Cabot residents have been heading to Harry’s Hardware for pizza on Wednesdays since 2023. Soon, pies in the Den will be a more regular occurrence.
Hook & Peel Pizza, a mobile business owned by Race Ricard, has moved into the downstairs kitchen in the multipurpose gathering place at 3087 Main Street. The kitchen is currently under renovation, with an opening date to be determined.
Hook & Peel will serve both “hybrid neo-Neapolitan/New York-style” pies and Detroit-style pizzas year-round, Ricard said, breaking from its tradition of wood-fired pizza in summer and thick, square pies in winter. Staples will include the popular Dill-Licious — topped with dill pickles and bacon — and Hot Honey Roni.
Ricard and his partner, Miranda Feist, plan to serve lunch and dinner five days a week with panini, wings, appetizers, salads and the Den’s beloved hot dogs, to which they’ll add “some Hook & Peel flair,” Ricard said. Harry’s Hardware co-owner Johanna Thibault will continue to operate the Den’s bar, which she opened in 2017.
Ricard, 40, has worked in the pizza industry for 21 years. In 2022, he built a small trailer and started Hook & Peel Mobile Pizza Kitchen, which has been the full-time gig for Cabot residents Ricard and Feist ever since.
When their every-other-week Harry’s Hardware pop-ups started, they weren’t sure how busy they would be. “It was like the entire town showed up,” Ricard said.
Before long, they were there weekly, parked outside in summer and using the kitchen in winter, with customers ordering through a window at the back of the building. For the past year, Hook & Peel’s prep kitchen has occupied an upstairs room at Harry’s Hardware, too, replacing one that Ricard and Feist had in Stowe.
Hook & Peel’s mobile wood-fired oven will stay on the road, Ricard said, though on a more limited schedule, focused on festivals and private events.
Follow @hookandpeelpizza on Instagram for updates and opening date announcements.
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