Rachael Ritchie

Riding the ebb and flow of a transient town

Athens: Glimpses of home

By Jenaye Antonuccio (photo by Sherry DiBari)
March 13, 2008

Habitually setting her expectations low, she’s hardly ever disappointed. Instead, each day carries a pleasant surprise. Tall and sunny with a broad smile, Rachael Ritchie doesn’t let much get her down.

But she does worry.

Ritchie, who with her husband, Shawn, owns Goodfellas Pizza and Lucky’s Sports Tavern, worries about the price of cheese.

And if her kids will have school.

And if people will undergo a change in the way they socialize.

“The past 10 years have brought change in technology,” she said. “It is crazy to think that things are going to be the same in five more years. What happens if no one goes out anymore, don’t meet face to face in a social setting, and (instead) stay in and play online?”

For Ritchie, all these things affect the security of her job. But for today, she loves what she does. To prove it, she has calluses on her hands from constantly rolling out dough. And she brings her girls to work on snow and flood days for extra help, modeling a true family business.

When Ritchie’s husband was given the opportunity to purchase Goodfellas three and a half years ago, she had stipulations.

“I said ‘If we are really going to do this,’” remembered Ritchie, “’then I’d like to have my hand in it.’”

She and her husband trade time with the girls and spend evenings together. She believes working outside the house makes her a better mother.

“Becoming a mother changed so much,” she said. “It completely puts you on the backburner.”

She works at Goodfellas during the day, preparing for and serving the lunch crowd.

“I like the people,” said Ritchie, “I have my people that come in all the time. Everyone likes to come back to Athens. Students visit, tell me what’s going on.”

Ritchie, turning 30 this year, is often mistaken as a student, but she soon proves them wrong.

“The older customers say, ‘You have midterms?’ The younger people know that I’m not their age. They are just starting to realize that I actually do run the place.”

Filling the needs of students who don’t call Athens home is a different type of commerce.

“We are not affiliated with the university,” said Ritchie, “but we are on the university schedule, have the late hours at night.”

It is tempting to feel ostracized.

“Uptown business owners are different,” Ritchie explained. “It seems like neither group (the university nor the students) really gets you. I really identify with the other bar owners and the other uptown business owners. We have our little get-together we can be (stronger) in.”

Since coming here to Athens 12 years ago, Ritchie is recovering from being a people pleaser.

“I was green and naïve,” said Ritchie. “Some people are just looking out for themselves. In a lot of ways, I’m still very green but I believe in the goodness of people.”

Priorities are different now with a family and bills to pay. Though customer satisfaction is key, business decisions are weighed carefully.

“Did I make people mad? Yes, I did,” she said. “Did I make the best decision? I still believe I did.”

She is committed to relationships.

“Different vendors will promise me this, that, or the other, but if I have established a relationship with another vendor, I can’t just jump ship and go.”

The price of flour has skyrocketed since three years ago. Less acreage is devoted to wheat crops and is instead given up for corn, which is used in ethanol production. The farmer must pay more for limited supplies of grass and grain to feed cows.

Subsequently, the costs of dairy products are rising. The main cost in pizza making is cheese, and flour is a close second. Bakeries across the nation have been affected by the increase. This worries Ritchie, but she is genuinely undaunted about her future.

“I’d like to think that I usually have a smile on my face,” said Ritchie. “And if I ask you how you are doing, I’m not expecting a ‘fine’ in return. If you ask me how I’m doing, I’m going to tell you, ‘You know, I’m a bit tired today.”

She said she values seeing things through from start to finish, just like adding yeast, flour and water together to make dough. Softball, soccer and bowling keep her active all year round.

For cerebral stimulation, she loves sitting down with a good crossword puzzle. Becoming a nurse is a challenge she aspires to meet someday.

Ritchie said she believes the compact coziness of Athens allows for success of the individual.

“If I wanted to go out and change something I could,” she said. “If I were somewhere else, it would be like a drop in the bucket. Your voice can be heard in this town; you can get on your soapbox and scream it out. Everyone is so visible. If you want to make a difference, you can in a good way or a bad way.”

The ebb and flow, the full-swing rush of the quarters, and the calm of the breaks work well for her family.

“It is always changing, always evolving. Customers change every four or five years,” said Ritchie.

She believes this is a cure for the restlessness and boredom befalling many Americans.

It spares her from being stuck in a rut. Every August before fall quarter begins again, she’s ready.

“Athens has its quirks, flaws and idiosyncrasies, but this is definitely a community,” said Ritchie. “I’m not leaving. I don’t entertain the thought.”