Family owned and operated since 1923.
PAPPAS’ SWEET SHOP RESTAURANT
By Pat Veltri
For more than nine decades Pappas’ Sweet Shop Restaurant of Raton has had a hand in putting food on people’s plates. The restaurant is currently owned and operated by Ann Marie (Pappas) Rigdon and her son Matthew Rigdon. Starting with Ann Marie’s grandfather, Jim Pappas, and extending to her son, Matthew, who does most of the cooking for the restaurant, four generations of the Pappas family have served a multitude of Raton folks, as well as a host of celebrities, sports stars, politicians, tourists and international visitors.
Jim Pappas partnered with Gus Petritsis to open the original Sweet Shop on November 9, 1923. It was primarily a candy and ice cream store, but they also sold a few sandwiches. The Sweet Shop was located in downtown Raton, next to the movie theater.
When Gus Petritsis retired, he sold his interest to Jim, and from then on the Sweet Shop was entirely in the hands of the Pappas family. Jim, with the help of his wife Katherine, ran the business successfully until 1958, when his oldest son Mike took over.
The business continued to grow and in due course a restaurant was added to supplement the candy and ice cream business. In 1973, nearly fifty years after it was founded, the Sweet Shop moved to its present location in south Raton.
Various changes took place over the years, including the elimination of candy-making, as the family enterprise evolved and passed from one generation to the next.
After Mike Pappas passed away in October, 2013, the Sweet Shop’s future was uncertain, and the restaurant was closed for several months. With some guidance from the television show Restaurant Impossible, the restaurant re-opened in May, 2014. The Coffee Shop was remodeled with a new retro look and the Dining Room was transformed into a banquet and special events room.
Since the re-opening, the Sweet Shop is once again serving breakfast. It was voted Best Breakfast Restaurant for Raton in TidBits of Colorado in 2022.
The Sweet Shop’s signature sandwich, chicken salad on homemade bread, has been on the menu since the beginning and continues to be the most popular lunch item. All sandwiches are served on homemade bread, made from Katherine Pappas’ recipe, and baked in the restaurant’s kitchen. New Mexican food items are still very popular!
At Pappas’ Sweet Shop the food is fresh and delicious, the service is friendly and efficient, and the décor provides interesting bits about Raton’s history. Hours are Wednesday-Saturday from 8:30 am to 2:00 pm and Sunday 8:00-1:00
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