About

Pizza is simple food. But it doesn’t have to be ordinary.

Since 2009 when we opened our first slice shop on Congress Street in downtown Portland, we’ve been striving to elevate the pizza experience. It starts with the ingredients – high quality, local when possible – and the toppings – creative and comforting. Mashed potatoes? Tortellini? Cranberries on a pizza? These are just a few of the things we tried – and they worked. “The Masher” with mashed potato, scallion, and bacon is one of our most popular pies. And people thought it was weird when we first put it on the menu.

Making simple food isn’t easy. We are continuously working to make sure every pizza is perfect and every slice unforgettable. Whether it be from one of our slice counters, or in one of our full service dining rooms, every member of our team is motivated by this goal of consistently well-executed, uncomplicated food.

  • Slice Shop 576 Congress St Portland, ME June 2009
  • Enzo Wine Bar 576 A Congress St Portland, ME April 2010
  • Munjoy 225 Congress St Portland, ME December 2010
  • Harvard Sq 1432 Mass Ave Cambridge, MA February 2011
  • Pizza Delivery Portland, ME November 2011
  • Coolidge Corner 289 Harvard St Brookline, MA April 2012
  • BU Campus 888 Comm Ave Boston, MA August 2012
  • Dining Room 574 Congress St Portland, ME November 2012
  • Pizza Delivery Boston, MA January 2013
  • Lynnfield 1210 Market St Lynnfield, MA October 2013
  • Cottage Rd 159 Cottage Rd S Portland, ME November 2013
  • Newburyport 202 Merrimac St Newburyport, MA July 2014
  • John Roberts 125 John Roberts Rd S Portland, ME December 2014
  • Yarmouth 367 Main St Yarmouth, ME June 2015
  • Arlington 202 Mass Ave Arlington, MA July 2016
  • Read St 250 Read St Portland September 2016
  • Saco 779 Portland Rd US Rt 1 Saco July 2018
  • Logan Airport 1 Harborside Drive Boston August 2019
  • South Boston 416 W Broadway Boston March 2020
  • Andover 27 Main Street Andover December 2020
  • South End 345 Harrison Ave Boston May 2021
  • Brunswick 15 Cushing St Brunswick September 2021
  • Beverly 199 Rantoul St Beverly November 2021
  • Gorham 109 Main St Gorham December 2021
  • Auburn 730 Center St Auburn August 2022
  • Exeter 33 Water St Exeter September 2022
  • Portsmouth 110 Brewery Ln Portsmouth April 2023
  • Biddeford 404 Elm St Biddeford May 2023

Anthony & Mike

The OTTO story begins with two chefs from dramatically different culinary backgrounds united by the belief that pizza is serious food with the potential to transcend its "take-out chow" reputation by re-imagining the possibilities that exist beyond red sauce and mozzarella.

A native of Nantucket, Anthony Allen founded his first pizza shop on the island when he was 17, expanding a few years later to Martha’s Vineyard. Mike Keon worked in the galleys on fishing boats off the coast of Alaska for more than 12 years. The two met just north of Boston as the owners of neighboring restaurants. During downtimes, they’d swap stories of their culinary adventures. Like the time Anthony built a pizza oven from a scavenged 55-gallon oil drum and taught the locals in Tanzania how to make pizza. Or Mike's attempt to cook a full Thanksgiving dinner on a fishing boat in the middle of a violent storm.

With Anthony’s decades of pizza experience, Mike’s penchant for combining ingredients that aren’t necessarily obvious, and a shared drive to take a staple food to another level, OTTO was born in Portland, Maine in June 2009.

Are you looking to be a part of a stellar team?
Do you love insanely good pizza?

With 20 locations in Massachusetts and Maine, we're an expanding, award-winning, independently-owned company. Recognized by WGBH as the "Best Gourmet Pizza" in Boston and seven-time "Best Pizza" in Portland Phoenix! We are looking for easy-going team players, who are committed to providing good food and good times to our customers.

Apply for a position

OTTO is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Applicants for all jobs openings are welcome and will be considered without regard to race, gender, age, national origin, color, religion, disability, military status, or any other basis protected by applicable federal, state or local law.

For questions regarding employment at OTTO please e-mail: employment@ottoportland.com

Are you looking to apply at one of our licensed locations? Click the location links below to apply:

Biddeford, ME

Brunswick, ME

Good Food, Good Causes

In 2023, OTTO made the decision to focus our giving to a singular cause, music education.  Our charity partners for this initiative include regional non-profit organizations working to make quality music education available to students: the Maine Academy of Modern Music in Maine, the Portsmouth Music and Arts Center in New Hampshire, and Berklee's City Music Boston in Massachusetts,  Click here to learn more about this initiative.

This focus allows us to make a bigger impact in an area that is important to us at a time when music education funding is being diminished. 

And while we are focusing our giving on music education, we do accept requests for in-kind donations.  Please know, however, that due to this new focus, support may be limited. Contact us here.