Hampton Beach has a new addition to its food scene with the opening of The Reaper, a takeout pizzeria located at the Tideside Social Club. Owner Joey McCarran describes the new spot as a “sneaky” way to draw in locals, with a simple “pizza” sign in the window.
The Reaper began serving specialty pizzas on Friday as a pop-up takeout service. McCarran hopes the concept will evolve into a year-round offering at the beach. For now, it is open Wednesday through Sunday, from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.
McCarran, who owns Ricochet pizzeria in Derry with his wife, Lo, said the pizza style at The Reaper will be different from the New York-style pies served at their Derry location. The Fiero oven, imported from Italy, creates a puffy dough similar to Neapolitan pizza.
“There’s good pizza on the beach, but we wanted to showcase something new and different,” McCarran explained.
Pizza has been a key part of McCarran’s life. After a wildfire forced him and Lo to leave California in 2018, they moved to New England. McCarran turned to farming in Massachusetts while opening Ricochet. The name “Ricochet” was chosen to represent their ability to bounce back from losing their home on the West Coast.
Last summer, the McCarrans opened Tideside Social Club at 9 Ocean Blvd., remodeling the space and offering a menu made with ingredients from their Massachusetts farm. While the season was short, McCarran said the Tideside was busy and full of customers during the second half of the summer. The McCarrans decided to close for the winter to focus on perfecting their business model and will reopen in April 2025.
Rather than let the space go unused in the off-season, McCarran applied for a new business license to operate The Reaper as a takeout-only pizza spot.
McCarran hopes that The Reaper will grow into a year-round success. If it performs well this winter, the business could expand into the summer season as well. “If it takes off, we’ll probably keep it going year-round to complement Tideside,” he said.
The name “The Reaper” comes from a popular pizza at Ricochet, which features habanero ghost pepper. Although McCarran said the pizzeria was almost named “The Reaper,” the new spot’s name is not a reference to the reaper pepper, which would be too hot for their menu. However, many of the pizzas will have a bit of heat, with ingredients like infused hot honey.
“The pizzas have a little kick, but they’re not overwhelmingly spicy,” McCarran said.
The Reaper will also be available for delivery through services like DoorDash. McCarran is hopeful that the Tideside Social Club will find its footing next summer, possibly staying open year-round. Whether or not that happens, McCarran is optimistic that The Reaper will remain a fixture at Hampton Beach, both in the off-season and beyond.
“We hope to make it a full-year thing,” he said. “The Reaper will always come out at night.”
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