There’s a new business at 100 Main Street in Wiscasset and owners, Gary and Sue Thompson of Woolwich, are excitedly anticipating its debut. Happy’s Pizza and Subs, located in the former Pier 1 location will open at 11 a.m. on Sat., Feb. 14, just in time for pizza and sub-loving Valentines to experience extraordinary, tasty cuisine in a relaxed, friendly environment.
Happy’s is the culmination of a dream the Thompson’s have thought about for several years. Three weeks ago, the couple decided that now was the time to go ahead with their plans.
“I like to cook,” Gary Thompson said. “My wife and I have wanted to do this for a long time. We decided that we’re just going to go for it.”
The Thompson family will run the restaurant and Gary and Sue hope it will be a place customers will choose as a destination for good food and its welcoming atmosphere.
“We want to make this an affordable, fun place to go, where people can bring their families and have a good time,” Gary Thompson said. “I’m working hard to keep my prices down.”
The menus for Happy’s have been printed, but the Thompsons say they will be keeping their eyes and ears open for what the public wants and adjust it accordingly.
“We know there are some things we’ve probably forgotten to put on the menu but we plan to enlarge it as we go,” Sue Thompson said. “We will have a suggestion box and take all ideas under consideration.”
Along with all the traditional pizza and sub items, the Thompsons plan to offer baked goods, steamed hot dogs, their own specialty meatballs and homemade candies. They plan to host a grand opening sometime in March, but Gary said before that happens, he wants to use the first few weeks learning what his customers want and how he can best serve the community. Eventually, the restaurant may even expand its hours to include breakfast.
The name Happy’s derived from a nickname given to Gary by his first grandson.
“He couldn’t say Grandpa, so he called me Happy,” Gary explained. “The name stuck and now all six of my grandchildren call me Happy. When we were trying to think of a name for the restaurant, my wife thought Happy would be a good one.”
The Thompson’s say their pizza will be unlike any that customers have tasted before. Taste buds will be tantalized with a special sauce boasting a secret ingredient and portions of all items on the menu will be ample.
“There’ll be no skimping,” insisted Sue. “We’ve tested our pizza on family and friends and even donated several to a child’s birthday party at the local playground. We took a poll and everyone picked this particular sauce that we plan to use on our fresh dough pizza’s here at Happy’s.”
Each Sunday, Happy’s will offer children under age 12 the chance to win a free pizza or six-inch sub by coloring a picture of a pizza slice and entering it in the weekly drawing.
Happy’s Pizza and Subs will be open Sun.-Thurs., 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Fri.-Sat., from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. The entire menu is available for eat in or take out. To contact Happy’s, call 882-9275.
