Menu

I am having trouble with posting the menu on the website, so here it is again, a little easier to find at the top of the blog. Just double click the image, and you can see a larger page.

Part of the secret to success in life is to [eat pizza]

Since delving into this whole world of social networking, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the organic nature of technology. It has been said that computer technology is the forerunner to Armageddon, the unfolding of Revelations, the sign of the Devil, or, if you're a Trekkie, entre to the Borg. There's no secret fear of technological invasion -- science fiction drips with it -- and I think many see facebook as such an assault, but I am discovering that this new (at least to me) technology has a wavelike quality that is actually inspiring, and considering that it is maintained by a community of people, then it can’t be all bad. I suppose it’s like the old quote, “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” So I guess we could say that technology isn’t evil, but it’s the people who use it that are the predators. Facebook is a waterfall of ideas, many of them inspired ones that link us inextricably to each other, at least those who are given entrance into our rooms to look at our walls. Some people are afraid – privacy issues, identity theft, predatory danger. And it’s true. There is the chance that you can open your door too wide and let someone in on too much, but there is also the chance that you can open the door just enough to let people see a side of you that you don’t show face-to-face or that you need to show to more people than you would be able to do one at a time. The face of facebook is the face you choose to create and even explore. I know I am not the first person to come to understand these things, but it’s a new and exciting understanding for me. I continue to explore and respect the networking potential of blogspot, facebook, and twitter.

I know this philosophical jaunt into social networking has little to do with pizza, but marketing my restaurant is such an integral part of my day-to-day that now social networking is about pizza for me. Check out my facebook, and you will see -- it's all about pizza. And as an aside, I just put together a website; I am no artist when it comes to creating websites, and I merely used a template, but it’s an organized presentation of the restaurant, so please go and view it when you get a chance.

http://www.miaspizzaandeats.com/

Our life is frittered away by detail ... [eat pizza], [eat pizza]…

Wild strawberry vines, green and voracious with the summer sun, creep their way past a stack of stainless steel napkin holders that long before served their utilitarian purpose. Now they symbolize to me (and probably our neighbors) just how busy the Geiger family has been these last few months, for it isn’t just two, deteriorating cardboard boxes filled with unused napkin dispensers that line our driveway, but it is also three booths covered by a sturdy blue tarp, a hand sink (which now doubles as a birdbath and a curiosity to my one-year-old), and towers of paint cans, leftovers from the restaurant renovation, reminders of a phase of our lives now past.
Today was Matt’s day off, one of very few he gets to take these days, and we enjoyed it, lounging around until noon with Mia, then devoting three strong hours to cleaning and reorganizing the garage and driveway (Mia helped too, but mainly sunbathed in the blue, plastic kiddie pool I bought her at Babies R Us with one last remaining gift card given at a baby shower). It had to be done, not only because we were the disgrace of the neighborhood, but also because it is time to move on and to focus our efforts on the business of running the restaurant. There of course isn’t anything glamorous about owning a restaurant. Matt works twelve to fourteen hour days everyday of the week, and since we opened in April, he has taken only one other full day off. He’s a maniac, a committed, sweet, and wonderful one, but a maniac just the same. It’s amazing how freeing cleaning can be -- I suppose that’s why so many television shows are devoted to its powers. Spiritually, mentally, and physically one is lifted from certain burdensome thoughts and feelings when an area is cleaned. I suppose that’s why Thoreau didn’t like to have too much stuff around -- I guess it made it easier to suck the marrow out of life when there was less to clean.

Today, in our own way, we simplified things.

A Life Without [Pizza] Is Like a Life Without Summer

Spent the day taking pictures of guitars, connecting with musicians on reverb nation, and working on the Savvy Shopper ad. Lots of pictures to show you today. Missing Mia and hoping to get out of here soon. The other day I was searching for pizza art online, and she saw all the pictures of pizzas and said, "Da-dee." She is too smart.

Mia's Bread and Facebook

Today our neighbor Diana is watching Mia for me so that I can come and work on marketing. I joined facebook, which has been a goal for a while, and I have been uploading pics to the site. I came to the restaurant, and Betsy had made some Mia's bread -- she creates it from scraps of dough that she saves throughout the day. It is so lovely. She made me a chicken salad sandwich on the fresh bread, and I loved it.

Mia's Menu

Double click a menu image to enlarge it!

Here is the menu -- finally online. Just click on each image, and you will be able to read it more clearly. Thanks to everyone for supporting us. We love our customers!

Summertime at Mia's

It's summertime and I am free to focus all of my efforts on marketing the restaurant. First thing I want to do is get a website up and running so that people can have access to the menu. Since I am still in the research process, I will focus on this blog and becoming a part of Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter. I am also learning a lot more about the Bluegrass community in the area because we really want some people to come and jam on Tuesday nights. The Haynes family came out to support us when we first began the Bluegrass night back at the beginning of May, but no one has come since. I stopped by Sawnee Mountain Music and talked to Francis yesterday -- she is such a wonderful woman full of insight about how Matt and I can get folks to come and play. Matt and I are also discussing getting together a catering menu -- for birthday parties and for office functions. The focus right now is getting the name "Mia's" into the community.

Bluegrass Tuesdays at Mia's

We want to announce the beginning of a weekly tradition at Mia's: Bluegrass Tuesdays. Just come out and jam on Tuesdays from 7:oo to 9:00. We really want to become a haven for bluegrass and blues musicians and fans. We've got Sweetwater 420 on tap and Sweetwater IPA in bottles; there's a great wine list and additional beers too.

Our Journey Begins

Matt and I started this Mia’s Pizza and Eats journey back before our wedding in October of 2008. Matt had been searching for the right place to begin another pizza place for almost three years, and we found it in Cumming, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta in North Georgia, about 20 miles from Dahlonega. The place was a dump; the minute we walked in, we smelled the dusty remnants of past pizzas coming from the stained industrial carpet, and the walls in the kitchen were covered in slime, grease, and ash. The paint job in the dining area and bathrooms was horrendous, including a black ceiling and black trim.

The lease negotiations began in October, and they weren’t finalized until December. Just watching Matt go through the process was inspiring. He is completely adept at getting what he wants, and he isn’t afraid to walk away if he doesn’t get it. We got the keys December 30. He had 90 days to get the space ready, and he worked tirelessly to do so.

We opened the doors on April 8, 2009, and it was a soft open -- no advertising, no big announcement -- we just opened the doors, put out some balloons, and hoped for the best. It was spring break for most in the area, so many people were out of town. Lots of friends and family came in that first week to support us, to celebrate with us, and to offer their best. Since then, we have built up our clientele, and we keep getting busier and busier. Some have said that we have “the best pizza in town,” and that makes Matt proud to hear.