Who The Crust Is Portland Pie?
Who the crust is Portland Pie Company? This shirt started out as sort of a joke. A riff on an old t-shirt once worn by Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones in regards to his famously boisterous lead singer, Mick Jagger. If you Google it you’ll find that we toned down the language a bit and made it more applicable to what we do. It seemed to fit well with some of the other creative liberties we taken on musical lyrics:
- Another One Bites the Crust
- Love is All We Knead
- Pizza, Love & Understanding
- Sweet Dreams are Made of Cheese
- Every Pizza Tells a Story
But it also begs the question: Who is Portland Pie Company?
Well, it’s something we’ve been asking ourselves recently. And as we head into 2021 it’s something that’s been on my mind lately.
With all the pivots, backflips and rapid changes during the past year, we - like so many other small businesses around Maine - have had to think quickly on our feet and act accordingly in our work to not only survive but to succeed.
And it has given us all the chance to reevaluate. To look inside. And find new ways to do things.
It’s been quite an experience.
But let’s take it back a bit, shall we?
Although Portland Pie Company has been around now for 23 years, my turn at the helm began about five years ago. After a brief tenure as a consultant and then CEO of PPC, in 2017 I was presented with the opportunity to purchase the restaurant division of the company. It was the culmination of a life spent in the restaurant industry. I guess you could say pizza was my life.
I came to this new ownership role with new ideas. But at the same time I knew I was stepping into something that had become a staple of the southern Maine food scene. And I didn’t want to make it all about me. I’ve always equated it to moving into an older house with a lot of character. I wanted to come in. Live in it for a bit. Appreciate the cracks and the quirks and slowly make it something new while at the same time remaining true to the history of the old place. Change seems to happen quickly these days. Too quickly sometimes. That’s not what I was looking for. Our lifeblood is and will always be the loyalty of our customers. Both old and new. And they deserved this.
So that’s what I did.
In time, I did begin to change things. And I did so with an incredible team of dedicated staff by my side.
We did it.
Some of our old recipes we honed to perfection and new ones were created. We began working with Maine farmers to source more local ingredients. We were inspired by the talent and energy of the burgeoning craft beer scene in Maine and filled our tap lines with their incredible brews. We focused our philanthropic giving to do our part to help end food insecurity in Maine. After all, we feed people. It’s what we do. Whether it’s a paying customer or someone in need. That was important to us.
All in all, we looked to build better, more sustainable communities in every town and city that welcomed a new Portland Pie Company and those that continued to support our longtime locations.
It’s been a great few years so far. A wild ride at times and a nail biter for sure this past one. But we're still here. Confident in who we are and continuing to do what we do best. Tomorrow, we’ll fire up the pizza ovens and do it all again. And again. And again.
We’ve got some new plans on the horizon. And we are fortunate to continue to work with so many great people both within four walls and in all the communities we serve.
I am fortunate.
And I am forever grateful for all the support. With that said, I just wanted to wish everyone all the best and a better year ahead. We couldn’t have done it without you.
While so much of this past year has been about staying apart, we still believe that good food brings people together.
So, in case you were wondering, that’s who the crust Portland Pie Company is.
- Jeff Perkins, Owner + CEO | Portland Pie Company