Licorice Pizza was a Los Angeles record store chain that inspired the title of

Paul Thomas Anderson Paul Thomas Anderson (born June 26, 1970), also known by his initials PTA, is an American filmmaker. He made his feature-film debut with ''Hard Eight (film), Hard Eight'' (1996). He found critical and commercial success with ''Boogie Nights'' ( ...

's 2021 film of the same name. The term is a colloquial expression for

vinyl records A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts near ...

, comparing them to the color of licorice and the shape of a pizza. James Greenwood opened the first Licorice Pizza record store in July 1969 in Downtown Long Beach. 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 Liquorice (British English) or licorice (American English) ( ; also ) is the common name of ''Glycyrrhiza glabra'', a flowering plant of the bean family Fabaceae, from the root of which a sweet, aromatic flavouring can be extracted. The liqu ...

. He recalls that the Licorice Pizza name was selected because he heard it to describe a record on the ''

Bud & Travis Bud & Travis was an American folk music duo from San Francisco, California, consisting of Bud Dashiell and Travis Edmonson. Bud & Travis began recording together in 1958; Edmonson was related to Colin Edmonson, whom Dashiell had met while servi ...

... In Concert'' album and it sounded better than "Jim's Records."

Matt Groening Matthew Abram Groening ( ; born February 15, 1954) is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. He is the creator of the comic strip '' Life in Hell'' (1977–2012) and the television series ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), '' F ...

, creator of

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...

, worked at one on

Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades east to Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles. It is a major thoroughfare i ...

in the early 1980s, where he first printed and sold his comic strip

Life in Hell ''Life in Hell'' is a comic strip by Matt Groening, creator of ''The Simpsons'', '' Futurama'', and ''Disenchantment'', which was published weekly from 1977 to 2012. The strip features anthropomorphic rabbits and a gay couple. The comic covers ...

. One of the stores can be seen in the Ridgemont Mall in the 1982 film ''

Fast Times at Ridgemont High ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' is a 1982 American coming-of-age comedy film directed by Amy Heckerling (in her feature directorial debut), from a screenplay by Cameron Crowe, based on his 1981 book ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High: A True Sto ...

''. Licorice Pizza was acquired by

Sam Goody Sam Goody was a music and entertainment retailer in the United States and United Kingdom, operated by The Musicland Group, Inc. It was purchased by Best Buy in 2000, sold to Sun Capital Partners in 2003, and filed for bankruptcy in 2006, clos ...

in 1986.

References

Music retailers of the United States Retail companies established in 1969 Retail companies disestablished in 1986 1969 establishments in California 1986 disestablishments in California American companies established in 1969 American companies disestablished in 1986 Retail companies based in California Defunct companies based in Greater Los Angeles Companies based in Long Beach, California 1986 mergers and acquisitions {{US-retail-company-stub