Best days are the ones we work the hardest
Over the years at Pappagallo’s in Satellite Beach we have had many days when it was just seems busier than usual.
These are the days that nothing out of the ordinary happens as the day begins, I mean no ads come out, no reservations for large parties, not an excessive amount of catering on the board, but for some reason we just get crazy busy.
Pappagallo’s in Satellite Beach has the ability to offer more than most restaurants do. Our dining room, and outside patio can seat 150 plus people. That’s a handful in itself but where Pappagallo’s in Satellite Beach kind of separates from most restaurants is we also provide delivery to our patrons as well as offering catering for parties from 5 to 500 people. If all areas of our operation all get busy it can get a little hectic.
On the “crazy” days we may have 3-5 caterings a full dining room for lunch and dinner and take out orders are ringing the phone off the hook. Please don’t misunderstand what I’m trying to explain, I’m not complaining at all. I enjoy the organized chaos, I’m funny that way.
Often times our days start before the sun comes up and don’t end until the next day before the sun comes up. On many occasions a guest will come in for a late dinner and a drink to cap off their long day and they will ask, “hey I was driving by this morning at 5 am on my way to work and I saw the “Pappas” van out front, what’s up with that?”
I just kind of smile and say, ”we were workin“ and the response is almost expected, they reply “and you’re still here?”
I really would like to be able to explain that sense of pride I feel when someone recognizes how hard the crew of Pappagallo’s in Satellite Beach works behind the scenes and after hours to offer our guests the best food and service that we can.
A few months ago I recall a particularly long day, it was graduation time for the local high schools so there was a lot of families with out of town relatives who were here to celebrate the graduation ceremonies. Family from out of town coming in to celebrate a milestone in a young person’s life often will present a dilemma for the host family.
It’s always a pleasure to have 8 extra family members here for the week but with everything else that the resident family is doing to graduate their high school student, sometimes there just isn’t time to cook for the normal size family much less the 10 other people that are here from out of town.
That’s where Pappagallo’s in Satellite Beach catering often can help, the resident family may call and say, hey I have 18 people for dinner tomorrow night and we really want dinner not just sandwiches and chips from the grocery store.
Pappagallo’s in Satellite Beach offers several different options for that problem, I won’t go into them individually right here because the list is long, we have catering trays that you can mix and match to suit your needs and your budget, we only ask for a days notice so we can prepare each order fresh for the day intended.
Regrettably we have had requests for trays of dinners and they need it right away, we always do the best we can to fill these rush orders but we don’t keep a huge amount of dinners remade so at times we simply can’t accommodate last minute catering.
Give Pappagallo’s in Satellite Beach 24 hour notice and we can feed pretty much any size family.
So back to this years past graduation, we had I think 5 individual caterings, we did a lunch for a local car dealership, several reservations for large families who were coming before or after the ceremony and the day ended with a 30 pizza order to project graduation at midnight. This is one of those days that start very early and end very late, but I love getting that much done in the same day. There’s a certain joy watching the staff all hustling around putting order after order together and never missing beat with the in house orders that are coming in throughout the day.
Pappagallo’s in Satellite Beach has been around since 1990 and I am a satellite high graduate from way back in 1983, incidentally I tell all our younger staff how lucky they are to go to satellite high now because back in my day, (that may be the “oldest” thing I’ve ever said) the two main buildings of satellite high didn’t have any air conditioning. Just so you understand, I’m not saying it broke down a lot ,I’m saying we didn’t have any at all.
Class of 2018 marked my 35 year mark since I graduated and here I was still dealing with graduation parties, and loving it. So on this day, May 19, 2018 my day started at 5:30 am and we worked straight through the day and evening and capped off the day with a midnight delivery to project graduation.
As I drove home after unloading the catering van the clock on the wall read just before 1 am, that means an almost 20 hour day and a 14 hour Saturday to follow it. Again I must express, this isn’t complaining I love these days.
People think I love these days because of the sales we ring in and honestly we’re a business that has bills like any other so it’s always nice to get a boost in sales don’t get me wrong but more than that, at the end of that weekend we had served several hundred satellite beach residents and their families. That means Pappagallo’s in Satellite Beach, meals got to be at the center of so many family gatherings and celebrations that weekend and that is honestly my biggest source of pride.
If you’re reading this and you know me you’ve heard me say or maybe you’re about to read it for the first time…
Pappagallo’s in Satellite Beach opened in 1990 as a business, a way to support myself and my family but along the way it changed. We went from being a business to being part of the community, you see, we live here, we work here, our kids went to school here, this is our town and we are deeply proud that we get to be part of so many family and community gatherings.
One of the best ways to express this is a few years back we catered a birthday for a very long time patron. I can’t remember if she was celebrating 85 or 90 years but she had raised a very big family she was very active in the local church. She had ordered food from of for many family events over the years.
I won’t use her name but Mrs B. was a genuine sweetheart and I always loved seeing her come in whether she was dining in or taking something to someone’s house for a particular event she was always a bright spot in my day.
Mrs B.’s health faded as the last few years past, and she was ready to leave this world on her own terms. She had lived a full life raised a big family had grand-kids and great grand-kids so she was definitely a fulfilled woman who lived a happy life.
Mrs B. was so prepared to leave this world she left instructions for her sons and how she wanted her memorial service to go. She wanted this song played at the beginning this hymn played at the end. This family member was to read this specific bible passage and anyone who wanted to say a few words would be given a chance to before service ended .
When I say she was ready to leave this world I think you can tell that didn’t mean she wasn’t prepared to go, but that was how she was and I miss the days when she would come in give me a hug and tell me what she needed, one of her sons became a close friend of mine so close that I trusted him enough to jump out of a plane with, but that’s another story. He would tell me I was Mrs B.’s favorite son. That’s why I say busy days aren’t just about paying the bills, for me it’s like bringing a covered dish to a family dinner.
I almost forgot, when Mrs B.’s son came to order the food for her service he showed me the instructions that she had given of the food she wanted to have for her guests and that it was only allowed to come from Pappagallo’s in Satellite Beach.
This is a why I’m not tired after almost 30 years and countless 20 hour days making meals for our community. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
-Dave