Time and again our team members go above and beyond in sharing our Wood Fired Love! With a pandemic raging for over ten months they have continued to do so with kindness and smiles in the face of daily adversity. This is just one of many reasons that we want to make sure that they realize not only how much we are grateful for them but also that we are truly proud of each and every one of them! Simply put – our team ROCKS!
Hampton, NH – Flatbread Company, founded in Amesbury, MA in 1998 with hearths throughout New England, Hawaii and British Columbia, has spent the past several months retrofitting their company owned New England and Whistler, BC locations’ HVAC systems with HALO-LED REME-LED Technology Whole Air Purification Systems. The HALO-LED is the industry’s first LED in-duct, whole air purification system for home as well as commercial use that is both mercury free and zero ozone compliant. Unlike other systems, the HALO-LED proactively treats every cubic inch of the cycled air space, thereby reducing airborne and surface contaminants and pollutants.
“With the primary source of cooking being our hand-built clay wood-fired ovens, we had actually started to research this technology prior to Covid-19 to eliminate the smoke that could sometimes be in the dining room air..” Flatbread Company founder, Jay Gould pointed out. “Due to the impact of the current pandemic, we ramped up the urgency of our plans so that we would have a system installed prior to the arrival of late fall.” he added. The Halo-LED advantage is that most UVC lamps are passive systems that require pollutants to pass under the light in order to serve its function. The REME HALO-LED differs due to combining the UV germicidal lamp functionality with an electrostatic system that sends out ionized oxidizers into the room to target pollutants at their source. The UV light technology coupled with self-cleaning ionizers, work in combination to reduce airborne and surface microbial, bacteria, viruses, mold, odors, allergens, dust and more indoor air pollutants. Gould further remarked that “An additional benefit to the HALO-LED system is its effectiveness in producing the desired oxidizing effects and particle neutralization while being zero ozone compliant so we are able to stay aligned with our “green” philosophies.”
Director of Facility Services, Anthony Grenon, spearheaded researching the many different available systems on the market utilizing his expertise as a DOD sub-contractor to identify the best fit for Flatbread Company keeping in mind both the company’s mantra of “Keep Each Other Well” in addition to its environment efforts. Grenon pointed out that “one of the points of differentiation of the HALO-LED system developed by RGF Environmental Group was the results of a study that commenced in March 2020 which showed an efficacy of 99.9% against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, commonly known as coronavirus 2019 or Covid-19” The independent third-party study focused on the inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 using RGF’s proprietary REME HALO product with PHI-CELL technology. The testing, performed by Bioanalysis Laboratories in Cypress, CA looked at neutralizing the virus within the occupied space in the air and on surfaces. “While we are confident in the technology we have installed, it’s important to also remember that the study was conducted in a controlled environment and is not in any way a medical claim” Grenon also mentioned.
“We have always committed to strictly adhering to CDC and State guidelines. However, with the colder months setting in, we were worried about our ability to keep our team members and guests as safe as possible..” stated Regional Manager Kristie Edmunds adding “..proactive measures such as these allow us to provide a healthier work environment and give our guests increased comfort and peace of mind while they are dining. We want them to know we are going above and beyond to keep them as safe as possible.” Flatbread Company started announcing the implementation of the new system through social media over the past several weeks which has been received with extremely positive feedback.
Flatbread Company Amesbury Announces Take-Out Only.
Out of an abundance of caution, Flatbread Company in Amesbury will temporarily return to offering take-only service, as of Friday, October 16th as a preventive measure due to staff members not being able to report to work.. One of our team members received a positive Covid-19 test result Saturday evening, October 17th, after contact with a confirmed case in the community. In light of this, as well as the surge of new Covid-19 cases in our community and the northeast region, our Amesbury restaurant will be closed for two days with plans to resume take-out only service Tuesday, October 20.
According to General Manager Shannon Hamilton, “the team member who tested positive called out of work this past Thursday not feeling well. This individual last worked three days prior on Monday after our daily Team Wellness Check, which we complete before entering the restaurant, and only waited on one table who happened to be a fellow team member.” In adherence to CDC and state guidelines, the Wellness Check includes the recording of each individual’s temperature, which is also confirmed by management. Additionally, the survey also prohibits any individual from working if they have had close contact with a confirmed Covid-19 positive case.
“Our team has been extremely diligent in wearing their masks as well as socially distancing as much as possible since we opened back up this past April,” Hamilton said. “Our guests that have been dining with us these past months have seen that we are taking this seriously as they are not even allowed into our dining spaces if they are not wearing their masks. I want to reassure everyone we are staying vigilant as well as thank them for the outpouring of support that has been shown when we moved to take-out only this past Friday.”
