Seacoast Pizza dubbed best pizza in Maine: Here's how owner keeps customers coming back
WELLS, Maine — Customers recently started showing up at Seacoast Pizza and Pasta and congratulating owner Frank Di Gangi, and he had no idea why.
Then he found out that Far & Wide, a travel website that ranks all sorts of destinations, in terms of food, nature, culture, and more, singled out Di Gangi’s Post Road eatery as having the best pizza in Maine in 2023.
“It was great,” Di Gangi said. “It was amazing.”
On the site, culture reporter Lissa Poirot said Far & Wide based its best choices for pizza in Maine and the other 49 states on reviews culled from Tripadvisor. Poirot noted reviewers love the “copious, by-the-slice options,” including the Sicilian-style offering at Seacoast Pizza and Pasta.
It’s fitting that Di Gangi serves those Sicilian-style slices among all the others.
Di Gangi was born in Sicily, Italy, in 1963 and lived there until his parents and siblings moved to New York City in 1972.
According to Di Gangi, anyone growing up in his Italian neighborhood in the 1970s had two choices for their working days. They could go into the construction industry or the pizza business. Di Gangi picked pizza.
He and his brothers owned and operated pizza joints in Queens and Brooklyn and up and down Manhattan in the late 1970s, '80s and '90s. He enjoyed those days, in which he often would meet such stars as Farrah Fawcett and Sylvester Stallone.
When terrorists attacked downtown Manhattan on Sept. 11, 2001, he and his wife, Enza, decided to raise their son and daughter in a safer, more relaxed environment. They chose Wells, Maine, a town they previously had discovered during their travels. The Di Gangis moved to Wells in 2005.
A year later, the Di Gangis bought the site of a just-closed burger joint at 901 Post Road and opened Seacoast Pizza and Pasta.
These days, the region has its fair share of eateries offering specialty pizzas. Back in 2006, however, after a career spent making pies in the Big Apple, Di Gangi looked around southern Maine and pinpointed a need he wanted to fill.
“You didn’t see any good pizza here, so we couldn’t think of a better place,” he said.
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Why Seacoast Pizza and Pasta stands out among the rest
Di Gangi made sure to offer a diverse menu of specialty pizzas, which diners and takeout customers can buy either as pies or by the slice. To help them choose, he placed slices in a glass case at the counter like they were tarts and pastries in a bakery.
Meat Lovers. White Tomato Basil. BBQ Chicken.
Vegetable. Chicken Parmesan. Lasagna.
Hawaiian. Buffalo Chicken. Chicken Bacon Ranch.
Seacoast Pizza and Pasta offers all of the above as toppings. There’s also that Sicilian-style option, which comes in thicker crust. And yes, you can get a simple, tried-and-true pepperoni pizza, as well.
Di Gangi’s personal favorite after a lifetime of eating and making pizzas is "plain cheese."
“I’m old-fashioned,” he said.
The most popular pies and slices are the Chicken Bacon, Buffalo Chicken, and Lasagna pizzas, according to Di Gangi.
And how about the pasta? What’s the big dish for customers?
“I’ll tell you: Fettuccine Alfredo with chicken and broccoli,” Di Gangi answered, without needing a moment to think.
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Making pizza is more than just a job for Seacoast Pizza owner
According to Di Gangi, he and his crew make an average of 250 pizzas a day during the busy summer months, when tourists flock to the Maine coast to enjoy the beaches. Di Gangi said he usually maintains a crew of eight to pull off such feats but only needs a staff of four during the slower, wintry months. And in January, he does not need a crew at all, as he closes up shop until mid-February.
It’s those days of 250 pizzas that Di Gangi cherishes the most. He said he craves constant activity, that busyness of people coming and going at his restaurant. He said he likes the days when the line of customers stretches from the cash register to out the door.
“It’s not about the business,” Di Gangi said. “It’s about keeping moving. Keeping going. I quit a job in the city one time, where I worked with an Italian old man, because the place was so slow.”
According to Di Gangi, his boss offered him more money, in the hopes he would stay with the job, but Di Gangi said no. He told his soon-to-be-former boss, “It’s not the money. It’s just that my time doesn’t go fast enough.” To the man’s credit, Di Gangi’s boss laughed when Di Gangi said that.
If that publicity from Far & Wide continues to make an impression on locals and travelers alike, then Seacoast Pizza and Pasta is sure to have more of the kind of days Di Gangi prefers.
“It’s a hobby,” Di Gangi said of making pizzas. “I don’t look at it as a job. I like the people. It’s like a club. People come in, and it’s awesome.”
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This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Seacoast Pizza and Pasta named best pizza in Maine
