. In place of Antioch, there was a large purple spider hanging ominously on Billy Bob’s stage. Strangely, the Smitty’s Super Service Station backdrop was not present at this location, but was at Stageshow. The older sunflower variation of the Sun Tree is used. Not much can be said about the show’s condition, though many movements appear to be stuck between photos.

Upon closure of Animal House Pizza in late 2003, a contractor was hired to remove the show and had it stored for awhile. The show appeared for sale on the internet around 2008, which is where the only known photos come from. James Marous purchased the show and had it stored in a warehouse. James was working to ultimately open his own arcade, and was in the process of gathering parts needed to upgrade and complete his show. New cosmetics were gathered from Creative Engineering in exchange for contract work - as Aaron Fechter would often exchange old parts and items from his warehouse rather than pay hired help in cash. Unfortunately, the show and cosmetics were damaged by a house fire in the 2010s, indefinitely delaying the plans for a public installation. The show was offered for sale privately in 2021, finally finding a buyer a couple years later. The collector who purchased the show split it up between several fans, and the show has been parted out all over the country.

Information & Details

Animal House Pizza
4301 Robert C Byrd Dr.
Beckley, WV 25801

Opening Date: September 12, 2000
Closing Date: December 31, 2003

Fate of the show: Owned by various collectors