10/06/2026
So there’s a lil post running around out there in FB land, We were specifically mentioned and then blocked from the post(Cringe Safford folk these days).
(Valued Customer), not sure how you ended up here in the “Twilight Zone,” but we certainly appreciate you bringing attention to local, honest, made-from-scratch food programs.
We’re also very aware that some of the local palate simply prefers the “other than made-from-scratch, fast-food 🚮, consistently served with a smile” model. And that’s okay. People are free to spend their money wherever they choose.
What I do find interesting is the amount of conversation surrounding local restaurants from people who haven’t actually given those restaurants a fair shake.
We’ve been here for nearly four years now. Four years of putting our heads down, making food from scratch, bringing a true Italian-inspired concept to a market that didn’t have one, employing local people, continually evolving our menu, and trying to raise the bar.
And in those four years, we’ve watched people imitate products we introduced, while others have gone out of their way to spread negativity, make comparisons to completely different restaurant models, or take shots at what we’re doing without ever really understanding it.
We’ve even had people go as far as trying to turn our business into part of the conversation surrounding another restaurant’s closure.
That’s where I think this conversation gets interesting.
Everyone says they want more options. Everyone says they want better restaurants. Everyone says they want local businesses to succeed.
But wanting something and actually supporting it are two very different things.
We hear it all the time:
“I can make that better at home.”
“You know what you should do?”
“That’s too expensive.”
“Such-and-such place does it cheaper.”
And yet many of the same people will complain when another independent business disappears and wonder why there aren’t more quality options in the Valley.
We understand that not everyone is going to like our food, our concept, our prices, or what we’re doing. That’s business. What we don’t understand is criticizing something you haven’t experienced—or deciding what we are based on what someone else says.
We came here because we believed the Gila Valley deserved something different. We weren’t trying to recreate the fast-food model or simply put another version of something already here.
We raised the bar because we believed there were people here who wanted it.
And after nearly four years, those people have proven us right.
So genuinely, if you’ve never been to Fancy Pizzeria, have you ever actually given us a fair shake?
Come in. Try the food. Experience the restaurant. Then tell us what you think.
You may still decide we’re not for you—and that’s perfectly fine.
But at least then your opinion will be based on what we actually do, rather than what someone else told you we do.
And if we truly want more independent, quality restaurants in the Gila Valley, perhaps the better question isn’t “Why do these restaurants keep closing?”
Maybe it’s “What are we doing to make sure the ones we want actually have a reason to stay?”