Restaurant management is assisting team members to get tested as well as the close contacts who interacted with the positive case thereby exceeding guideline standards. “Our team members have been continuously communicating with us about the status of their health,” said Regional Manager Lauren Grindrod. “Because of this, as soon as we had back-to-back days with team members not reporting to work, we were able to be more proactive and immediately decreased our operations to take-out only as well as shrink our staff while making the request to all those that had close contact with the individuals in the past 48 hours to immediately start to self-quarantine.”
Only those team members who did not have close contact with the positive Covid-19 individual and who continue to display no symptoms of illness will be allowed to return to work on Tuesday. Additionally, the restaurant was thoroughly cleaned overnight on Friday, per Covid-19 cleaning protocols.
“Amesbury is where it all started for us,” said Flatbread Company founder Jay Gould. “We are grateful that the community has always been there for us, and we want to make sure that we are doing all we can to keep our team members, guests and community at large as healthy as possible through quick action and transparency.”
Flatbread Company has alerted local DHHS officials and intends to cooperate fully with the state DHHS by providing all necessary team member and guest contact information needed to perform tracking and tracing if deemed necessary. The restaurant closed in compliance with state guidelines that mandate a 24-hour closure following a positive test result and will remain closed on Monday to allow time for additional test results to be received before deciding if it will go forward with Tuesday’s reopening plan.
October 8th, 2020
Flatbread Company Portsmouth Announces Abundance of Caution Closing
Portsmouth, NH – With the well-being of our team members, guests, as well as community in mind, we have decided to close until further notice. Within in the past 24 hours we have been notified that one of our team members tested positive for Covid-19 after interaction with a confirmed case outside of our work environment. The team member, who had limited interaction with guests, last worked Sunday morning and did not display symptoms until later in the week.
“We want to assure the Portsmouth community that we have been taking this pandemic with the utmost seriousness…” states general manager Katie Biggs. “All team members complete a daily wellness check prior to entering the building before their shift which includes the recording of their temperature as well as verification by the manger on duty; if a team member is experiencing any symptoms of Covid-19 or even has the mildest of elevated temperatures they are sent home without entering the restaurant.” added Biggs. After being notified of the situation, we made the quick decision to not only close out of an abundance of caution but also assist all of our team members to get tested in addition to those that came in direct contact with the positive case which exceeds CDC and state guidelines. In the meantime all Flatbread Company Portsmouth team members are self-quarantining.
Founded in 1998, by Jay Gould, the first Flatbread Company opened in Amesbury, MA. Today the company has eight other locations including Portland, ME; Portsmouth and North Conway, NH; Somerville and Bedford, MA; Providence, RI; Maui, HI as well as Whistler, B.C. Flatbread Company’s founding principles rely on quality and integrity of ingredients that allows them to serve clean food without unwanted chemicals while supporting organic and local farming. Additionally, the company is “mission based” with the desire to get involved in community through local non-profit and neighborhood partnerships. “Benefit Bakes” are featured at each location every Tuesday night to provide assistance to those organizations. For more information visit Flatbreadcompany.com or become a fan on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/FlatbreadPortsmouth.
It is with tremendous excitement that we announce the introduction of our latest project here at Flatbread Company: our new Flatbread Company @Home line of all-natural, mostly organic, proprietary food products for use by you, at home! We now proudly offer for sale our signature Flatbread Company house salad dressing, slow cooked pizza sauce as well as pizza dough which are currently available at all of our company-owned locations. “Over the years we have always informally offered these three items for purchase upon request but the current Covid-19 pandemic gave us the opportunity to reflect upon what else we could be doing during this time of modified daily operations” stated founder and CEO, Jay Gould. Flatbread Company @ Home items are created with the exact same all-natural, mostly organic sourced ingredients that the company uses in their recipes at each hearth from New England to Hawaii and British Columbia.
“From the time I was a busgirl in Amesbury to when I was the general manager, we would have guests rave about the one salad dressing we offer with many asking if they could purchase it to take home…” noted Regional Manager Lauren Grindrod. “We use organic berries and vinegar as the base before adding maple syrup and various herbs and spices; it really is a unique dressing…I remember packaging it up in different to-go containers depending on what we had on hand” she added while reminiscing about her first decade with the company. For over 20 years, Flatbread Company has also used the same approach with their slowed cooked tomato sauce which is the base for most of their pizza offerings. Organic tomatoes and onions serve as the starting point before adding a variety of other organic or all-natural vegetables, herbs and spices. While the sauce is offered fresh by the quart, it freezes very well so it makes a great staple to have on hand to use on a home-made pizza or even over pasta.
With take-out and delivery services making it more convenient to have pizza at home, the company has been surprised to find a higher demand for its fresh made organic dough as the Corona Virus pandemic lingers. “Having the kids home instead of in school, there were days that I was struggling to keep them busy. Then it dawned on me – why not make our meal and specifically pizza together?” Amesbury General Manager Shannon Hamilton shared. “As opposed to bringing a pizza home I brought the ingredients. While showing my kids how we make the pizzas in the restaurants, I got to talk to them about the integrity and source of the ingredients as well. It was not only interactive family fun but an educational opportunity at the same time.”
