John Scondrianis knows a thing or two about running a successful restaurant and bar.
Number one: listen to your family and keep them close by.
Number two: you have to spend money to make money.
He listened to his son Apostolis when the then little boy was walking up to the new restaurant his father had just bought, and saw some birds on the top of the building.
“Look papa, there’s ducks on the roof!” he said.
They weren’t ducks, but the father knew instantly his son had hit on something, and the search for a name for the new business was over.
“I looked at my wife, she looked at me . . .” he said.
That was 1993. Ducks on the Roof has since become a Cochrane institution as a place to grab a beer with friends, watch a hockey game, and – as evidenced by this year’s Cochrane Eagle Readers Choice Awards – enjoy the best pizza in town.
There’s no secret to great pizza. According to Scondrianis, it’s about quality and consistency.
The road to success wasn’t easy, nor was it risk-free. He’s been through six renovations.
He said he looked around when the population of Cochrane was about a tenth of what it is today, and saw no car or foot traffic going by, and asked himself a hard question.
“Am I doing the right thing?” he asked himself.
That’s when he decided to go all-in and renovate, which sounds risky but is a mantra Scondrianis lives by.
“You have to take a chance – in life, really.”
Over – what else? – the aptly-named “Damn Good Pizza” at the restaurant last week with Scondrianis and daughter Sophia, it became clear by the way the staff interacted with them that it’s the extended family that keeps things going.
Server Heather Reid smiles easily and often during the visit.
“Well, she’s been here 30 years,” Scondrianis added.
Bartender Kyle Weeks was the subject of some good-natured ribbing from his “family” during the lunchtime interview.
“John hasn’t fired me yet, so it’s been nice,” he chuckled, before getting serious. “It’s a family-owned business; so, always great to work with.”
“And you have to mention our customers, we have the best customers in the world,” Sophia said.
Scondrianis echoed his daughter’s sentiments.
He said especially during COVID, their customers came through when the take-out and delivery business took up the slack.
“The support we had from the town, it was amazing,” he said. “It kept us alive.”
Regular Jaime Freestone was enjoying her favourite pizza at her favourite pub when The Eagle was visiting.
It’s the camaraderie that keeps her coming back.
“You can come here by yourself and just fit in. It’s just like walking into Cheers,” she said with a laugh.
