Mr Pizza in Gorham is Closing (Now Reopened under new owners)

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peakbagger

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For long term visitors to the north country, I heard from a reliable source that Mr Pizza is closing down next week for good. The owners have actively been trying to sell for a couple of years and closed half the facility to dining a few years ago. Pure speculation, its packed pretty steady most of the year so I dont think it is a balance sheet issue but probably a burn out/health/retirement issue. (it was advertised in an ATV publication as a retirement issue previously). I do not know how the other places in town will pick up the business, but they will try. The building is in an active floodplain with almost yearly minor flooding of the parking lot which might preclude a conventional bank loan for someone to buy it.

For those craving post hike pizza there is still the Gorham House of Pizza on Lancaster road, the Pub House (former wood fired Pizza place not far down the road) and of course Mary's in Cascade Flats, Gold House in Berlin, Sinibaldi's in Berlin. Noona's on Exchange Street for higher end Italian (pizza appetizer). None of these places sit a lot of people. My guess is if the new brew pub in town just dumbed down and expanded the menu a bit they could pack folks in.

These locally owned restaurants are usually family operations where the owners work insane hours with minimal pay and the interest for that type of occupation is pretty minimal. Plenty of corporate restaurants down the road in Conway with more pay and less hours. This makes the 5th (or sixth) empty restaurant in town despite a major influx of ATV business. The motels are all booked steady so the guests are there and the number of places to eat in Berlin is dropping.

BTW Libby's Bistro and Salt have no plans to reopen, Libby's does special functions including the RMC fundraiser but they do run Atlas provisions that has some locally made in their kitchen carryout meals.
 
Wow that is a bummer. That has been one of the more reliable places to be open when others aren't and put out reasonably good food at respectable prices. Never blown away by anything I got there but always had a solid meal. I love their little back deck on the river in the Summer. Hopefully somebody takes it over and keeps it going.

Big Day Brewing has a pretty smallish menu of very pricey but very tasty food. Not sure they'll be filling the pizza void or reasonably priced meal void.
 
Thank you, that is a shame, but you can't blame the owners. I had been there several times including before a well-attended Moriah hike where John Burroughs was passing out CD's from his album. It's still in the 6-CD changer and gets played on the way to every NH or ADK hike.
 
Mr Pizza played a big part in our initial hiking spree 2010~2012, the food was never great, but you could get there as a group late on a sat/sun evening after a big hike without any worry.
 
Jimmy and LouAnne are at that place in life where bodies have pitched a fit after 80 hours + a week for dozens of years. No business is worth death. Neither of them wants to walk away, but life's too short even without a restaurant to run.

My husband and I were there today, both of them are hopeful that a negotiation in process will come to fruition. All the staff is remarkably upbeat. Not so much the regulars.
It's a tough business, and Gorham is a tough market. When it comes down to health issues, AVH is not where you want to be when things start to go wrong.

It is NOT a balance sheet issue. Staffing ( the reason they axed the other seating area) has been getting more difficult for way longer than COVID has been around.

Keep good thoughts. It may have a different name, but the clientele will still be hungry even if the name becomes 160 Main.
 
Breeze said:
It is NOT a balance sheet issue. Staffing ( the reason they axed the other seating area) has been getting more difficult for way longer than COVID has been around.
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Indeed. I was up on vacation a few weeks ago and was shocked at how many places were closed 2-4 days during the week not just in Gorham but Conway and Lincoln as well. And many of them are rock solid restaurants that are packed whenever they are open so it is not a money thing. The now hiring signs in the windows say it all. Most places are looking for pretty much every position that exists in their operation.

Puts a real damper on a midweek vacation when your options are so limited. Not sure how that will affect things long term. Will people start looking to other areas and ultimately damage business? The days of businesses closing may not be over.
 
Not enough customers, so not enough revenue, so can't hire staff. Staff that is hired can't earn living wage. One of the problems with not being in a population center, and population centers compete for limited supply, driving up costs for goods. Lower population centers can't afford the increased costs. It's a vicious cycle.
 
FYI, the owners of Sunday River Brewing is reportedly buying the former Mr Pizza and reopening it as Sports Bar themed restaurant. No doubt going after the ATV crowd which has rapidly become a major economic driver in the area. There has been recent activity at the site consistent with upgrades in preparation for reopening.
 
peakbagger said:
For long term visitors to the north country, I heard from a reliable source that Mr Pizza is closing down next week for good. The owners have actively been trying to sell for a couple of years and closed half the facility to dining a few years ago. Pure speculation, its packed pretty steady most of the year so I dont think it is a balance sheet issue but probably a burn out/health/retirement issue. (it was advertised in an ATV publication as a retirement issue previously). I do not know how the other places in town will pick up the business, but they will try. The building is in an active floodplain with almost yearly minor flooding of the parking lot which might preclude a conventional bank loan for someone to buy it.

For those craving post hike pizza there is still the Gorham House of Pizza on Lancaster road, the Pub House (former wood fired Pizza place not far down the road) and of course Mary's in Cascade Flats, Gold House in Berlin, Sinibaldi's in Berlin. Noona's on Exchange Street for higher end Italian (pizza appetizer). None of these places sit a lot of people. My guess is if the new brew pub in town just dumbed down and expanded the menu a bit they could pack folks in.

These locally owned restaurants are usually family operations where the owners work insane hours with minimal pay and the interest for that type of occupation is pretty minimal. Plenty of corporate restaurants down the road in Conway with more pay and less hours. This makes the 5th (or sixth) empty restaurant in town despite a major influx of ATV business. The motels are all booked steady so the guests are there and the number of places to eat in Berlin is dropping.

