Riko's Pizza Opens New Shop In Westport's Saugatuck Neighborhood
WESTPORT, CT — Westport has a new pizza shop in the Saugatuck neighborhood.
Riko’s, the popular Stamford-based chain that specializes in thin crust, hot oil pizzas, opened this month at 60 Charles St. in Westport, just off exit 17 of I-95, in the building that housed the old Arrow Restaurant for years.
“This is our 11th restaurant, and sixth in Fairfield County, which is huge for us,” Rico Imbrogno, Co-Founder and CEO of Riko’s Pizza, said Tuesday during a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Westport location. “We go from the Stamford border with Greenwich, all the way up to Fairfield.”
Find out what's happening in Westportwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Imbrogno started Riko’s 13 years ago, and in addition to the six Fairfield County locations, Riko’s also has shops in New York, Massachusetts and Florida. The chain plans to open stores in Burlington, Vermont and North Carolina in 2025.
“It’s been a long time coming,” said Rodd Salvatore, one of the five partners who opened the Westport location. “We started this process about 18 months ago, and now it’s finally here. We’re incredibly happy to celebrate this great day, and very excited to be in Westport.”
Find out what's happening in Westportwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The other four partners of the Westport site are Leo Socci, Donny Panapada, Robert Glander, and Mike Orgera.
“Our goal is to serve everyone an exceptional dinner every single time,” Salvatore added.
Westport First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker joked that she now can order Riko’s delicious pies without going to Norwalk to pick them up.
Riko’s pizzas were served at a recent employee appreciation event for Westport’s town workers, Tooker said, which was a big hit.
“You are off to a fabulous start,” Tooker said. “Welcome to Westport.”
“This spot has great karma,” said state Rep. Jonathan Steinberg. “It’s been waiting for you guys to get here. This was a hub back in the day, it was a place people came to. And now, you’ve got everything going in your favor, and given your great history with your other stores, I’m sure you’ll have great success here. Congratulations.”
State Rep. Dominique Johnson echoed Steinberg’s sentiments, saying the Westport Riko’s will draw people from East Norwalk and Southport, in addition to Westport families.
“I can’t wait to hold a constituent meetup here to watch UConn women’s basketball,” Johnson said.
The Westport location has a dozen televisions and seats 150 patrons.
“Welcome to Westport, but more importantly, welcome to Saugatuck,” said Matthew Mandell, Executive Director and President of the Westport-Weston Chamber of Commerce. “We consider this to be the greatest restaurant scene in the county, if not the entire state. And the question is, can you add to it? Absolutely. A wonderful new kind of pizza, and a sports bar, you’re going to make Saugatuck even better and stronger, so congratulations and welcome.”
The Westport Riko’s is open Sunday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; and Fridays and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. To order, visit the website, or call 203-635-0877.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
Click Here: 新闻资讯