Best answer for this would probably be a locally/regionally famous pizza place, Satchel's. My wife and I don't go there as much as we used to now with kids and how expensive eating out can be, but it is our place. We got engaged there in college in the corner booth with the staff taking our picture and posting it on the wall there.
That was 16 years ago and It started a tradition where other couples that have gotten engaged there, Satchel's has taken their picture and put it near ours (can verify ours is still there, just faded). I also taught Satchel's kid US history so that is another cool connection.
If you're ever down our way, highly recommend Satchel's. It seems like a business that you would be down to support. Super environmentally friendly and community conscious. They pay relatively high wages, have paid leave, and set weekends for their staff (closed Sunday-Monday). For a long time they were also cash only and if you needed cash there was an ATM where the fees to use it were donated to public school projects or other community-based projects in Gainesville. That kinda stuff made paying a little more for their pizza enjoyable.
BTW, their pizza is phenomenal especially their homemade crusts *insert* chef hand gesture emoji.
What you wrote today is also something that I have been wanting to do for a long time, but crazy schedules and having so much to do around the house makes it harder to be a super regular anywhere. Definitely a growth area that I need to work on.
Ah, this is so true. After a year in Copenhagen I'd finally started to feel a bit like a regular at a great cafe near my job, but we moved offices this week and I probably won't be back terribly often. Time to find a new haunt. Thanks for the reminder that it's worth it.
I am also in a space where the place I moved to does not yet feel like home. The first couple of years it didn’t bother me. I assumed it would come with time as it had my last home, Chicago. But 6 years later and LA is still just a place that I live, not home. I never really thought about the idea of being a regular somewhere but perhaps that is one of the missing pieces. Thanks for the advice.
When we moved from one part of Richmond to another about a year ago, I was sad to leave my regular spot, a restaurant/store/coffee shop called Blue Atlas. Today, I'm really grateful to be a regular at a coffee shop called Front Porch Cafe. One barrista has recently started to pour my coffee before I order it, and it makes me happy.
I appreciate how you phrased capitalism's role here, and your take on how being a regular is a way to dull some of that sharpness.
"I've never stayed in place long enough to be a regular" was a regular lament when I was young and bouncing around more than I eventually would, although part of that was also that being a regular costs more money than not being a regular. Anyway, I am about to move again and I regret that may no longer frequent a local breakfast burrito place that knows my name. I was touched in a way that this post implicitly understands the first time I realized they didn't ask for my name, then called it when my order was ready. The next time I made sure to ask the order-taker's name, and tried hard to remember it, a thing I am generally not good at.
We're finally back in Seattle for good this week and it felt so good (for us and for Murphy) to still be recognized at Deep Sea Sugar and Salt around the corner!
Best answer for this would probably be a locally/regionally famous pizza place, Satchel's. My wife and I don't go there as much as we used to now with kids and how expensive eating out can be, but it is our place. We got engaged there in college in the corner booth with the staff taking our picture and posting it on the wall there.
That was 16 years ago and It started a tradition where other couples that have gotten engaged there, Satchel's has taken their picture and put it near ours (can verify ours is still there, just faded). I also taught Satchel's kid US history so that is another cool connection.
If you're ever down our way, highly recommend Satchel's. It seems like a business that you would be down to support. Super environmentally friendly and community conscious. They pay relatively high wages, have paid leave, and set weekends for their staff (closed Sunday-Monday). For a long time they were also cash only and if you needed cash there was an ATM where the fees to use it were donated to public school projects or other community-based projects in Gainesville. That kinda stuff made paying a little more for their pizza enjoyable.
BTW, their pizza is phenomenal especially their homemade crusts *insert* chef hand gesture emoji.
Thanks as always for writing!
What a cool place, and man, that is some serious "regular" cred, wow. New goal: get my picture on the wall somewhere!
What you wrote today is also something that I have been wanting to do for a long time, but crazy schedules and having so much to do around the house makes it harder to be a super regular anywhere. Definitely a growth area that I need to work on.
Ah, this is so true. After a year in Copenhagen I'd finally started to feel a bit like a regular at a great cafe near my job, but we moved offices this week and I probably won't be back terribly often. Time to find a new haunt. Thanks for the reminder that it's worth it.
It's such a hard thing to give up. Best of luck finding your new favorite place!
I am also in a space where the place I moved to does not yet feel like home. The first couple of years it didn’t bother me. I assumed it would come with time as it had my last home, Chicago. But 6 years later and LA is still just a place that I live, not home. I never really thought about the idea of being a regular somewhere but perhaps that is one of the missing pieces. Thanks for the advice.
Thanks for sharing these reflections, Staci. I hope you find somewhere that makes LA feel like home!
When we moved from one part of Richmond to another about a year ago, I was sad to leave my regular spot, a restaurant/store/coffee shop called Blue Atlas. Today, I'm really grateful to be a regular at a coffee shop called Front Porch Cafe. One barrista has recently started to pour my coffee before I order it, and it makes me happy.
I appreciate how you phrased capitalism's role here, and your take on how being a regular is a way to dull some of that sharpness.
So clutch to reach that stage. Saves time and energy and makes you feel welcome!
"I've never stayed in place long enough to be a regular" was a regular lament when I was young and bouncing around more than I eventually would, although part of that was also that being a regular costs more money than not being a regular. Anyway, I am about to move again and I regret that may no longer frequent a local breakfast burrito place that knows my name. I was touched in a way that this post implicitly understands the first time I realized they didn't ask for my name, then called it when my order was ready. The next time I made sure to ask the order-taker's name, and tried hard to remember it, a thing I am generally not good at.
Ah man, that last bit is really so important and so overlooked. I hadn't even considered that when writing this!
We're finally back in Seattle for good this week and it felt so good (for us and for Murphy) to still be recognized at Deep Sea Sugar and Salt around the corner!
Hell yeah man. Looking forward to seeing you guys in June!