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University of Maine students and alumni can rest assured that Pat’s Pizza has no plans for changing their pizza or their famous restaurant following the death of founder Pat Farnsworth, Feb. 13, at the age of 93.
“Everything is going to stay absolutely the same, and his sweater will be there and his keys will still be there that he used for the past 70-something years. We don’t change anything unless forced to by rules and regulations,” said Bruce Farnsworth, Pat Farnsworth’s son.
Pat Farnsworth purchased Pat’s Pizza in 1931, and changed it from an ice cream parlor into one of Maine’s most well-known establishments. The family plans to keep the restaurant’s same unique style, according to Bruce Farnsworth, who will be taking over his father’s business.
“It has gone a long way and we first started delivering to UMaine. We were a three-digit [phone] number and we delivered hamburgers, hot dogs and pizzas,” Farnsworth said. “Now they have gone from cash to MaineCard and he [Pat] saw the full gambit of change, and he marveled at that quite often. He always used to say, ‘In my early days they use to have to crank the Model T, and now we’re going to the moon.”
According to Farnsworth, who is the youngest of all four of Pat Farnsworth’s children, not only will the business keep its quality the same, but some of its most well-known aspects will stay the same as well.
“One thing that we always look forward to is alumni coming back for Homecoming,” Farnsworth said. “They come back in and say ‘Geez, my God, it has not changed a bit for years,’ and they look at Pat and say ‘my God, he has not changed a bit.’ It means a lot to alumnus, and that is why Homecoming is one of the busiest weekends of the year.”
Pat Farnsworth purchased the business in 1931 for $150 and since then it has expanded from its original location in Orono to 13 locations across the state.
“[Pat] always got a big kick out of expansion,” Farnsworth said. “He was always under the philosophy he could have opened more stores if he wanted to. He felt it was better to have one good operation than three poorly ran ones.”
Farnsworth said he is looking forward to the challenge of following in his father’s footsteps.
“The thing about owning a Pat’s Pizza is the owner has to be in the store to watch the small details,” he said. “He [Pat] was such a hard worker and growing up through the depression his family learned that they had to watch every single penny, and that was strongest thing that kept the business going. He kept up with the small things like turning the lights off and turning off the faucets when the dishes were done, and people nowadays find it hard to run a business because they do not realize the little things can make or break you.”
Farnsworth may be the head of operations, but he said that Pat’s Pizza will continue to be famous for having members of the family work in the business.
“Everybody wants to chip in to keep his legacy and the idea going and wants to pound in his philosophy,” Farnsworth said. “He believed in keeping the prices low and keep them coming in often.”
