OTTO Birthday Fest: 3 Days of Music, Love & Pizza

Hard to believe it’s been nearly 14 years since we opened the doors on a tiny little slice shop on Congress Street in Portland, ME. It’s been a wild ride, but none of it could have been possible without you. We truly have the best customers any business could ask for. Thank you for supporting us over the years.

To celebrate, we want to invite you to three events this June (our birthday month). We sure would love to see you.

June 4 – OTTO’s Birthday Bash on the Esplanade (Boston)
Join us from 1-4pm at Night Shift Esplanade, located right along the Charles River in Boston, MA. We’ll be descending upon the scenic Night Shift beer garden with FREE PIZZA (50 pizzas, while it lasts!) and some giveaways. Beer, pizza, and the Esplanade — what’s not to love?
No admission — open to the public. Rain date June 18.
For more information and directions, click here.

June 11 – Resurgam Music and Arts Festival Presented by OTTO (Portland)
Come celebrate Portland’s music, arts, and youth at the second annual Resurgam Festival at the Ocean Gateway and surrounding areas. We are thrilled to be the headline sponsor for this year’s event. Stop by one of our booths for slices, games, and giveaways! The festival will feature over 50 performers on 5 stages and will showcase Portland’s creativity and youth. The event will run from 11am-6pm and is FREE and open to the public!
For more information, click here.

June 20 — OTTO 14th Birthday Party (All OTTO Locations in ME, NH, and MA)
Swing by any of our locations where we’ll be serving $1.40 slices* all day long.
We’ll have some giveaways as well, while they last!

*Limit 2 slices per customer.

Thanks again for 14 great years! We couldn’t do it without you.

The OTTO Thirsty Camper Tour is headed your way with delicious Maine beer, pizza, bluegrass, and more!

We’re loading up a little bit of what makes Portland special and setting up camp at a location near you. It’s a traveling pizza and beer garden on wheels — the OTTO Airstream, courtesy of Rustic Taps.  Come down and enjoy beer from our friends at Maine Beer, Lone Pine, Allagash, and Orono, hear some live bluegrass, play some games, win some prizes — and of course we’ll be supplying the pizza.  

Every Thursday in August, we’ll be pulling up to a different OTTO location to celebrate summer in Vacationland. (With pizza, beer, and bluegrass this good, why would you leave??)

We’ll be serving cold, delicious Maine beer from the Airstream bar, and each evening will feature the best in Maine bluegrass, including renowned mandolinist Joe Walsh, who headed up OTTO Bluegrass Nights back in the day.

Our lovely beer partners have provided us with loads of great brewery swag, and OTTO will have plenty on hand as well, so you’re likely to go home with more than a smile.

And if that wasn’t enough, there’ll be cornhole, giant Jenga, and did we say PIZZA??

Come join us at one of our stops below.  This is a magical, silvery beer and pizza garden on wheels – and we can’t wait to see all of you.

The OTTO Thirsty Camper Tour:

* 5PM-close each night * Free Entry! *

Thu Aug 4 RSVPOTTO 159 Cottage Rd, South Portlandfeat. Joe Walsh & Friends

Thu Aug 11RSVPOTTO 305 US-1, Yarmouthfeat. Taylor Smith & Friends

Thu Aug 18RSVPOTTO 779 Portland Rd, Sacofeat. The Snowglobe String Band

Thu Aug 25 RSVPCongress Square Park, Portland – feat. Joe Walsh & Friends

Feeding the Frontline has hit $100K!

At OTTO, giving back to our communities has always been a priority. In the past year, we’ve begun two ongoing programs: our monthly specials donations, in which we’ve partnered with Cooking Matters in MA and FEED Kids in ME to donate $1 from every monthly special pizza sold, and Feeding the Frontline, where we’ve turned customer contributions into countless deliveries, feeding thousands of healthcare workers on the frontlines of the pandemic.

We are so excited to announce that, as of this month, we’ve reached $100,000 in donations to our Feeding the Frontline program! We’re so grateful to our incredible customers for making this initiative so successful. Both Feeding the Frontline and our monthly donations program would not be possible without your support. We can also say firsthand how appreciative the frontline workers we’ve delivered to have been to benefit from this program.

Because of your generous donations, we’ve been able to make deliveries to over 75 healthcare facilities in Maine and Massachusetts, including:

  • Maine Medical Center
  • Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
  • Boston Children’s Hospital
  • Massachusetts General Hospital
  • Tufts Medical Center
  • Maine General Hospital
  • Mercy Hospital
  • Boston Medical Center
  • Fenway Health
  • Beverly Hospital
  • Mid Coast Hospital
  • Mount Auburn Hospital
  • Emerson Hospital

Although we have reached an amazing milestone, we’re not out of the woods yet. If you’re able, please consider making a donation with your next order, so we may continue to support our healthcare heroes and fuel them through their shifts as they work tirelessly to keep our communities safe.

Get Your Pizza Faster with the New and Improved OTTO App

If you already use the OTTO App, you’ve probably noticed things look a bit different lately. If you’ve never used it before – you’re in luck. We’ve improved our app for an all around better customer experience so you can get your favorite pizzas faster and easier than ever.

