Author Archives: alexp207

COVID-19: What we are doing to keep our customers & employees safe

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The safety of our customers and employees is of the utmost importance to us. As we begin to reopen our shops for dine-in and outdoor patio seating, we’re taking some additional steps to keep everyone safe and healthy. In addition to being in compliance with local and state mandates, we are also taking the following safety measures:

  • All customer touch points [doors, handles, counters, fountain machines, napkin dispensers, condiment holders, etc] are sanitized every 30 minutes.
  • One dedicated employee is in charge of sanitizing tables and chairs after each use.
  • Employees will receive temperature checks at the beginning of each shift.
  • Employees will continue to wear gloves and masks.
  • All tables are spaced 6 feet apart. Where that is not possible, we will stager seating so guests are able to maintain social distancing while dining with us.
  • No customers waiting in the dining room. If the room is at capacity, customers must wait outside.
  • Our mobile pickup and contactless delivery options will continue to be available.
Scan the QR code to view our menu.

Furthermore, we will have a QR code on every table that will direct guests to our menu. Simply scan the QR code with the camera on your phone, and our menu will pop up. We will also offer single use menus for those who prefer physical menus.

If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please reach out to us at contactus@ottoportland.com.

Update: Feeding the Frontline Workers

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We cannot thank our customers, communities and folks who have supported this initiative enough. This campaign has been a great demonstration on how communities hold each other up and work together during uncertain times.

Through the support of our OTTO community, we’ve provided:

  • Meals to over 50 frontline facilities
  • Thousands of pizzas delivered
  • Over $40,000 in food and beverages
  • Nourishment for hundreds of frontline workers including hospital employees, community health center employees, first responders, and homeless/teen center staff to name a few

If you’re interested in supporting our Feeding the Frontline campaign, click here to contribute. We’ve also added a contribution option to our online ordering pages. You can now order a meal and contribute to Feed the Frontline in the same transaction!

Please note: From time to time, we run into a situation where a hospital or healthcare facility is unable to accept a donation. In those circumstances, we direct food donations to other facilities being impacted by COVID-19, such as homeless shelters and food banks.

Weekly Community Delivery

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We are now offering weekly community delivery in towns beyond our normal delivery radiuses. Our current schedule includes:

  • Chebeague Island, ME – Wednesday
  • Gorham, ME – Wednesday
  • Windham, ME – Thursday
  • Peaks Island, ME – Friday

If there’s an interest from 10 or more families in your neighborhood, we will coordinate a weekly delivery to bring our pizzas, salads, beer & wine, and more to a designated pick-up location. Our pizzas can be delivered fully cooked or par-baked to be finished in your oven at home. Prepay ahead of time to limit contact upon delivery and enjoy your pizza at home.

Email erikm@ottoportland.com if you are interested in adding your town to our new community pizza delivery program. If you live in one of the four towns listed above, and are interested in ordering, please email benc@ottoportland.com for details.

OTTO Saco Now Offering Delivery

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In order to serve our customers better during this time, we have rolled out a limited delivery service from our Saco location. We are currently offering delivery to areas of Saco, Biddeford, Scarborough, and Old Orchard Beach. Our delivery hours are 4PM-8PM, seven days a week.

Please see the below map for an approximate delivery radius. We hope to expand the hours and reach of this service once we are able – stay tuned at ottoportland.com, and be sure to check out Facebook for any updates!

Approximate delivery radius from our Saco, ME location

Helping OTTO Feed Frontline Workers

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When a customer called Penguin Pizza in Boston and ordered pizzas to be delivered to frontline healthcare workers at a nearby hospital, it sparked an idea – we can support local businesses and feed critical frontline workers through one initiative.

Feeding the Frontline is a donation-based framework that supports both restaurants and frontline workers during the COVID-19 crisis. Through purchasing gift cards or meals from participating businesses, those working tirelessly on the frontline are provided with nourishment to help fuel them through their shifts.

