As the final stop on our Midwest Tour in April, we visited Organ Piper Pizza in Greenfield, Wisconsin.
Founded in 1976 by Jim Bringe, Organ Piper is special in that it is one of three remaining establishments where you can enjoy live theatre pipe organ music with your pizza, and it has been open for business continuously (with some limitations during the pandemic) since its founding.
The restaurant is now owned by Derek Paikowski. Derek was learning to be a machinist in high school, and worked at Organ Piper as a busser. Derek worked his way up to cook, and became very knowledgeable with the operation of the business. In 1998, he became part-owner, and finally sole owner in 2015.
In 2017, Derek bought the building, which previously had been leased. This may have been a very wise move, since many pizza & pipe organ restaurants closed over the years (including the Organ Grinder) when it was time to renew the lease and satisfactory terms could not be reached – It costs a fortune to relocate a pipe organ, and landlords know that, putting restaurateurs in a weak negotiating position.
During the COVID lockdowns, Derek implemented delivery using popular online services, while producing occasional Internet streams of pipe organ performances in an otherwise-closed dining room. Patrons continued to support the restaurant – despite not being able to hear the organ in-person – which speaks to the importance of food quality when it comes to sustaining a pizza & pipe organ format. The organ alone can’t sell pizzas, at least not in the long term.
The main organist at Organ Piper is Zach Frame, who took over from Dave Wickerham. Zach grew up attending the restaurant, starting around the age of five, which was his first exposure to theatre pipe organs. “Organ piper was around before I was, frankly.”
Zach comes from a musical family, with his mom taking classical pipe organ lessons in college, and his dad playing electronic organs in lounges as a side job.
Speaking of side jobs – it is usually the case that theatre organists performing and teaching careers are indeed a side job. But Zach works full-time in the theatre organ world, not only performing most evenings that the restaurant is open, but also helping maintain theatre organs in the area including the large instrument at Carma Labs, as part of his organ technician business, as well as occasional trips to perform as a touring concert theatre organist.
Check out our previous post and video featuring a complete 45-minute performance set!
Lastly, a bit of Organ Grinder-related trivia. When Organ Piper was first under construction, a permit application was filed with the City of Greenfield for a sign, and it shows that the founder originally intended to call the place “Organ Grinder”, complete with a monkey attached to the sign (this version with a motorized wagging tail) – Wonder where he got that idea!
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