10/05/2026
I've been thinking about and putting together an updated menu for a while. The process is cumbersome and tedious. Last week I felt compelled to write an essay about the changes, something to share on Facebook, but I always hesitate too, because the conversation on social media can always go sideways so easily. I don't want to generate more political talk and arguing.
I basically decided to skip posting it altogether because our regulars love us and will figure it all out eventually and I don't have to deal with negative comments.
Then today on The Daily Podcast was an episode about restaurants. It felt like they were talking about some of the stuff I was writing about just last week, so I decided to post it. I'm turning off comments because honestly I don't have time to read them and I've posted enough here over the years to know that our fans will say to keep on keeping on and do what we gotta do. I love y'all. Thanks for your ongoing support.
Here's what I wrote about the new menu:
My painting is a struggle tonight, and lately a struggle in general. My style is evolving, maybe that's part of it. In February I pinched a nerve in my neck, sending shooting pain down my left arm, for 6 weeks, making it hard to sleep and go about my life as usual. Before that happened my paintings were mostly small and tight. I would use the tiniest brushes and make small collage. I was hunched over the work and so wound up, it's no wonder my spine pinched a nerve and sent me reeling for weeks.
After that when I finally got back around to painting, I prepped much bigger pieces, and converted my sitting easel to a standing one. My brushes are only slightly bigger but my style is much messier. I’ve developed a familial tremor so my hands now shake. I'm trying to embrace the sloppiness of painting but it's hard to change. I like to squawk about people having such a hard time with change and why can't people embrace change? But change is hard for me too. We all get used to things the way they are, the way they've been, and the way we think they should stay.
I like to talk about change because it's inevitable. The more we are looking out for it, the easier it is to accept when it comes. There have been so many changes in my restaurant as it evolved from just a few of us there running the show 23 years ago, to a team of 60 today. From an unknown pizza shop on the edge of town, to a well known local landmark. I've had to constantly learn to adapt, notice what is working and what isn't, to convey to staff how we need to evolve to keep up with demand, and to just get better at what we do. I can recall so many times that I struggled to convince the team that the changes at hand were necessary for growth and evolution.
The time has come for some changes that our regular customers will notice and be curious about. Our business is increasing and we need to do better at dealing with demand. Prices have to increase because our prices are increasing too. No restaurant owner wants to raise prices or make new menus. We don't want to be part of the inflation that surrounds us all the time. Some small businesses fail to react to price increases and they eventually close up. You can be sure the corporate restaurant chains will keep raising prices.
We have 5 people who've been with us 20 years and 2 more adding to that honor in 2027. More than 10 have been with us over 10 years, and some of them over 15 years. For every dollar you spend at Satchel's 50¢ goes to wages. It's not like that at the chains and yet between their profits and their middle management somehow it's more per person to eat at most corporate full service restaurants. I feel we give a good value and I'm often surprised we can do what we do for the price. It’s more than just pizza is it not?
When the pandemic hit I could see that the full service restaurant would continue to be a struggle. It takes a lot more staff and dishes and space and overhead. I started to think that the full service restaurant would become a high end eating experience. That bears out more and more as restaurants look for ways to cut staff and costs. We are still offering the full service experience and even wrapping up your takeout for you. We want to provide a high end service in the most casual setting. That's what we are working towards.
We have a few changes starting this week. The Mama was something I invented so long ago. My wife had just had our first child when we opened. I wanted folks to load those pizzas up so I came up with the Mama: Choose 4 toppings. But now I realize that 4 is really too many most of the time. Fewer toppings make for a crispier pizza. So the Mama will go away and be replaced by the Hat Trick, where you can choose 3 toppings. You can still get 4 if you like but I'm trying to improve the pizzas by steering you to 3.
Our calzone is expensive because of the labor and ingredients it takes to make one. We can make a large pizza for 4 people faster than a calzone that may be for one person. Our calzone is a bit big for one person to eat and a bit small for two. Sometimes one person eats a whole one and often 2 people split one so it can go either way. I want to make the calzone slightly bigger. You should notice your calzone getting a little bigger so that it is more of a solid 2 person meal, or 2 meals for one person.
We started making pan slices on Wednesday lunch and it has gotten very popular. So popular that other lunches can be much slower. So in order to meet demand we are expanding the pan slices availability to Tuesday -Thursday lunch. It's extra work that we can't take on Friday and Saturday lunch just yet but we can add these other 2 days.
Finally the pan pizzas have become so popular on Saturdays that we run out earlier and earlier. So we've figured out how to increase production so we can hopefully have them available well into the dinner rush. We ran out at 3pm on a Saturday recently and that's just crazy. We used to do about 40 and we are increasing to 60 for the weekends. We proof the dough for hours so we can't just make more quickly. Shout out to the kitchen who made this happen on a dime and without a hitch.
All of these changes are geared towards making a better product and hopefully do a better job of keeping up with demand. At the same time we are able to offer good paying jobs that people like. When we have the insane dinner rush after a big Gator home win, and the restaurant is buzzing with activity and Gator spirit and camaraderie, those can be very fun but also very hard on the staff to keep up and keep smiling. Customers get hangry and wait times can get ridiculous. Staff is only snacking through the rush and many work doubles on Saturday because they choose to, and because we need all hands on deck for those crazy nights. Our customers are so kind and generous and I really love that. We notice when we are given grace.
And while all that is happening I’m looking around with shock and awe, trying to sort out what to do next? How do I make everything a little more efficient, or make consistently better pizza? When do I hire somebody to help people park? What’s the percentage of crispy pies going out right now? Nobody’s 100, let’s improve from whatever number we’re at. How do we shave 5 minutes off of a wait time so the customers are happier and leave good reviews, thus keeping us relevant, paying bills, and living our best life? It's important to me to be consistent but also find ways to improve.
In the bad news column, I'm sorry to have to report that the rotating monthly art shows, on the Satchels dining room walls, are going away after almost 24 years, starting in 2027. The walls have decades of nail holes and it's time to redo the walls. I have come to terms with getting older. I am looking for ways to simplify my life. Doing 12 art shows a year in the dining room, the logistics, managing sales and styles, was super cool but the time has come for change. This little neighborhood restaurant is growing and changing. Some changes are harder than others. I will miss this tradition but I'm also excited for what's next. I will curate an ongoing show of my own paintings or art work I've collected starting in the new year.
Thanks for all the sweet 5 star reviews. I read every Google review. When I get the email I wince as I hit open, 5 star or 1 star? WINCE… (occasionally there’s the 2 or 3 star, often there’s a 4 star. 4 is good), but mostly it’s 5 or 1 star. My heart still warms when people say they love it and I still care and feel sad when it goes the other way for a customer. The reviews do really keep folks coming in and thank all y’all for supporting us through the years and for those that have left good Google reviews.
As everything gets more expensive maybe we will all eat out less, but choose more wisely. I hope that you will keep believing in what we are doing at Satchel's, creating a community space and good local jobs. I'll be trying to curate a team of people who believe in the food and service we offer. We're in this together.
Thanks again for everything, now if we can just get that Gator fever back we all had last week!
Come have a pan slice this week, or a Hat Trick.
Satch