On April 4th, we launched a Feeding the Frontline campaign at OTTO. Here’s how it works:

  • Customers can support by contributing at ottoportland.com/shop
  • Our team reaches out to various frontline facilities that are currently accepting donations within our communities
  • Using the contributions from our website, we create orders to fit the specific needs of each facility
  • Deliveries and pickups are coordinated by our team, with the safety of all parties involved as our top priority
  • Contributors receive an email after their donation has been put to work
Resident physicians enjoying one of our first Feed the Frontline orders at BIDMC

We’ve had an extremely positive response from our community, and are happy to say we’ve already fulfilled several orders. The healthcare workers and first responders who have received orders could not be more appreciative.

We cannot thank our contributors enough for helping us make this possible, and promise to continue working hard to feed the frontline workers in our communities.

To contribute, please go to our website or feel free to reach out to us at contactus@ottoportland.com.

OTTO Partners with FEED KIDS and Cooking Matters to combat food insecurity

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At OTTO, we strongly believe in investing in our communities, and are proud to support a variety of causes and local organizations. Since we opened our doors in 2009, we’ve worked with over 500 organizations – from hosting fundraisers, to sponsoring teams, and handing out pizza to 5k participants – giving back is an important part of what we do.

As OTTO continues to grow and expand into new communities, we are continuously redefining the ways in which we give back. It is important that we are intentional and impactful with our reach, and that we’re able to align our core values with our giving. As a restaurant, one issue that is extremely important to us is food insecurity. We believe that no child should ever go hungry, and that families, schools, and communities should have the tools and resources to combat food insecurity. We’ve recently partnered with organizations in Maine and Massachusetts which aim to do just that – end child hunger in our communities, and provide families with the resources to connect them to healthy and affordable food options. Starting March 1, OTTO will be donating $1 from every monthly special pizza sold to FEED KIDS in Maine, and to Cooking Matters in Massachusetts.

Full Plates, Full Potential – FEED Kids

Full Plates, Full Potential is an organization dedicated to ending child hunger in Maine. “[Their] work focuses on increasing participation in school breakfast, after school meals, and summer meal programs.” We are proud to say that we are now one of their FEED KIDS Partners, and will be donating $1 of every monthly special pizza sold in Maine to Full Plates, Full Potential.

Cooking Matters MA

Cooking Matters is a campaign developed by Share Our Strength; a nonprofit that aims to end poverty and hunger. More specifically, Cooking Matters aims to end childhood hunger by “inspiring families to make healthy, affordable food choices. [Their] programs teach parents and caregivers with limited food budgets to shop for and cook healthy meals.” Cooking Matters helps connect low-income families with the tools and resources to prepare healthy food on a budget. OTTO will donate $1 of every monthly special pizza sold in Massachusetts to Cooking Matters.

Follow us to learn more about how we will be working with these two organizations to help end child hunger in our communities.

OTTO Pizza: At a Brewery Near You

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Pizza and beer just go together. It’s a universal truth. At OTTO, we are always looking for ways to work with our local breweries: tap takeovers, limited edition collaborations, even using craft beer as an ingredient. Lately we’ve been working with breweries in a new way.

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We’re excited to announce that we now offer pizza delivery to select breweries in both Maine and Massachusetts!

If you’re a regular on the tasting room circuit, you may have seen one of our ordering tablets already. They’re simple to use and just like ordering online.

Here’s how they work:

  • After approaching the OTTO ordering kiosk, enter the delivery address that’s conveniently listed on the bottom of the tablet. Once the address is entered, click “order” and select “ASAP” to get your order started.
  • Place your order as you normally would by selecting your favorite pizzas, salads and apps. All you’ll need to complete your order is your name, phone number and payment information. You can also enter your OTTO Rewards information to earn points on your delivery.
  • Delivery typically takes 35-45 minutes. This leaves you a little time to enjoy some beverages while you wait for your order.
  • If you have any questions or need to make any changes to your order, simply call the number listed at the bottom of the kiosk to reach the OTTO team handling your order.