  • Easier and faster ordering! Select your go-to OTTO location and it will be saved as “My Store”. Re-order your favorites by using your order history for quick and easy ordering.
  • Track your order using our improved order tracking.
  • Join OTTO rewards! Already a member? You can check your points status and redeem earned coupons directly through the app.
  • Buy and send gift cards, or store an existing gift card to use on your next order.
  • On the road? Find the OTTO nearest you using our store locator.

Watch the short video below to see our new app in action.

Back-To-School OTTO Gift Card Giveaway

Whether you’re learning from home or headed back into the classroom, back-to-school is probably looking a little different this year. We’re here to help make that transition easier. We’re kicking off the fall with a Back-To-School OTTO Quiz & Gift Card Giveaway!

Anyone who participates on Instagram will be entered to win a $100 OTTO gift card. Here’s how to enter:

  1. Follow OTTOPORTLAND on Instagram (if you already follow us, skip to step 2!)
  2. Answer any of the quiz questions in our stories or posts
  3. Tag a friend in the comments

The more questions you answer (and it’s okay if you answer incorrectly), the higher your chance of winning the gift card. Plus, learn a few fun OTTO facts along the way! The winner will be annouced on 9/17/2020.

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

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.

Kick off Pride Month with OTTO’s 6-location fundraiser night for Pride Portland on June 4

Join us in celebrating the extraordinary contributions of our LGBTQ community, and in supporting Pride Portland, the wonderful volunteer-run organization that does so much to bring Greater Portland together.

On Tuesday, June 4, between 5-9pm, a portion of every sale at all seven Maine OTTO locations will be donated to Pride Portland.

Whether you live in Portland, South Portland, Yarmouth, or Saco, you can chip in by simply purchasing a slice, a pie, a gift card, a craft beer or glass of wine — anything! Every single purchase made at any location counts — whether dine-in, takeout, or delivery!

And stay tuned for some additional Pride celebrations at OTTO, including parade-day happenings at our original 576 Congress location along the parade route.

We look forward to seeing you and celebrating with you.

Pizza Party & Prizes for ‘Draw Outside of the Box’ Winner & Runners-up at King Middle School

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Mali (left) is joined by Third Place Winner, Lilah (Right), to show off their check.

As part of the winners’ prizes for our 2017 ‘Draw Outside of the Box‘ contest, a pizza party was held at King Middle School in our hometown of Portland, Maine. This year, King was home to all three winning designs!

The fact that the students were able to celebrate together, with their classmates and teachers, was representative of the collective nature of this project and a testament to the school’s involvement in the contest.

Along with the pizza party, all three winners — Mali, Mattea, and Lilah received an OTTO gift card, various prizes from Artist & Craftsman Supply, an OTTO t-shirt, and an OTTO beanie.

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2nd Place Winner, Mattea, poses with her prizes

The first place contestant, Mali, will have her design printed on thousands of pizza boxes and distributed to OTTO locations throughout New England. We anticipate the boxes to be in-store in the coming weeks!

In recognition of Mali’s first-place design and art teacher Mary Wellahan’s dedication to her students, the King Middle School Art Department received a $250 gift card from Artist & Craftsman Supply and a $1000 check in support of art education from OTTO.

We decided it was only fitting to give the donation in the form of a giant check because hey, who doesn’t want to get a giant check? The students and teachers were as excited to receive it as we were to present it!

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1st place winner Mali and art instructor Mary Wellehan

We would like to congratulate all of the talented artists and designers who participated in our second ‘Draw Outside the Box’ contest, as well as thank all teachers, family, and friends that supported so many hard-working and diligent students all across New England!

 

Our Portland Arts District location has re-opened!

DSC_3689We are pleased to announce that, after three weeks of closure due to water damage, our original shop at 576 Congress Street will re-open at 5pm on Friday, September 8!

Stop in for a quick slice to-go, join us in our full-service dining room (and bar), or lounge in our next-door sister bar, ENZO. (And enjoy outdoor dining while you still can!)

We appreciate the outpouring of support we received from the community (and beyond!) while we were recovering from the damage. We are so fortunate to be part of such a vibrant, diverse, and caring community — it reminds us why we do what we do.

We are so thrilled to be back, and we’d love to see you.  Come on down!

Thanks, Maine! OTTO voted Best Pizza for 7th consecutive year

We are beyond thrilled to learn that OTTO has been named Best Pizza and Best Delivery Food in the Portland Phoenix Best of 2017 Awards4ac6a9421404dcf4878f120423d03756_L

Although it’s been nearly eight years since we opened our first (tiny) slice shop on Congress Street in downtown Portland, it continues to be such an honor to be recognized by those who have made our growth possible.  A huge thanks to those who voted for us — not only for your vote, but for your loyalty over the years.

This marks the 18th award OTTO has received via the Phoenix’s annual Best Of poll, including seven consecutive Best Pizza awards, four Best Late-Night Restaurant awards, and four Best Delivery Food awards.  In a town with no shortage of delicious pizza, and with one of the best food scenes in America, we feel especially honored.

We look forward to continuing to serve the wonderful folks of Maine. We are so incredibly fortunate to live, work, and make pizza in one of the greatest towns on the planet.

Thank you, Maine!