You can order the most mind-blowing pizza imaginable on-line for pick-up or delivery by visiting Flatbreadcompany.com or stock up on their Flatbread Company @Home products at any of the company-owned hearths today!
Black Lives Matter
Flatbread Company has always tried to stay out of the fray of politics, to be a place where all can come to renew their spirit. Over this past week, like you we’ve watched in shock, in horror while yet another innocent life, George Floyd’s, was tragically cut short…a son, brother, father and boyfriend stolen from the ones who love him. A fellow citizen treated as if life didn’t matter.
We’ve searched our souls, heard from our team members and questioned our core value and principals. Due to this reflection we feel that in this moment the only wrong thing to do is to stand on the sidelines in silence. We can’t remain silent. This is not about politics, it is about defending and standing up for humanity worldwide and the inalienable rights granted to us by the Constitution of the United States of America. It is our moral imperative, our responsibility, to use our collective voice to stand with those who have drawn a line in the sand stating enough is enough. If not now, when?
Now is the time to stand and be counted. Now is the time to simply and loudly state…We stand with the Black community. We stand with our team members, guests and friends who are treated differently due to the color of their skin. We stand against hate, racism, violence, white supremacy and systemic injustice. We stand with the people exercising their First Amendment rights protesting those injustices while denouncing those who are trying to turn peaceful demonstrations into an opportunity to further divide our country. We stand for equality, liberty and justice for all. Stand with us; together in unity with peace and love in our hearts for each other.
Keep Each Other Well,
Jason M. Lyon President & COO
They opened their first doors just over twenty years ago, but the folks at Flatbread Company trace their roots to a much earlier time. They’ve sourced the origins of baking as inspiration for their primitive clay and stone ovens.
Each of their flatbreads is hand-prepared with natural, organic, and free-range ingredients, and wood-fired for what they say is incredible tasting pizza. And dairy-free customers seem to agree. Melissa K. emailed in to recommend this small restaurant chain:
The pizza is amazing! We love the thin, crispy crust. My go-to pizza is the Homemade Sausage. It has homemade maple fennel sausage, sun-dried tomatoes, caramelized onions, and mushrooms with garlic and herb oil instead of red sauce. My husband changes it up and always does the build-your-own. The ingredients are locally sourced and organic, which is always a plus in my eyes.
As Melissa has discovered, Flatbread Company is special diet friendly with several dairy-free options:
Flatbread Co. in Portsmouth, NH has dairy free pizza. They currently use Daiya but when I was there last week with my husband they were trialing another brand called Good Planet (which my husband said tastes way better than Daiya).
We contacted the Portsmouth location to find out more, and one of the managing partners, Kristie Edmunds, shared the following:
All of our crusts are dairy free. All of our sauces are dairy free EXCEPT for buffalo sauce, crema, blue cheese dressing and chocolate sauce. And all of our meats are dairy free, but our pepperoni has starter cultures [this can be dairy derived].
She warned us that each Flatbread Company sources some of their ingredients from local farms, so there can be variations in the menu items and special diet selections. And of course, you will need to discuss food preparation with the staff if potential cross-contamination is a concern. Each restaurant is managed individually, and might have their own allergen procedures. But in general, you can easily order dairy-free right off their menu.
Tips for Ordering Dairy-Free or Vegan at Flatbread Company
- All (or almost all) locations have cheeseless vegan pizza on the menu with build-your-own vegan or dairy-free pizza options.
- Select locations offer “vegan cheese” as an add on, but what type they source can vary by location.
- Most of their restaurants have gluten-free pizza crust available, which is also vegan.
- Their regular house dough and many of their toppings are organic and dairy-free.
- They have a big, unique selection of plant-based toppings, that can include Kalamata olives, sulfate-free sun-dried tomatoes, roasted corn, caramelized onions, sweet potatoes, chickpeas, and more.
- They also source local, free-range, and un-cured meats to avoid added growth hormones and other chemicals.
- If you aren’t in a pizza mood, you can order a build-your-own organic salad. You choose the toppings and it’s doused in their house vinaigrette, which is reportedly dairy-free.
- Some locations serve a set menu of desserts, but others source desserts locally and change them up. These are occasionally dairy-free, gluten-free, and/or vegan. Check with the staff!
Melissa also gave a shout out to the drinks at Flatbread Company:
Their cocktails are delish, try any of them! And they carry Downeast Cider which I’m a big fan of but don’t often see at restaurants. They have a good selection of craft beers that my husband enjoys as well. For non-alcoholic drinks, I love the Maine blueberry soda and home-brewed root beer.
Where to Find Flatbread Company
They have quite a few locations in New England, including Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. But they also have an outposts in a few popular vacation spots, like Maui and Whistler, BC. See their website below for addresses, hours, and the menu for each restaurant.
Article and Images from Go Dairy Free