I picked a really RAPID one instead.
I hurried along Eugene, OR's Franklin Boulevard and into the Glenwood area
that's slowly but surely (not quite rapidly) becoming a part of Springfield, OR.
My destination was
It's a place with Rapids in the name ...and in the whole business model.
There's easy parking...the lot's so large you could ROAR your engine and the neighbors wouldn't notice.
There are Roaring Rapids in the front of the restaurant.
There are Roaring Rapids located outback that give the place its name.
There are Roaring Rapids inside.
There is rapid delivery to your home.
And rapid delivery to your table.
I carefully, but rapidly filled up my plate at the salad bar (where there was little wait to select all my favorite toppings).
I walked briskly, passing the four huge eating rooms,
and chose a table outside beside our wonderful Willamette River.....
where I could hear those roaring rapids and have good sunlight for this picture:
But before I could sit and dig into those succulents, my pizza appeared....rapidly
I think you'd say.
I sat down and enjoyed the soothing sound of the Willamette racing by
at a leisurely August pace...just a wrought iron fence and a steep bank away.
Roaring Rapids Pizza Company and Camp Putt Adventure Golf Park
(located next door ...across that big parking lot).
Steve is a busy guy -- the current President of the Springfield Chamber of Commerce.
Steve and Paul are grandsons of the original owner of this entertainment facility. Then called Pietro's Pizza Parlor it was part of an eventual 69 store regional pizza chain that was sold to Campbell Soup in 1973.
Pietro's began in an era (during my youth) when (at least here in the Northwest) pizza was always referred to as "pizza pie", was always served in a "pizza parlor" and was explicitly marketed with appropriate note given to its "foreign" (i.e. Italian) origin.
Pietro sounded Italian. The signage included a stylized image of an European chef.
Today we say "pizza place"....unless you are older than dirt and let that "parlor" word slip.
We now consider pizza as American as .... French fries.
The Pietro's building here was once out by the street ...the better to be seen by passers-by. Now the restaurant is as far across that giant parking lot from the roaring traffic as possible...the better to see and hear the water.
This was a fun place in the Pietro's days...always busy and bustling' It was once named Pietro's Gold Coast Pizza. It had a roaring twenties theme and may have been the busiest in the regional chain.
It was a forward-looking establishment. It featured a huge, rapidly revolving Merry-Go-Round...in an era before every pizza place realized the value of an indoor playground.
The Merry-Go-Round is still here.
Steve and Paul Roth bought the location, then remodeled and re-branded in 1999 and 2000. They have created a great community asset that reflects
the Northwest's outdoor surroundings.
Now you can bring your company, class or family celebration and enjoy the lodge-like decor of the main building all year round.
There are four huge eating areas. One can be closed from the rest.
In good weather you can reserve the tented eating area surrounded by green grass and placed within sound of the rushing rapids.
If you'd like to get even farther from the restaurant, you can reserve the newly remodeled group facility called the Camp Putt Clubhouse - formerly the rental building for the miniature golf park and - long ago - the original Pietro's Pizza Parlor.
Pick a night you'd like to relax. Get your evening ball rolling by doing a round at Camp Putt.
Roaring Rapids Pizza Co
4006 Franklin Blvd
Eugene, OR 97403-2346
(541) 988-9819
***********************
Jim Hale
Principal Broker / Owner
Graduate, REALTOR Institute e-PRO
2012 Member, Million Dollar Club of Lane County
2012 Member, Real Estate Brokers Million Dollar Club
actionagents.net
1715 Linnea Avenue
Eugene, OR 97401-1962
Office: 541-484-0219
Direct: 541-543-9991
Fax: 541-485-8068
Eugene Oregon Homes / Real Estate jim@actionagents.net
All statistical market data is based on information from the RMLS of Oregon for the dates indicated.
© 2012 All Rights Reserved / Licensed in the State of OREGON
Bravo!!! Great job with the post Jim. As soon as I saw the photo of the patio I could picture myself sitting out there. I'm so glad you diined outside. And that salad. I'll take one, peas and thank you.
And that's the skinniest Canadian Bacon I've seen. You must try a peameal bacon( Thats what Canadians call Canadian bacon) on a bun with mustard. Yum.
Looks like a great place for pizza and for groups. I hope to stop by sometime.
Jenny:
Thanks. It would take a Canadian to set us Southerners straight on Canadian bacon.
If I'd had no work to do I could have sat there all day.
Leslie:
It is a great place. Very clean. Very well maintained. The kind of place you can take a client with pride.
Jen and Leslie:
Thank you both:
With these comments I move into 39th place in Oregon - after 2 1/2 months in the RAIN.
Jim, I love this one! Everything from the bears to the rapids to the Rapid! These guys have a great theme going.
Their theme is very well thought out.
It is a reminder that we should probably find ways to be thematic in presenting ourselves to the public, too.
Hey Jim - You really gave me a sense of what your area is all about with the great photos. Jenny's right - Try some "peameal" Canadian bacon :-)
Peameal sure beats greasy strips. But it's not cheap.
Peameal? Sounds like something you might feed to livestock.
Where would I get this great bacon?
Jim, Your post is fantastic. I love the amount and quality of your photos and they tie in perfectly with the text. I generally use a few (I used to think a lot) of photos in my posts, but you have definitely shown me a better format and you have shown that a lot of photos can work very well. Thanks.
Gary:
Any compliment from you is valuable to me. Thanks.
As a huge Pizza fan, I may have to let you take me here next time I'm in your area.
Todd:
It's a deal. You get pizza. I get to pick your brain.
What a great post! I've never been to Eugene, OR but I will definitely stop at Roaring Rapids Pizza when I get there! Beautiful pictures and setting. Not much to compare in Fuquay Varina NC !
Nellie:
Oh come on now, Fuquay Varina is not so bad. Really. Especially for those of us who have been there....and know how to spell it.
These pics bring back a lot of memories. I worked at Pietro's in my high school years, from May 1978 to July 1980. It was one of the very few places that ground its own meat, and made its own dough and its own secret recipe sauce from scratch, every day. Outside, along with the merry-go-round, there was a scale-model train ride for the kids, and inside were video games and a vintage player piano. Yes, it was a very busy place in which to work, especially after an Oregon home football game. I wouldn't say the atmosphere was roaring 20's, more like the gay 90's (1890's), given the preponderance of garish wallpaper and some really unique photos. It's nice to see the restaurant resurrected somewhat, with modern touches.
There was a fellow named Mitch who lived on the Glenwood property, off to the side, in between the front and back parlors. Are Steve and Paul related to him?
Thanks, and have a good day.
Steve -
Thanks for stopping by this post. Roaring Rapids and Camp Putt next door are a great asset to this community.
You are probably right. It was more Gay Ninties than Roaring Twenties.
I don't know Mitch. So I can't help you there. My sense is that the restaurant and miniature gold course now cover the entire property, but I could be wrong.
Thanks for commenting. I think I know you, actually.