Muffaletta man
PETERSON HARTER • Sandy’s
WORK • Friday Routine
PETERSON HARTER • owner • Sandy’s
Neighborhood you work and live in: Haight-Ashbury
It’s Friday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
I’m getting everything ready for the shop, doing all the prep for the day, getting ready for the weekend, and if there are any events coming up. It’s basic restaurant stuff: build our sandwiches, cut watermelon for salads, slice the meat, roast the mushrooms, and bake off cookies — anything we need to do to open the doors at 11a.
What’s on the agenda for today?
Part of being a small business owner is finding time to sit down and respond to emails, look at your finances, and try to do projections. That’s one of the difficulties — the amount of hats you have to wear. I try to separate out my days in terms of main categories, and today is catering and events. I’ll set up my prep lists, equipment inventories, start scheduling out, and doing all the staffing.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
I would recommend Kin Khao, because the food is absolutely incredible, and spicy. I went to Minnie Bell’s for the first time recently — the fried chicken was phenomenal, and I ate way too much of the mac and cheese. That menu hits home for me, the soulful, Southern cooking. And then Pizzetta kind of reminds me of a place you’d find in the Village in New York. I just really love the vibe of it. It’s so affordable and the food hits every time.
How about a little leisure or culture?
I just started surfing again after spinal surgery and messing up my shoulder — I found out I had tendonitis, and I’ve finally been doing therapy. I started doing yoga again. I’m really trying to focus on taking care of myself.
I went to see My Morning Jacket at The Greek a couple months ago. That’s my favorite band, and it was an incredible show. And I’m going to see a DJ set tonight with my buddy Joe Fro. It’s called the Texture Summit, and they have some DJs coming in from overseas. The location hasn’t been set yet, but it’s going to be downtown somewhere. It’s not normally my scene, but I’m trying to get out and explore.
Any weekend getaways?
We did an event up in Healdsburg at BloodRoot Wines, right off the main square, as part of the summer market they have. Every time I go up there, I try to eat at Noble Folk. They have pies and ice cream (and I love their pies so much).
What was your last great vacation?
The last actual vacation I took was for my 40th birthday last year. I went to Nicaragua for a surf trip with some great friends. We specifically went to a place called Playa Colorado, on the southwestern coast of the country about two hours southwest of Managua. We got a house right on the beach and all we did was surf. There were some guys that would catch spiny lobsters on the reef and walk around selling them, so I bought some of those and cooked them up, along with lots of beans and rice.
What’s a recent big ticket purchase that you love?
Honestly, there are two of them: A yoga pass for 10 sessions at Haum Studios, to be consistent in taking care of my body. And then a pass for a few sessions for body work with Jetta Moonflower in Sausalito. It’s a combination of Thai massage and stretching. She’ll find a spot and really get in there, pinpointing pressure spots and loosening them up.