George and Tami Arias have poured “blood, sweat and tears” into the family restaurant they opened last year, and they believe those efforts along with unique recipes are what have led to their early success.
Papi’s Pizza & Pasta, which opened on Aug. 26, 2024, and is named for George’s father, was voted best new business in the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin’s Readers’ Choice awards for 2025.
For the Ariases, the top priority is the customer.
“What we try to make our most important thing is customer service,” Tami said.
The restaurant’s ordering model is order-at-the-counter, and they try to check in with new customers to make sure they know the ropes and what to expect.
Owners George and Tami Arias at Papi’s Pizza and Pasta.
Though they don’t employ servers, they also don’t yell a number; someone will bring the food from the kitchen to the table.
Since opening, Tami said, the menu has expanded significantly.
“We offer a lot more pastas … a lot more styles,” she said. “Our specials menu is a full page long right now, so we try to rotate, at least quarterly, some special pastas, pizzas, sometimes desserts.”
On top of the variety, pizzas, pastas and salads are customizable. Desserts are made at Tate’s Mercantile in Umapine, Oregon.
In addition to in-house made sauces, the real secret to the uniqueness of the food at Papi’s is the pizza crust.
“Our pizza crust is like a science project,” Tami said. “It’s very finicky.”
George explained that they keep the recipe for its uniqueness despite the difficulty in making it.
“Everybody else in town makes a Neapolitan style crust … this is called an American thin crust, which is very difficult to do,” he said.
When they first opened, the crust made it harder to be consistent, but now they’ve got it down.
“It took us a while because we didn’t even realize how finicky it was,” Tami said.
Owner George Arias holds up a freshly made pizza.
Their other challenge has been their location in Eastgate, so staying relevant throughout the year is a priority. A loyal local customer base and sports teams on their way in or out of town make up a good portion of business.
The parking lot can sometimes give the impression that the restaurant is packed, but oftentimes, they said, there’s room for more.
The patio has panels for insulation and heaters to keep diners warm in the colder months. This provides space when seating would otherwise be a challenge.
The takeout and delivery aspect of business has expanded since opening as well. They do their own delivery in addition to offering Uber Eats and DoorDash but ordering off the website for delivery saves customers money because third party delivery companies charge high fees.
Beer and wine are available, and rotating cocktails may be on the horizon.
“We’re always trying to come up with something new,” Tami said — a mindset that seems to have worked well so far.
