This article is part one of a series describing how locations in the Mystic/Groton area have changed over the last 100 or so years.

Mystic Pizza used to be a General Store:

One of the most well-known Downtown Mystic restaurants, located on 56 W. Main St, is Mystic Pizza. Mystic Pizza was heavily publicized by the 1988 drama of the same name, filmed in Mystic. Now it is a popular place for tourists to enjoy when they visit Mystic. The building the restaurant occupies now,  actually used to be a general store. William E. Wheeler Sr. started his business with his son on Water Street in 1867. After he retired, his son, William E. Wheeler Jr., continued the business. In 1884, Wheeler Jr. built a new store on the corner of West Main Street and Bank Street and the business was continued into the early 1900s. Various businesses were located there over the years, such as a laundromat. In 1973, Mystic Pizza opened and the location was later endorsed by the 1988 movie. The building currently has changed dramatically, but if you look carefully you will notice many of the original features of the building.

Sources:

https://www.mysticpizzaoriginal.com/our-story

http://www.mystichistory.org/collections.htm (Mystic Historical Society)