CAROLINA BEACH — Twelve-and-a-half acres fronting Lake Park Boulevard is transforming into the mixed-use neighborhood of Proximity. And its first restaurant is now known.
READ MORE: New tavern opens in South Front District this week
A Connecticut-based pizzeria will open among a handful of restaurants, office and retail space, and roughly 250 apartments currently under construction by Cape Fear Development. It’s being built next to Publix, also developed by CFD.
Riko’s Pizza, founded in Stamford in 2011, will be 4,300 square feet, and consist of a 25-foot indoor bar seating 30 people, a 20-foot outdoor bar, and 14 large televisions playing all the major games. Signature black and wooden accents will complement black-and-white photographs aligning the walls.
“The Carolina Beach area is an attractive location for our next Riko’s restaurant because of its vibrant coastal community, as well as its proximity to UNC Wilmington,” spokesperson Kasara Philippas told Port City Daily.
It’s known for its tavern-style, thin-crust pizza, now seeing a resurgence nationwide.
“Tavern-style pies date back to the ‘30s and ‘40s when they were traditionally served in pubs across America,” Philippas explained. “As time went on, this style of pizza nearly disappeared.”
How it’s prepared and Riko’s cooking methods remain “trade secrets,” she added, but the menu boasts a variety of flavors for the 13-inch, six-slice round. Nashville hot chicken, clam fra diavolo, margherita and numerous “salad pizzas” appear on the on the menu — the latter consisting of piles of lettuce, cucumbers, veggies, meats and cheese, whether in the form of a chef, antipasto or chopped chicken version (there are also garden varieties for vegetarians).
Pies are offered either gluten-free or with original crust.
“We sell more than a million pies across our entire system … per year,” Philippas said.
The restaurant’s Hot Oil pie — cheese pizza cooked with Riko’s signature oil drizzled on top and garnished with a stinger pepper — is a one-of-a-kind fan favorite.
Other menu items include oven-roasted wings, doused in either classic Riko’s wing sauce, Italian-American-inspired appetizers, desserts, as well as craft beers, wines, and specialty cocktails. The Godfather, for instance, consists of whiskey, Amaretto, and Coke with an orange and cherry garnish.
The restaurant is run as a family affair, founded by Rico Imbrogno 13 years ago. His cousin, Luigi Cardillo, became the chief operating officer in 2018 and continues to lead operations of Riko’s corporate restaurants.
There are also franchises in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, and Florida, with North Carolina adding to the mix. John Greco will own the local eatery, according to Riko’s corporate team.
“Riko’s Pizza has franchised locations in the pipeline across its existing and new markets, such as Vermont and Pennsylvania,” Phillippas said, adding more could be on the way to the southeastern corner of North Carolina as well.
The corporation’s goal is to operate more than 15 restaurants throughout the East Coast by the end of 2025. Its 10th location most recently opened in Dartmouth, Massachusetts.
The Carolina Beach eatery is slated to unlock its doors in the first quarter of next year.
“The restaurant’s local neighborhood atmosphere will be a unique and desirable spot for the entire community,” Phillippas promised.
Port City Daily reached out to Cape Fear Development to ask how many other restaurants will add to the Proximity complex and if others are known at this time.
“We are excited about having Riko’s and will announce our retail tenant lineup next week,” CFD owner Brian Eckel wrote in an email.
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