Mooney's Pizza Tavern Verified listing

Mooney’s Pizza Tavern—the incredible build-out of the old Huff’s family restaurant, where Long Beach meets Los Alamitos, Cypress, and Hawaiian Gardens on Wardlow Road—has officially opened its doors.

Located at 8105 E. Wardlow Rd., the restaurant is the work of owners Hal and Cindy Mooney, who have tackled what is unquestionably one of the most beautiful renovations of an existing restaurant space in years. Custom tables, bars, and booths line a space that feels acutely, even solemnly, saturated in nostalgia.

For kids of the 1980s and early ’90s, the pizza parlor wasn’t just a place to eat. It was a full sensory experience. Before everything became corporately streamlined, franchised into oblivion, and engineered for delivery-in-under-30 speed, spots like Shakey’s Pizza and the pre-decline era of Pizza Hut were destinations. Or, for more local flair, joints like La Rizza’s on 7th Street and the still-operating Domenico’s on 2nd Street.

You didn’t grab a box and leave; you slid into a red vinyl booth beneath stained-glass lamps, drank ungodly, copious amounts of soda from massive red plastic cups, waited for a pan pizza that took actual time, and fed quarters into arcade cabinets glowing in the corner. There were pitchers of beer sweating onto plastic trays. Likely checkered tablecloths. Plenty of wood paneling. And that unmistakable yeasty warmth hanging in the air. It felt grown-up and magical all at once.

A place where Little League and soccer teams celebrated. Birthday parties stretched for hours. Parents lingered just long enough to let kids feel independent while they enjoyed a straw-lined bottle of Chianti or ice-cold beer.

Mooney’s Pizza Tavern mimics just this, with an elevated touch. Booths are crafted with love and detail. Red plastic cups are in. Arcade games are a check. The “hidden” space for parties that excited every child of the millennium? Yup they have that, too.

Written and photos by Brian Addison.

For Brian Addison's full feature on Mooney's Pizza Tavern, click here.