Best seat in the house: Pat Gazzola: catfish cook knows the hogs best.

It's hard to tell what Pat Gazzola is more passionate about--catfish or the Razorbacks.

Gazzola, who owns the Catfish Hole restaurants in Fayetteville and Alma with his wife, Janie, seems equally wrapped up in both and has found a way to combine his two interests. Gazzola is sort of the unofficial Head Hog when it comes to cooking for the athletic department in Fayetteville.

Coaches from all sports often call on Gazzola to cater training table meals. The Catfish Hole has also become the place for football coaches to take recruits during official visits to Arkansas. Current and former Razorback players, coaches and administrators frequent the establishment, which rests less than five miles from campus.

Gazzola, a former lawyer and businessman in oil and gas, and his wife originally began operating at a location in Alma on Jan. 2, 1993. They broke ground on the Fayetteville location nearly a year later and have been a Northwest Arkansas institution since opening m 1994.

This fall the restaurant will be the site of 13 live call-in shows featuring Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino. It debuts Wednesday, Sept. 2, and each show will run 7-8 p.m. with Chuck Barrett hosting.

Pat and Janie have been married 31 years and, in addition to running the restaurants, they have two children and six grandchildren, whose photos are displayed prominently in one half of the Fayetteville restaurant. Another section of the restaurant--one large enough to seat about 90 people--is devoted to Razorback memorabilia, including autographed jerseys and framed photos of former Arkansas stars.

Gazzola recently explained to ArkansasSports360.com why he has "The Best Seat in the House":

AS360.com: I know the restaurant business has been good to you, but owning a catfish place wasn't your life's ambition, right? How do you go from practicing law and working in oil and gas to this?

Gazzola: [Laughing] I didn't even eat fish. It's true. It took me years to be able to eat it. I was doing oil and gas work; I was leasing land, doing titles. I was burning out. Janie and I were looking for something else to do. We looked at women's dress shops and a few other things and I was sitting in the barber's chair one day when my barber mentioned to me there was a great catfish place in Alma that was going to shut down if somebody didn't buy it.... Janie and I went out there and were surprised at how bust it was, how well it seemed to be operated. I negotiated a deal, took care of the creditors and bought tire thing. A little more than a year later we were breaking ground on the Fayetteville restaurant. It's sort of grown from there.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

AS360.com: Football players are huge. I'd have to think they could put away some food. How much do y'all cook for a typical training table meal?

Gazzola: Typically, for a training table meal we will go through 100 pounds of fried and grilled chicken. We'll go through 60 pounds of catfish. And this is for 110 people. It's way more than double, the amount of fish and chicken per person is more than double what the typical person coming into the restaurant would eat. You're dealing with people who arc in great shape and who are hungry. They're showered and through with practice, so they're ready to sit down and relax and they're hungry.

AS380.com: I'd imagine you got a nice bump after being featured on ESPN's "Taste of the Town" during the Auburn game in 2007?

Gazzola: We actually had people from Alaska. I didn't even know the games aired in Alaska. There were some folks from Alaska here during the summer with Wal-Mart. They called ahead of time to make sure this was the spot. It gave us a definite bump.

AS360.com: Describe the atmosphere in the restaurant on a recruiting weekend.

Gazzola: [Recruits] come over here on a bus. When they pull into a driveway they see all these people lined tip to get in. The people see the bus and realize that these must be recruits. [Fans] started calling the Hogs. And it was loud. It was deafening loud in the restaurant. Then they started yelling on one side of the restaurant "Arkansas" and the other side yelled "Razorbacks." It was spontaneous. It wasn't rehearsed. There wasn't anything rehearsed about this.... It's loud, raucous.

AS360.com: It's safe to say you've seen your share of football. Who, of all the players you've seen, is the best Razorback ...

Gazzola: [Before the question is finished] Darren McFadden, without a doubt. He was tough. He could play injured. He could play hurt. He had speed, power and everything. He was just a warrior. He loved the game. He loved the way the game was played. He practiced the way you're supposed to practice. I'm not sure if during his three years I missed five practices. He was just very, very exciting, no doubt about it. I'd have to say he was my favorite.

AS360.com: Based on what you saw this spring, who will be the surprise of 2009?

Gazzola: I've got a young man I'm watching. I have an interest in him because I knew his grandfather and I know his daddy, and that's Jake Bequette. I watch him very carefully in practice. I've watched him grow physically. I am of an opinion that before he leaves the University of Arkansas, he'll be an all-conference defensive end. That's my opinion on him. I know a lot of people thought he was just a throw-in at the time he was recruited. I think they're going to see that this kid is big time.

AS360.com: What immediately jumped out at you about Bobby Petrino? What's the secret to him being such a strong recruiter?

Gazzola: Attention to detail, first. What makes him such a good recruiter--and a lot of people probably don't know this--this man can flat turn on the charm. He has the ability to be somewhere and know what he needs to say, know what's on the people's minds and know what's important to them. He is able to talk to a family and figure out on the spot, cold turkey so to speak, what's important to them and he can address it. And he addresses it in the a very intelligent way. He comes across very genuine, very caring. I'm most impressed with him. He has energized me. I feel, and other people have told me this, we have taken this to another level with him. Our excitement, our energy level is at a higher level than it was previously.

AS360.com: OK, let me put you on the spot. You want to go on record with a way-too-early prediction for the 2009 football season?

Gazzola: I'm expecting us to win seven and I'm hoping we win eight. I mean, coach Petrino had an unbelievable recruiting season to be coming off a 5-7 record. If we can win eight games, I think [recruiting] will be even better and the [2010] season will be one people can remember. I believe if anybody can take us to a higher level, we have the right coach. This man has purpose. He has focus. He has no distractions. It's all about football, just like you said a year ago in [ArkansasSports360. com's July 2008 edition]. He's what we needed. I believe he loves Fayetteville. I think he wants to make a career here. I think this might be his last stop if things work out. I'm just excited.

AS360.com: I imagine part of the excitement stems from Petrino having his coaches call-in show here. Is it safe to say you're pleased to be the venue for that?

Gazzola: I am so excited. I was determined to have the venue at the Catfish Hole. We're going to try to work this where the enthusiasm will be at a real fever pitch. I'm hoping after a loss people won't be too tough on Coach. He was very gracious to do this. We're excited to have him here.

AS360.com: Why does Pat Gazzola have the Best Seat in the House?

Gazzola: This is my passion, my hobby. I don't play golf. I don't fish. All I do is work and enjoy whatever the Razorbacks do, whether it's football, basketball, baseball or even track. No matter what it is, if it's Razorback, it's my passion. I go about it in a passionate way. I've been fortunate enough to have been given the opportunity and to have people put their trust in me. They have trust that if I do something, I'm going to do it right. They know I have a passion for the program and I do everything I can do within the rules for the program. I want to be a valued resource. I want the Razorbacks to trust me and the services I provide. That's a fact.