Pat’s Pizza in Yarmouth is the Most Nostalgic Place for Me in Maine

Hometown Nostalgia

Living in the small town you were born and raised in creates a lot of spaces and places that elicit strong feelings of nostalgia.

The gas station on the corner reminds you of your first car in high school; The vintage Coca-Cola sign on the town store brings you back to lunches with dad, and the back roads have potholes you’ve driven through for years.

For me, the most nostalgic place for me in Maine that makes me feel more at home than anywhere in the state is the Pat’s Pizza in Yarmouth.

Yarmouth Pat’s Pizza

If you’re from Maine, you can spot the green and orange sign the same way you recognize the golden arches. Each Pat’s location has the same awning, sign, and old-school look that lets you know they’ve been holding the fort down for decades without ever having to change a thing.

Maybe that’s why it feels so homey; nothing has changed. It’s consistent and stable and through all the changes I’ve experienced over the last 24 years, Pat’s Pizza has stayed the same.

It’s where my family ordered takeout when I was little on Friday nights. It’s where I went on dates with my first ever boyfriends in high school. It’s where I met up with old friends to catch up with over college breaks.

If you’re from the state, the low hum of mumbling Maine accents and sea of flannels and dirty work pants makes you feel at home. If you’re from out of state, it’s the spot to grab a beer if you want an authentic Maine experience with true locals.

A Local Watering Hole

Pat's Pizza is the type of local joint where you know which faces are going to be sitting at the bar depending on the time of day. The waitresses know your name and order, your family is part of the mug club, and when you walk in you know you're going to run into at least one person you know from your past or present.

My family has been regulars at Pat's in Yarmouth for decades. We used to steal my grandfather from the nursing home, bring him for a beer at the watering hole, then smuggle him back into his care. I was even in the bathroom once washing my hands and someone was staring at me and said, "I'm sorry, but you look so much like one of our regulars." I responded, "yeah, that's my dad."

I remember walking in there for my favorite pepperoni pizza when I could barely walk and I still go today for what is still my favorite pizza in the state. Whether I'm still living in this part of the world or I'm visiting one day, you'll still catch me there with gray hair kicking it with the locals over a nostalgic conversation of "remember when".