By Dominik Lobkowicz
The Stapp and Wood families dig into some hot pizzas at Harvest Moon in Waldoboro May 9. Pictured clockwise from left are Kerrith Stapp, Doug Wood, Angela Wood, Rachel Wood, Amber Wood, Callisa Stapp, and David Stapp. (D. Lobkowicz photo) |
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Harvest Moon, Waldoboro’s newest restaurant, opened for business May 8 and its owner-operator is aiming to make a “farm-to-restaurant” concept economically viable.
The restaurant, located at 13 Friendship St., offers a variety of non-traditional pizzas such as the “Irish Blonde,” with hash browns, bacon, garlic, parsley, and garlic olive oil, and the “Choke the Goat,” with goat cheese, marinated portobello mushroom, artichoke, house-blend cheese, and either garlic olive oil or red sauce.
Though dominated by the pizza choices, the menu includes kale, spinach, and house salads and several appetizers such as Oysters Rockafella [sic] featuring Damariscotta River oysters.
Bennett Collins, the business owner, also runs the Harvest Moon mobile pizza oven and Broadwing Farm in Bremen.
With a new restaurant to run six days a week, Collins has hired a manager for his farm and is handing off the operation of the mobile oven to an employee.
Collins said his new focus will be working out how to make the farm-to-restaurant concept function as a competitive business.
According to Collins, locally sourced food brings better freshness and quality and supports the local economy by keeping money in the community, but “you still have to work the price point for the general public to compete with the other guy.”
Sourcing food locally was easier for the mobile operation since Collins did not need to buy as much food as often, and he said finding dependable sources for a year-round restaurant can be more difficult.
Along with ingredients from his farm, Collins said he has local sources for cheese, flour, produce, and meat. He estimates, by weight, the restaurant uses about 50 percent locally sourced products.
Using local products can also provide more insight into how something is grown or produced, Collins said.
“We really have no idea when we buy a tomato from the industrial food distribution system how it is grown,” he said.
Collins pointed to Morning Dew Farm in Newcastle as an example.
“I can see what they’re doing, I can see their practices in action,” he said.
With his own farm, Collins has enjoyed growing from seed, harvesting produce, and turning it into a prepared food to serve to customers.
“For me, it’s just fun. It’s fun to grow something,” he said.
Collins intends to promote the sources of the ingredients he uses, such as the flour from Maine Grains in Skowhegan he uses to make the restaurant’s pizza dough.
“It’s fun, you feel like you’re involved with something other than just your own business,” Collins said. “Something deeper.”
So far, Harvest Moon’s draft beer offerings are all from Maine, including two options from Newcastle’s Oxbow Brewery and others from Allagash Brewing Company in Portland, Maine Beer Company in Freeport, and Banded Horn Brewing Company in Biddeford.
“I’m not going to be a purist about everything from Maine, but certainly I have an emphasis on Maine beer,” Collins said.
Of the first four days of operation, Collins said Friday night was “crazy busy” and the weekend was a bit slower, possibly due to the weather.
“We’re pretty undiscovered at this point,” he said. “I don’t even have my sign up yet.”
Harvest Moon will be open from 3:30 to 10 p.m. every day but Mondays. Call 832-4005 for more information or visit http://www. harvestmoonpizza.com.
