The Ricochet opens in Derry
Derry native Joey McCarran fondly remembers Romano’s Pizzeria, a town institution for nearly two decades. After several years spent on the West Coast post-college, McCarran and his wife, Lauren, are now back in his hometown — they’re known as “Jo and Lo,” and they’ve just opened a new restaurant together in the same storefront he used to frequent growing up.
The couple’s own experiences traveling across the country and returning home, McCarran said, inspired the name of their new eatery: The Ricochet. Gourmet pizza pies, calzones and hot subs are among the stars of the menu, which also features appetizers, salads, craft beers and cocktails.
“We like to say that the whole thing about this place and what we tried to do here is that it’s a feeling,” he said. “You’re going to ricochet off the walls here but at the end of the day you’ll end up where you’re supposed to, and that’s kind of what we were thinking we did. … We were here, there and everywhere. We hadn’t really planned on moving back to New Hampshire, but I grew up here, my family is still around, and I wanted our daughters to be able to come back.”
The couple took over the space last July and have been hard at work ever since on renovations and menu development. Ricky Alback, who McCarran said had been an employee at Romano’s at the time of the ownership change, has stayed on to serve as The Ricochet’s head chef.
“Ricky and I, we’ve been working tirelessly over here, just to make sure that we have something that we really like and that we can share with everybody,” he said. “It’s been fun to hear all of the feedback. Some days everybody orders all of our sandwiches, and we’re like, ‘Wow, I guess we were a sub shop today!’ … Then we might have a pizza day, and all of the pizzas will be gone.”
McCarran also recently started a company called Little Wild, which aims to provide locally grown hydroponic produce for area restaurants and other wholesale customers.
“I’ve got an investment down at a farm in Haverhill, Massachusetts, that’s going to [have] 30,000 square feet of hydroponic produce production,” he said. “All that produce will be coming to The Ricochet. … The idea is that … a restaurant like ours can really benefit from a local supplier that is consistent and can keep delivering, so customers will want to come back.”
The Ricochet boasts a unique aesthetic McCarran likened to a zen garden, with low lighting and plenty of vibrant plants. While it has been somewhat heavy on the takeout clientele at least to start, he said he has steadily noticed a surge in the volume of dine-in customers as of late.
Pizzas, McCarran said, feature a thin crust reminiscent of a southeastern Connecticut style.
“My wife is actually from the Mystic area, and so we really like that style of pizza,” he said. “We do a small and a large, and then any of our pizzas can also be a calzone.”
Among the several fan favorite pies out of the gate have been the El Jefe, featuring local pulled pork, barbecue sauce, red onions, pineapple and bacon; the Reaper, a spicier pizza with ghost pepper cheese, chorizo and hot honey; and the Figgy P, which has fig jam, Gorgonzola cheese, fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced prosciutto and a balsamic drizzle.
Subs feature rolls McCarran picks up fresh every day at Tripoli Bakery, just over the state line in northern Massachusetts. Many of the tried and true classics are represented, from a house meatball sub with marinara and provolone cheese, to a BLT, a chicken Parm and a steak bomb.
Salads, meanwhile, start with a garden or romaine base before they can be built in all kinds of different ways with proteins, toppings and dressings. There’s also a modest selection of made-to-order appetizers, like onion rings, crispy cut fries, chicken tenders and wings.
The Ricochet is also fast becoming known for its beverage program, which includes a rotating lineup of craft beers and creative cocktails. McCarran has even partnered Ali and Rob Leleszi of Rockingham Brewing Co. to brew a house Mexican-style cerveza, which he calls “the perfect pizza beer.” It’s available on tap now and will soon come canned when the second batch is ready.
“The beer is called Cerveza de Lechuza, and Lechuza was the beach [where] we would be pretty much every day when we lived out in Malibu,” McCarran said. “It directly translates to ‘owl beer,’ and so that’s how we always talk about it. Like, ‘Hey, come sit with us and have an owl.’”
Despite its small space, The Ricochet features a small stage in the corner of its lounge space for live performances. McCarran is also working on adding outdoor seating at the end of the plaza.
The Ricochet
Where: 35 Manchester Road, Suite 10, Derry
Hours: Tuesday, 4 to 8 p.m.; Wednesday and Thursday, noon to 8 p.m., Friday, noon to 9 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, noon to 8 p.m.
More info: Visit ricochet.pizza, find them on Facebook @thericochetderry and on Instagram @lovethericochet, or call 434-6500
Featured photo: Photos by Annie Hardester, on Instagram @annie.the.baker
