Pizza Lidos: Owner envisions an Italian-style vacation experience in Rye, NH

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RYE — Giorgia Nagle, inspired by Italy’s Amalfi Coast, is opening Pizza Lidos near Pirates Cove Beach, her second business on Ocean Boulevard.

“I want you to feel like you’re at a big communal table in Italy, that you’re under the vines,” Nagle said. “It’s going to be breezy and light with hopefully some canned Aperol spritzes, some great pizza and some really, really fresh ingredients.”

The new pizza and gelato shop will transform the former home of 603 Burgers at 1215 Ocean Blvd at the junction of Wallis Road.

Nagle, a Portsmouth resident and Plymouth State University graduate, is from the Catskills region in New York. She is the founder and owner of Kooks Cafe and Beach Shop, which opened in 2019.

Pizza Lidos will neighbor Petey’s Red Roof Market. It is just a few hundred feet away from Kooks. Nagle envisions it as another culinary option for beachgoers, Rye residents and tourists looking for either a quick bite or a sit-in dining experience.

Why a pizza shop in Rye?

Nagle’s idea to open an Ocean Boulevard pizza place has been marinating since the winter. Scanning her surroundings, Nagle hoped to take over the vacant commercial space and fix it up with a food concept not currently found in Rye.

Lobster rolls and seafood? Petey’s Summertime Seafood and Bar, Ray’s Seafood and Rye Harbor Lobster Pound have it covered. Smoothie bowls and tacos? Nagle is already doling those orders out at Kooks. 

What wasn’t being offered in that immediate stretch, she found, was a simple and beloved dining option: pizza. Nagle’s father is a chef and restaurateur with a focus on the flavors of their family’s Italian-American heritage, a path she’s intent on following.   

“I think it’s going to be a great addition to the beach,” Nagle said. 

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Lido — an Italian word meaning “beach” or “shore,” according to Nagle — will offer a multitude of pizzas: cheese, wild mushroom, margarita, white pizza with arugula, a pepperoni pizza and one with Italian sausage. Nagle also hopes to have a tossed green salad on the menu and the occasional “authentic special.”

Pending town approval, Nagle hopes to offer beer and wine. The gelato will come from Gelato Giuliana of New Haven, Connecticut. 

“The gelato is incredible,” Nagle said.

‘Staycation’ for locals

Nagle hopes the region’s college student population can return home to the Seacoast this summer and not feel like they have to travel to Boston or Portland for a night out. They can instead stay beachside, spend a night at Lidos and be close to the ocean.

“I try to make it feel like a little bit more of a unique atmosphere,” she said. “I want them to feel immersed in a vacation setting.”

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Lidos, which Nagle aims to open by June, is planned to be open each year from late spring until Oct. 1. Pizza Lidos will have a mixture of indoor and outdoor seating.

“It’s important to note that my mission or goal behind a lot of this is that while I love New England, it is a rough, long winter, especially on the Seacoast,” Nagle said. “With Kooks and with Lidos, I try to create a vacation feel for locals. I want them to feel like they’re on a ‘staycation,’ and I want them to really be able to enjoy the three months of summer that we get.”

Information: pizzalido.com

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