40+ Years of Pizza: The Story of Patellini’s on Main Street

No place is better on a rainy day than somewhere with a good slice of pizza. So for this episode of Why Sarasota, I ducked into Patellini’s on Main Street to talk with Anish Patel, whose family has been serving downtown for more than three decades. A concept his father started in Atlanta in 1985 found its way south and made Sarasota home, and Anish grew up right alongside it. Here is our conversation.

About as Close to a Native as It Gets

Anish was born in Atlanta and arrived in Sarasota at two or three years old. He went through the Sarasota school system and, as he puts it, pretty much grew up on Main Street. That makes him one of the best people I know to ask how downtown has changed, because he watched it happen from behind the counter.

From Atlanta to Main Street

The family story is a remarkable one. When I asked about his parents, Anish explained that they came from Africa, displaced by a dictatorship. Along the way his father learned the art of pizza making, landed in Atlanta, and started a small pizzeria there in 1985, eventually running a few of them.

Then they discovered Sarasota. They had family in other businesses here, came down, saw the area, and decided this was the place. They opened on Main Street in 1992 in a building directly across the street from where they are today, stayed there until about 2010, then had the chance to buy their current building. They moved right as Anish came home from college, and they have been there ever since.

Why Sarasota? Back then, Anish said, leases were affordable, the original Quay was down on the water, and you were walking distance from Sarasota Bay. The scenery sold them, and the community was so welcoming they never looked back. It is the same reason a lot of us came here, including me from upstate New York.

The Name

I had to ask. Patellini’s sounds like a traditional Italian family operation, and people do put two and two together eventually. Anish never got the chance to ask his dad directly, but the story tells itself: the family name is Patel, and his father added the “lini’s” to make it sound Italian. People get a kick out of it, and it has been their name for more than thirty years.

Why It Has Lasted

The restaurant business is brutal, and very few independent spots survive thirty-plus years in one neighborhood. When I asked Anish what has made that possible, his answer was simple: it is family owned and operated. His father ran it, his mother ran it, Anish ran it, and today his cousin and uncle are carrying it forward. As he put it, as long as there is a Patel to run it, it will keep running.

What to Order

Patellini’s is known for New York-style slices done build-your-own: the slices are part-cooked, then finished with whatever toppings you choose. The one they are known for is the white slice, with spinach, ricotta, garlic, and tomato. They also keep up with the trends, so you will find things like hot honey pepperoni, but the cheese and pepperoni classics are always there. My daughter does not eat anything else.

The bestseller, though, is the deal they have run for about thirty years: two slices and a drink. When they started it, it was $1.99. Today it is around ten dollars, which, as Anish joked, means it has gone up roughly ten times in thirty years. It is still one of the best quick, affordable lunches downtown, popular with people heading to a meeting, office workers, and other hospitality workers who want a real meal without a sit-down dinner bill.

Open Late, and They Deliver

Patellini’s is one of the few quick-service spots downtown that stays open into the evening, until 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, at the time we filmed. Check their site for current hours.

They also deliver to the islands. If you are staying at a hotel on Lido Key or Longboat Key, they can bring it to you, and they do a lot of catering and office lunches for the downtown buildings around them. You will find them on the third-party apps as well as through their own in-house delivery.

How Downtown Has Changed

This was the part I most wanted to hear. I have watched Sarasota change a lot in four years, so I can only imagine what Anish has seen.

When he was growing up, he said, downtown did not have a building over ten stories. It was mostly single-story, with few condos and lots of small owner-operated businesses. No roundabouts, no real traffic. He has watched thousands of businesses come and go and a great deal of development rise around the shop.

What struck me is that he does not lament it. The secret is out, he said, and our small beach town has become a city. Everyone complains about parking and traffic in any city, and downtown is no exception, but he sees the growth as a good thing. In his words, it is not only the businesses that make this place great, it is the people, including the neighbors who have been here twenty and thirty years right alongside them.

Where Downtown Grows Next

Because the family also owns property around downtown, I asked where he sees the next wave. His answer: the Gillespie Park and Rosemary District areas. West of the Trail has always been nice, he said, but those neighborhoods are becoming a younger entry point, with hip businesses aimed at that crowd. He expects downtown to keep expanding in every direction, with each pocket offering something of its own.

That lines up with what I see on the ground. If downtown living appeals to you, my Sarasota city guide and my look at the most walkable places to live are good places to start.

Anish’s Tip: Ride the Bay Runner

I always close by asking for a local recommendation, and Anish’s was one I love: the Bay Runner, the free trolley that runs between downtown, St. Armands Circle, and Lido Beach. As if on cue, one drove past while we were filming.

He thinks it is badly underused. Grab a slice, hop on the trolley to Lido, spend the afternoon on the beach, and ride back, without dealing with parking or worrying about driving after a drink. It is one of the best things the city has added, and I wrote more about it in my guide to getting around Sarasota.

Why Places Like This Matter

Every growing city needs its anchors, the places that were here before the towers and will be here after the next wave of development. A family pizzeria that has fed downtown Sarasota for more than thirty years is exactly that kind of place, and it is a big part of why downtown still feels like a neighborhood rather than just a skyline.

If you are building your own list of local favorites, start with the restaurants I send every new client to, and see my conversations with other downtown owners at Dive and Hive and Food + Beer.

Stop In

Thanks to Anish for showing me around and sharing his family’s story. Patellini’s Pizza is at 1429 Main Street in downtown Sarasota. Stop in for a slice, and tell them Rich sent you. And if a life downtown, or anywhere on the Gulf Coast, has you thinking about a move, reach out any time. Watch the full conversation above, and subscribe on YouTube so you catch the next one.