Portland Pie CEO finds pizza is about more than dough
Photo / Tim Greenway
Left to right, Nat Getchell, co-owner of Portland Pie Co.; Jeff Perkins, CEO; and Steve Freese, co-owner, in front of the company's new spiral freezer at the production facility in Scarborough.
Jeff Perkins is about six months into his tenure as CEO of Portland Pie Co.'s restaurant division. Early this year, a Portland Pie opened in Brunswick — the company's first location through a licensing agreement. The company is aiming to open an eighth location later this year. Portland Pie recently launched online ordering and is in the process of developing a smartphone app.
Given how well known the Portland Pie Co.'s brand is in Maine, it is remarkable to consider that it began 19 years ago as an 800-square-foot takeout and delivery joint on India Street.
Today, there are seven Portland Pie restaurants throughout Maine and New Hampshire; the company has a staff of 300, and annual revenues of about $20 million from retail and wholesale divisions. Each day, roughly 25,000 pounds of Portland Pie Co.'s gourmet pizza dough — including its signature basil, garlic, wheat, beer and gluten-free varieties — roll of the Scarborough production facility.
Founders Steve Freese and Nat Getchell will continue to oversee the wholesale division, It'll Be Pizza, which makes the Portland Pie “dough balls” that are sold at Hannaford, Shaw's and other supermarkets and through distributors like Sysco to commercial kitchens, schools and convenience stores, from University of Southern Maine to Circle K.
To support the growth of both divisions, the company has recently invested heavily in equipment, including $1.5 million a spiral freezer, which will double production capacity, and a $400,000 silo to store flour, which saves the company money and increases production efficiency.
Perkins recently sat down with Mainebiz to discuss the company's growth. An edited version follows.
Mainebiz: There's so much pizza competition, ranging from Domino's to OTTO's. How do you differentiate yourselves?
Jeff Perkins: We're not trying to be super fancy. But we're not just a takeaway and delivery place. We have a full dining room, a full pub and do delivery service. This is a three-pronged sales generator that most restaurants don't have inside four walls. We also have different seasonal menus that come out four times a year. Each menu has a new dough flavor, or we reintroduce a very popular flavor from the past. We look at that as a chance to get creative and have a little fun and keep it fresh.
MB: You recently collaborated with other local manufacturers to develop menu items. Why?
JP: It's really important for us to be a really good Maine company and help other Maine businesses to be successful. This summer, we will introduce a honey wheat dough. The honey is made by an employee, Michael T. Barden, who is a beekeeper and owns Classical Banjo Farm in Limington. We also worked with Maine Family Farms to develop a proprietary andouille sausage, which we have on our jambalaya pizza. In May, we collaborated with Kennebunk Brewing Co. to produce Just What I Knead, a small-batch brew just for Portland Pie. It uses malt grown at the Maine Malt House at Buck Farms in Mapleton. We are planning on three to four collaboration beers a year with different local breweries.
MB: What are your expansion plans for the restaurants?
JP: We are very careful in our expansion plans. Once we open a new restaurant, we make sure it is operating correctly and profitably before we start talking about another location. We get a lot of calls from people who love the pizza and want to put a Portland Pie Co. in a place like Salt Lake City. But going into a new market can really slow you down. You have to feel comfortable with where you can reach. Brunswick, which is our first licensed location, is owned by a former Portland Pie Co. manager and former member of our executive staff. It's great because we don't have to recreate the wheel. They understand the concept and they're pushing back to us the things that we're missing.
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