wedding road trip

Lesson #1: Things Aren’t Always As They Seem

There’s nothing like having a self-righteous goal to make a blog and a Wedding Road Trip worthwhile. Since we’re egotists of the highest level, we have several: eating local, working out every day, and doing the whole wedding thing on the cheap. Yes, we pat ourselves on the back daily for our piety and often give ourselves cookies (locally-made, of course).

So it shouldn’t surprise you how excited we were to stumble upon a quaint little local pizza joint in Dunsmuir, California. The Pizza Factory boasts a wall of high school jerseys, a game room of arcade delights, and colorful local patrons who chat it up at the counter. When we walked into the restaurant, Chris and I looked at each other and nodded sagely. Finally, we were experiencing the real America that we had been dreaming about since we started planning the trip. We ate our food and jumped back in the car, vowing to write a blog about our first local restaurant of the trip.

As I was preparing the blog, however, I quickly found out that the Pizza Factory isn’t a local restaurant, rather, it’s part of a huge franchise that spans Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, and several other states. In fact, if I were so inclined, I could start my very own Pizza Factory franchise in San Francisco by calling (800) 654-4840.

Nice. So basically we screwed our entire objective at the very first place we went to eat. Who’s self-righteous now?

That being said, it did cause me to think about another option for small business owners in the United States. If owning your own local business isn’t in your financial cards, a franchise might very well be the next best option. Many companies who franchise offer some flexibility to their franchise owners, allowing them to infuse local flavor into their establishments. Applebees is an example of a franchise that does just that, although, they all look exactly the same and are basically covered with framed flea market finds.

The Pizza Factory in Dunsmuir, however, was surprisingly fresh, hence its ability to trick Chris and me into thinking it was a local joint. The staff was friendly, the food was good, and the decor made me feel right at home. Chris was desperate to play a game of Ms. Pacman, but unfortunately, time was short and the road to Eugene long.

Eat Local

Chris and I have committed to eating only at locally owned restaurants while on our Wedding Road Trip. Granted, some of these “restaurants” will be the dining room tables in some of the homes of our nearest and dearest. But still…

Eating local means no McDonald’s run in between Seattle and Boise, no Burger King dash between Las Vegas and Santa Fe, and no Chili’s side trip between Oklahoma City and Branson. It also means we’re not likely to gain ten pounds from high fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated oil consumption.

More importantly, we will be supporting the local businesses around the country who are most likely suffering from lost profits during this difficult time.

We’ll share the story of each of these restaurants with you as we make our way around the United States. In fact, if you know of one we should visit, please let us know!