SACO — Pizza lovers now have another local option. OTTO pizza is opening its seventh Maine restaurant in Saco on Thursday.
The new pizza restaurant is located at 779 Portland Road, in the same building as the Cinemagic movie theater.
OTTO founders Anthony Allen and Mike Keon met in Massachusetts, where they owned neighboring restaurants.
Allen and Keon opened their first restaurant, a small slice shop, in downtown Portland in 2009. Now, with the new restaurant in Saco, they own 13 in Maine and Massachusetts.
The Saco restaurant replaces the Ground Round, which closed in March.
Allen said the owner of the Ground Round contacted him and said the location was not a good fit for his restaurant and suggested it might be a better fit for an OTTO pizza.
“I stopped in and said we’ve got to do this. It’ll be a home run,” he said.
Allen said the Route One location is easily accessible and will offer a local place for OTTO fans to get their pizza, instead of having to drive to Portland or South Portland.
He said he thinks the movie theater and the restaurant will compliment each other nicely.
“This is fantastic,” said Saco Mayor Marston Lovell. He credited city staff’s ability to work together and the synergy between the city staff and the business community with making the city attractive to new businesses like OTTO.
The local restaurant chain, known for its unique signature flavor combinations such as mashed potato pizza, recently rolled out some new pizza choices, including sausage and broccoli, buffalo cauliflower, scallion and blue cheese, and mango habanero chicken with house-made pineapple salsa.
The Saco location will also offer a Detroit pizza, which is only available at a few OTTO locations. The Detroit pizza features a deep-dish crust that’s thick yet crispy.
Gluten free crusts and vegan cheese are available for those with dietary needs or preferences.
The menu also features craft cocktails, local craft beer, salads and several appetizers including the Everything Knots, which are small “knots” of pizza dough baked and sprinkled with everything bagel seasoning.
— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or [email protected].
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