Yes I do realize its April 1st and this is not an April fools prank. However, it is a brand New Year for RigaTony’s. Believe it or not, one full year has already raced by since we opened our doors on April 1st 2010. I was told at the time that opening on April 1st was not exactly a good omen, but I think those same people also said our new location was cursed because so many restaurants had failed to make a go of it here. As it turned out this location has been incredible, and thanks to all of you, has been way beyond our most optimistic of expectations.

I think that part of the success we’ve enjoyed has been due to the fact that this is now our one and only restaurant, and Chrissy and I have rediscovered the joy of being restaurateurs. The issues and headaches of managing multiple locations took us away from an intimate connection with the business, and now we say to ourselves, “Oh yeah, this is why we do this!” Not to say that I’ll never do more locations. We’ve been pitched lots of opportunities, but I want to enjoy this for at least another year before we decide to
drive off that bridge again.

It’s also really nice to be part of a family restaurant and I mean that literally. Our children Jenny, Ellen and Kevin all work at RigaTony’s with us as does Ty does when he comes home from college during the summers.

I’ve thought about the year and how fast it’s gone by, but at the same time we’ve accomplished a lot since the opening. Chrissy has focused on developing the most spirited and competent service crew in the city, and the best patio garden in the city. She discovered that she inherited her mother’s green thumb and nurtures everything from eggplant, peppers and herbs right there on the patio. I have been working on a new menu with Chef Hutson that we’ll be introducing in two weeks. During its development we had a brainstorm and decided to change our fresh baked Ciabatta Bread to the Olive Garden’s frozen bread sticks and eliminate that ridiculous antipasto salad we’ve served for 15 years. Hmmm… am I sensing panic, rage or a bit of both? Did you forget the date? April Fools!!! No worries – all of your favorite “sacred cow” items are safe from our meddling. Our revisions consist of introducing eight new items on the dinner menu, and I am really excited to have you try them. I’ll start teasing you with details next week.

I have also hired Jody Chandler, a social media advisor, to give our web site a major tune-up and to tutor Jenny and I so we can become Facebook Experts! I admit to initially being a bit reluctant, but I have seen the light as I realize the incredible potential for us to connect with you in a more exciting way. It’s going to be great fun and I encourage you to friend us at lskjdflsjfjfljfl; . There is a lot going on with our farmers market, wine dinners, retail and take-out special, cooking demonstrations for our new menu, virtual interviews and tours and so on. We have lots of great ideas in the works so you should check in to see if we can pull it off!

Thanks again for being with us through this incredible year. We’re looking forward to sharing more great food, great times, and adventures with you.

Mike Lopercio