We currently have OTTO ordering kiosks at the following locations:

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OTTO Pizza is also available at the Rising Tide tasting room in Portland (103 Fox Street, Portland, ME) . They offer slices, as well as small pies, right there at the tasting room.

If you are a brewery or other business interested in offering OTTO pizza at your establishment, please contact us at catering@ottoportland.com for more details.

 

“Guster On The Ocean” – Weekend Service Project

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Image result for guster on the ocean
On August 3rd, Guster returns to Portland for their 2nd annual Guster On the Ocean Festival. In addition to playing shows at the State Theatre and Thompson’s Point over the weekend, you can join Guster off-stage to help them celebrate the festival.

This year, Guster is teaming up with REVERB, a local non-profit organization that aims to connect musicians and their fans through various service projects. On Saturday, August 4th, band members will join selected fans and volunteers for a clean-up project on a section of the Portland Trails.

Following the service project, Guster and volunteers will head to Mast Landing Brewery in Westbrook for a post-work celebration, including a beer tasting of “On The Ocean: A Big Friendly Pale Ale”; a Guster/Mast Landing collaboration brew. OTTO will be on hand providing nourishment for all the hard working volunteers.

Can’t make it to Mast Landing? Head to Hadlock Field on Sunday, August 5th, to celebrate “Guster Day” along side band members and the Portland Sea Dogs.

For more information on how to purchase tickets and get involved, visit Guster On The Ocean Festival and REVERB.org.

Peaks Island Delivery

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When OTTO owner, Mike Keon, first mentioned the idea of delivering our pizza to Peaks Island, we thought it sounded a little crazy. It became clear after our first delivery to the island that it was going to be a big hit. In its second year, our Peaks Island delivery program is going stronger than ever.

If you live on the Island and have yet to take advantage of this, heres how to order:

When: Every Thursday from 6/14 to 9/6, we deliver pre- ordered OTTO Pizza to Peaks Island. Our pick-up station is set up on the corner of Welch and Island Ave. Pick up time is from 5:45 PM – 6:15 PM.

How: Call our Munjoy Hill location (207-358-7870) anytime throughout the week to place your order for Thursday. The cut-off for ordering is 3:00 PM the day of delivery. We only have so much room on our water taxi, and spots fill up fast. We recommend calling a few days ahead of time to ensure your order.

Who: The OTTO team delivers via water taxi. We take your pies directly from the oven and place them in our insulated delivery bags to keep them hot throughout the journey. Just look for our pop-up table with the OTTO logo on the corner of Welch Street and Island Ave to pick up your order.

Baking: We have the option to deliver fully cooked or par baked pizzas. Just mention the par baked option if you are interested in finishing your pizza at home.

Please Note: To defray additional operational cost, each delivery (small or large orders) includes a $5 delivery charge and an 18% gratuity fee for the delivery team. We ask all payments to be made in advance by providing your credit card information over the phone. Your card will only be charged after you sign the delivery receipt at time of pickup. Unfortunately, the delivery team cannot accept cash payments.

Please feel free to contact us anytime with any questions you might have.

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Devil’s Purse Tap Takeover on Munjoy Hill

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Craft beer and tacos? Yes, please.

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Join us tomorrow, May 4th at OTTO East End (225 Congress Street) for a night of beer, weekend specials, and of course, pizza!

Our friends from Devil’s Purse Brewing Co.
will be in town taking over a portion of our
new tap line with a selection of their
delicious brews. What exactly will be
on tap, you ask? Devil’s Purse will
be pouring their Handline Kolsch,
Surfman’s Check ESB, Stonehorse Citra,
and Season in Hell Plum Saison.

Along with the tap takeover, we decided it was only appropriate to serve some food and cocktail specials in spirit of Cinco de Mayo. Additional specials will include:

  • Nacho FriesIMG_1552.jpg
  • Specialty Taco
  • Taco-style Pizza
  • Jalapeno & Lime Margaritas
  • Banded Brewing Co. Wicked Bueno Cans

Come on down and help us ring in the weekend a day early. We look forward to seeing you!