For decades, Dan Baldridge was a fixture in Bar Harbor’s restaurant industry, running kitchens for a variety of different owners.
Now, the Lamoine man is opening his first eatery as his own boss and, while doing so, is reviving a dormant Ellsworth pizzeria space that closed earlier this year.
Baldridge, 54, is opening Danny’s Pizza in the former DragonFire space at Mill Mall. He has spent weeks repainting the walls, reflooring the dining area, getting new equipment installed and testing out pizza recipes.
“I’ve never been an owner before,” Baldridge said, standing behind a long counter that looked more like a desk with papers spread out where he planned soon to have customers placing their orders. “This is my first shot.”
Baldridge, who expects to open sometime this week, is eager to jump into the city’s pizza scene, which runs the gamut from franchised locations of Pat’s Pizza and Pizza Hut to independent shops like Finelli’s, Zeppa’s and others.
He did not buy the DragonFire pizza business, he said, as it was largely liquidated this past summer after its owner could not find a buyer — and before he seriously considered opening his own place. But he was able to buy some key pieces of equipment from DragonFire’s owner: the oven and its exhaust hood in the rear kitchen, and the large wood-fired pizza oven by the front entrance.
Baldridge said that while he has been renovating the space, he also has been getting to know the wood-fired pizza oven — not just testing recipes, but learning how to use it to get the best results.
“It cooks pizzas in three minutes,” he said. “Pizza was one of my first passions. I love going home smelling like a pizza shop.”
Baldridge, who most recently managed The Links Pub at Kebo Valley Golf Course in Bar Harbor, credited three men with helping him learn how to run a restaurant: David Closson of Kebo Valley, Joel Iverson of Southwest Harbor Sub Shop and Arthur Jacobs of Little Notch Bakery & Cafe in Southwest Harbor.
One thing he learned, he said, is not to try to do too much. He plans to have some hot subs, soups, and salads on his menu, and maybe oven-cooked wings. He’ll offer homemade cookies and brownies, and a selection of beer and wine to dine-in customers, but no deep-fried food.
Pizza, he stressed, will be the main product.
“You only do what you do well,” he said.
He said Ross Grant, owner of Mill Mall, and Grant’s facilities staff have been a big help to him in getting the space ready. And, when he opens, he will have help from his family. His wife, a teacher, will help on weekends, and two of his three sons also will work there at least part-time.
Beyond that, he said he should need only a handful of employees to keep things running smoothly.
“This is what I’m going to do until I retire,” Baldridge said. “This is what I love to do.”