Let’s Eat

By Nell Musolf

Mike Sweetman is the owner of Extra Innings in St. Peter. They specialize in paninos.

Another Inning(s)

St. Peter’s Extra Innings is the second for young restaurateur

Photos by Pat Christman

Almost 20 years ago, Mike Sweetman was working as a bartender at Applebee’s when he took another job at the Extra Innings in Marshall as then owner Nate Wanzak’s first employee. Within a year, Sweetman made an offer on the business and moved up from employee to restaurant owner at the tender age of 26.

“It was a big leap for me, but I believed in the product and the business. It probably helped that I was so young at the time.”

Since then, Sweetman has watched his independently owned business grow to the point where he was able to open a second Extra Innings in St. Peter in December of 2019 at 220 South Minnesota Ave.

Before choosing St. Peter, Sweetman did his research. Because the first Extra Innings was in a college town, he knew from experience what college students like — good food at an affordable price — so he began searching for another town with a college in it.

“I was paying attention to Mankato and St. Peter for a few years. I always wanted to check out college towns since I was familiar with Southwest Minnesota State in Marshall.”

In the end, he opted for St. Peter.

“I really liked the feel of St. Peter. It’s a beautiful town, it has Gustavus Adolphus and it was what I was looking for.”

Sweetman describes his restaurant as “casual, almost fastfood casual” with counter service as well as tables. The restaurant serves tap beer, craft beers and wine.

“Our goal was to make the restaurant fun and upbeat.”

Opening a few months before

Sweetman says he’s expecting things to take off for Extra Innings now that the pandemic is winding down.

a pandemic swept the world caused a few problems, including keeping the restaurant staffed, a challenge for all eateries at this point in time. Extra Innings has a staff of about 12.

“We’ve had a few staffing issues,” Sweetman said. “But we have a really good, really strong team. The general manager in St. Peter has been with us since the beginning, and we have several other employees in Marshall who have been with us since we opened there. It has been nice to be able to rely on them.”

Supply chain issues, another restaurant woe, is a bigger concern.

“You are never quite sure of what you are going to get when you place an order. It can be tough to balance and not get upset about it since there isn’t much you can do about it.”

Supply chain issues aside, Extra Innings prides itself on making the freshest food possible. An especially popular item on the menu is the Panino, a rolled sandwich filled with meats, vegetables and cheese and served on homemade flatbread.

“Other restaurants serve Paninos, but we serve ours on bread that is baked in-house, using our own recipe. The most popular Panino is by far the Buffalo chicken.”

Pizza dough is also made from the same scratchmade dough used for Paninos. Extra Innings uses fresh ingredients whenever possible and works to keep recipes as clean as possible. The menu also includes appetizers, salads, rice bowls and pasta.

In spite of the setbacks of the past year and a half, Sweetman sees a bright future for Extra Innings.

“We plan on continued growth. I’ve been looking at other locations and would like to open three to five more restaurants. We’ve been so well supported in St. Peter and in Marshall. We want to keep going. This has been a tough time for many restaurants, and we’re thankful we’re doing so well.”

Extra Innings is open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. daily.

What: Extra Innings Where: St. Peter What they’re known for:

Paninos

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