BANGOR, Maine — In one corner of the Clark House on Hammond Street, the ghost of an enormous hearth oven remains as an outline in the flooring. The walls are a combination of oak, exposed stone, travertine and brick — a mix of old and new. A room in the back, with its doors swung wide open, marks where the next hearth stone oven will be placed — and where patrons will soon be able to see Massimo Ranni and his employees preparing artisanal stone-fired pizza at Massimo’s Pizza Bar.
The new eatery, slated to open sometime in late January or early February 2016, will feature traditional Roman thin crust pizza. Ranni and his wife, Anne Marie, who own Massimo’s Cucina Italiana at 96 Hammond St. in Bangor and Massimo’s Breads at 56 Stevens Road in Brewer, received approval for a liquor license for the new establishment from the Bangor City Council in April.
Once the new restaurant opens in early 2016, it will plan to serve lunch and dinner, Monday through Saturday.
Massimo’s Pizza Bar will feature hearth-stone-baked pizza, beer and wines.
“The pizzeria will be very traditional Roman, beautiful thin crust pizza,” Ranni said.
One of the featured pizzas on the menu will be a potato pizza with thin sliced potatoes and truffle oil. There also will be a classic margherita pizza as well as a range of toppings including eggplant and zucchini.
Ranni also plans to feature dessert pizzas, including one topped with a popular chocolate hazelnut spread.
The new restaurant will be located at 130 Hammond St. in the space previously occupied by Massimo’s Breads. The building — called the Clark House — is an old structure filled with architectural detail that Bob and Suzanne Kelly of House Revivers are integrating into the design for the new eatery. Toward the back of the space, original stone arches remain and a custom-made freezer fits snugly within. Brick and stone are exposed and complemented by a design focused on oak and travertine accents.
For Ranni, an admirer of Bangor’s rich history and historical buildings, the pizzeria will be yet another tribute to his culture and the traditions native to it. But it also will be part of his dedication to preserving the character in the spaces his eateries inhabit.
“We’ve delayed [the opening] a little bit because we’ve tried to find the right design for the place,” Ranni said.
Massimo’s Cucina Italiana, which opened in 2007, was the first of Ranni’s business ventures in Bangor after moving to the state from New Jersey. Before moving, he made breads, pizza and pastries at his bakery Il Forno in Montclair, New Jersey. However, the hustle and bustle became tiresome.
“We decided, you know, that’s enough. No more running. No more going crazy. Let’s move. And we came up to Maine,” Ranni said.
On Nov. 21, the Rannis celebrated the eighth anniversary of opening Massimo’s Cucina Italiana. The restaurant and the new pizzeria, which are just down the street from one another, will be open around the same times, and it was important for the Rannis that the two establishments complement rather than compete with each other.
The pizzeria’s menu will offer fare that differs from the restaurant’s pasta, meat and seafood dishes. Ranni also plans to offer pizza to-go. The doors to the kitchen at Massimo’s Pizza Bar will be wide open, and patrons can watch as their pizza is prepared. However, they shouldn’t expect to see any fancy dough tossing.
“Pizza is not about this,” Ranni said, tossing his hands in the air. “That’s an American thing.”
Rather, they can expect to see Ranni and his employees working the dough into a carefully prepared thin layer to give Bangor residents a taste of Italy.
