When I walk into Pasta La Fata, at least one staff member calls out and greets me by name. That’s what happens when you go there every day and they have a “Merrill” button, or whatever your name is, on the register. Last June I won Pasta La Fata’s raffle for a year’s worth of food. For owner, Shelly La Fata, this is defined by $15 of free food every single day they are open for business.
Sometimes people ask me if I get tired of eating at the same restaurant all the time. Those people may not know that the menu varies every week and sometimes by day. Plus, there are two bakers on staff. I can get a bag of cookies or a cup of coffee and a slab on Cheesecake Thursday. The short answer is “no,” I’m not tired of eating fresh, from-scratch food every day. More than anything, it feels a bit like having a personal chef.
The Pasta La Fata crew has accounted for a staggering proportion of the food I’ve eaten over the last year. Though I feel the pride and care they put into the food they make for me, that part of this experience is normal. They do that for everyone.
The prize of free food every single day is unusual, or in Shelly’s words, “a little crazy.” This is part of her mindfulness of the community she is creating — a revolution in restauranteering. The kitchen staff is not hidden behind a wall. They work in an open space — visible from the front door or the counter. This made it possible for me to learn their names, too, to be aware of the person making my food. Now I can visit with Alan when I see him at the dog park with Beavis. Moki gives me hugs, and sometimes Avery blows me kisses from the kitchen.
Shelly never instructed the staff to greet me when I walk in the door, but she knew it would happen. She told them they were going to “adopt someone” into their family. To be fair, she hires warm people. Before I won the raffle, Lexi and my mother already knew each other because of my mother’s love for crab ravioli every Wednesday.
The open space concept was purposeful. It derived from the most fundamental part of Shelly’s mission which is about being accessible and flexible — listening and responding to the needs of customers. She recognizes the resistance to change that can doom restaurants.
Pasta la Fata has undergone some shifts since opening its permanent location (it started as a Columbia Farmers Market vendor and then a pop-up). Its first version was mostly an Italian market and take-away business, tailored for busy lives, until customers made it clear they wanted more dine-in seating. Shelly also recently changed the take-away containers. It may seem a small thing but was the only consistent criticism she received about the restaurant.
In addition to quality food, prepared with respect for her Italian heritage, there are a few things that Shelly won’t compromise. She values her employees as part of a team — training them to rely on each other. Sometimes when I am there at an off time and things are slow, I am lucky enough to hear the crew singing together as they work. Shelly has spoken up publicly for increasing the minimum wage and rewards her management team with travel, sometimes together and sometimes for individuals. In return, employees are invested in Shelly’s mission.
A couple of years ago, when the restaurant’s local farm producer was unable to work because of medical issues, Shelly and staff planted 300 tomato plants on his land. That season they tended, watered, pruned, harvested, and processed all those tomatoes.
Shelly told me that corporate food vendors are constantly telling her that life could be easier, and her restaurant more profitable, if she would buy pre-made sauce or already-diced onions. But for Shelly, if she is not able to keep the business going with local producers, the work is not emotionally worth it to her — because that is part of her community. She would simply rather make a living doing something else.
The raffle will be held again at the end of June in celebration of the third anniversary of their brick-and-mortar location. I already feel trepidation about when I won’t see the crew quite as often and I’m forced to remember how to cook again. Only one person can win adoption into the Pasta La Fata family, but everyone can be a part of their community.
Dr. Merrill Sapp is an assistant professor and co-director of clinical medicine and director of research at Stephens College.
She has written for Earth Island Journal, About Place Journal, Mongabay News, and other publications. She has traveled the world to learn about and work in the service of elephants.
Her 144-page novel, “Knowing Wonder: An Elephant Story,” was published in January 2025 and is available at Reverberations Books, an imprint of Chin Music Press.