BTW Libby's Bistro and Salt have no plans to reopen, Libby's does special functions including the RMC fundraiser but they do run Atlas provisions that has some locally made in their kitchen carryout meals.
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Resturant business is tough no matter where you are or what type food you offer. I believe 95 % or so fail the first year. And the bigger it is the harder it is keep it going. If owners are near retirement age it's a heck of ride you want to jump off of.

And also like most people selling anything they always ask too much thinking it's worth more then it is to start out which turns away potential buyers. Which if owed money on the land or business makes it even harder.
 
CaptCaper said:
Resturant business is tough no matter where you are or what type food you offer. I believe 95 % or so fail the first year. And the bigger it is the harder it is keep it going. If owners are near retirement age it's a heck of ride you want to jump off of.

And also like most people selling anything they always ask too much thinking it's worth more then it is to start out which turns away potential buyers. Which if owed money on the land or business makes it even harder.
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"Around 60 percent of new restaurants fail within the first year. And nearly 80 percent shutter before their fifth anniversary. Often, the No. 1 reason is simply location — and the general lack of self-awareness that you have no business actually being in that location."
 
dug said:
"Around 60 percent of new restaurants fail within the first year. And nearly 80 percent shutter before their fifth anniversary. Often, the No. 1 reason is simply location — and the general lack of self-awareness that you have no business actually being in that location."
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I don't agree with the location. I see many of them in far out places doing really well. And having stopped there myself cause we eat out all the time know it's the service and food. Some may be location but far and few. It's just food and service. Some survive a while yes cause location in a one horse town. But probably never do well.
 
Mr. Pizza is the sole reason I have ever hiked in NH to begin with….as just an excuse to eat there afterwards.
This is crushing news. Every time an awesome pizza place closes, an angel loses its wings and a part of me dies.
 
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Best of luck going forward. Glad the new owners have experience. Have not been in Sunday River Brewing in awhile but the last time it was pretty good. Hopefully that carries over to Gorham.
 
skiguy said:
Best of luck going forward. Glad the new owners have experience. Have not been in Sunday River Brewing in awhile but the last time it was pretty good. Hopefully that carries over to Gorham.
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I've been in there a few times in the past year after a lengthy hiatus and found it pretty marginal and pretty expensive.
 
DayTrip said:
I've been in there a few times in the past year after a lengthy hiatus and found it pretty marginal and pretty expensive.
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Have not been to SRB in over three years, but my recollection from last visit is same as yours.

Ditto for Big Day Brewing last fall, where I waited for over 20 minutes at the bar to order a beer and then walked out after not getting served.
 
"Expensive" is reality these days, there is a major shortage of labor even in the North Country. Supply and demand applies, despite a low NH minimum wage, employers have to pay more to hire and retain employees and that means higher prices. As for quality that is subjective, I stuck to their specials when I rarely went there. I was always a bigger fan of the Northland Dairy Bar in Berlin (also now closed and for sale).
 
peakbagger said:
"Expensive" is reality these days, there is a major shortage of labor even in the North Country. Supply and demand applies, despite a low NH minimum wage, employers have to pay more to hire and retain employees and that means higher prices. As for quality that is subjective, I stuck to their specials when I rarely went there. I was always a bigger fan of the Northland Dairy Bar in Berlin (also now closed and for sale).
Click to expand...

I get what you're saying. I just found Sunday River Brewing to be on the high side of the price spectrum relative to most other places right now and it was not worth the premium. I also found it annoying that as a brewer, with many new competitors in the area now, that they were out of half their own beers on the menu on three consecutive visits.

Contrary to Dr D, I had a fantastic experience at Big Day Brewing. It was a gorgeous weekday and nothing else was open so there were quite a few people there for a weekday. We sat outside and the service was a tad on the slow side but their beer was great and their food was phenomenal - albeit very expensive for fairly small portions. I would definitely go back for another visit when I get the chance.

I'm very hopeful that the renovated Mr Pizza becomes a legit option in the area for good beer and good food. Always liked that location.
 
DayTrip said:
Contrary to Dr D, I had a fantastic experience at Big Day Brewing. It was a gorgeous weekday and nothing else was open so there were quite a few people there for a weekday. We sat outside and the service was a tad on the slow side but their beer was great and their food was phenomenal - albeit very expensive for fairly small portions. I would definitely go back for another visit when I get the chance.
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I second the positive Big Day experience. We also sat outside. Dog friendly but the outside area is all coarse gravel so we brought his bed back with no issue.
 
BTW Sunday River Brewing, there was a period early in Covid where it was owned by some controversial individuals who had owned it for a few years. If you search the News for Sunday River Brewing and Covid you will probably find plenty of articles of the owners battle with the state. They eventually lost their license so many times that they sold out to new owners who seems to have restored the reputation. I do avoid it during ski season as its generally jam packed.

With respect to Big Day Brewing in Gorham, I have had good experiences when going there. A pretty universal complaint by "locals" is their menu which is not the expected quantity versus quality offerings that has been typical of the area. Think of it as more of a large selection of excellent appetizers. Their target audience appears to be the bicycling/hiking crowd versus the stereotypical ATV/snowmobile crowd. Take a look in the parking lot, lots of import SUVs, versus full sized pickups at the BBQ place.

Given the bust of the winter conditions to date in the area, all the restaurants in Gorham have been in an extended "mud season" Hopefully Big Day can make it through and the new "Mr Pizza (whatever the new name) is successful. Jay's recently did major interior renovation and has a reliable menu.
 
Good to hear favorable reports on Big Day Brewing; will give them another try on a Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday when maybe not as crowded. Also, thanks for recent history on Sunday River Brewing, as I likely last visited during the controversial ownership.
 
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