A TRADITION FOOD AND SPORTS 

Love of hockey runs from Colorado to Minnesota

By JIM BAINBRIDGE THE GAZETTE
   No Colorado Springs business has had a deeper bond with the Colorado College hockey program during the past three decades than Panino’s Restaurant, a connection seen on its walls, in its clientele and in its bloodlines.

    Panino’s has been tied to the school’s hockey program since the restaurant was bought in 1974 by former CC All-America hockey player Tony Frasca. It’s still the place to be on game day a generation later with his son Mike running things.

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Reprinted with permission of The Gazette

The Colorado Springs Independent Newspaper
The Independent's guide to sippin', swiggin' and swillin in the Springs
2006

Panino's Restaurant
   The downtown installation of this neighborhood pizza-and-panino destination is a regular hangout for Colorado College students and downtown denizens. Althought it's a popular family restaurnat, it's bar scene is hopping. A longtime supporter of the CC hockey team, Panino's is a great place to enjoy Italian food, the game, a shining Molson sign and a revolving happy-hour menu that pleases even the barest wallet. - BLS
   Full Menu, wine by the glass, wi-fi, TV
   Happy hour: Mon.-Fri. 4-7 p.m., Sat. 4 p.m. to close

Voted Best Place to go on
a "First Date" by
Go Magazine, Gazette Telegraph

Voted Best Sandwiches by
Go Magazine, Gazette Telegraph -1996

“At Panino's, the sandwiches aren't those traditional things with bread and mayo. A panino is a rolled hot sandwich filled with cheese, meat and veggies. There are more than 20 varieties here, from the Popeye with spinach, bacon and cheese to a Smothered panino with beans, cheese and green chili.”

The Colorado Springs Independent Newspaper
Appetite   by: MB Parlow

Forget about those wimpy "wraps"

“The Pizza Bomb: Panino’s blows up your need for the Italian pie”, 

“You want fast and filling, then you want Panino’s. If you stick with the tried and true, you can’t go wrong, and you’ll walk away full.
There are patrons of Panino’s who probably don’t even know the restaurant serves pizzas, pasta, and sandwiches. These are the people who can’t get past the 26 varieties of the signature creation, the panino. Forget about those teeny, wimpy “wraps” that are popping out of the woodwork everywhere from fast-food restaurants to gourmet magazines. Paninos are the original wraps, and nobody has yet to come close to equaling them in creativity, taste or size.
It’s tough to describe a panino. Picture a thin, crispy pizza crust, covered with veggies, meats, cheeses and other toppings, rolled up and baked to perfection. And the fillings are limited only by your imagination.
A panino will cost anywhere from $3.95 to $5.75, and they are enormous. Since they come with a side of coleslaw, potato salad, pasta salad or potato chips, you can easily plan on taking half home for another meal. If that doesn’t leave you full and satisfied, then nothing will."

The Colorado College Catalyst - Student Newspaper
March 5, 2004

Excerpts from article by: Chrissie Long
     News Editor

It’s easy to miss Panino’s as you drive down Tejon Street . It blends in with the stores on either side of it, and the maroon signs and tinted windows do little to beckon the attention of customers. If you happen to glance in its direction, it’s not difficult to pass it off as another Italian restaurant.

But walk in there at any lunch hour, and every table will be full. The only seats available will be in the smoking section. The restaurant will be alive with waiters and waitresses hustling from one table to the next. Customers will be engrossed in animated conversations or occupied with the food in front of them.

The restaurant’s claim to fame is its panino sandwich. The panino is the Italian form of the Mexican burrito--coming in nearly 35 different combinations. The dough is thicker than a tortilla, but not thick enough to be compared to bread. Once you have a bite of it, it is hard to put down--it can be as addictive as a bag of chips. Cheers to any diner who can eat all that he is given because the panino is nothing less than a full meal.

So next time you are driving down Tejon Street , and you pass Panino’s with their tinted windows and maroon signs, don’t dismiss it as your average Italian restaurant. There just might be a panino that will keep you coming back for twenty years.

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