Flatbread is the new restaurant at Nectar’s, the nightclub located near the M.V. airport. Hwoever, it does not exist merely to serve Nectar’s nightclub patrons. While they do offer pizza slices during shows, Flatbread is an independent entity with a 12-year history and a true sense of purpose. Here’s how it works: Flatbread is open from 12 noon until 10 pm. After that, it becomes Nectar’s. You enter through the same door, but depending on what time of day it is, you may find an all-natural, organic pizza restaurant or a concert venue.
In 1998 a group of like-minded restaurateurs opened their first Flatbread restaurant in Amesbury. Since then, they’ve opened seven more restaurants in New England, one in Hawaii, and one in British Columbia. Their rapid expansion alone is impressive, but their aspirations are what make this a remarkable organization. The mission is to serve clean, quality food made with locally grown organic ingredients, in an environment that is restorative for employees and guests, while promoting community benefits and sponsorships.
I expected to find Flatbread nestled away in the back of the building at the airport. To my surprise, they had filled the entire space with tables and strategically placed wait stations. The room was buzzing with energetic servers and diners. The hostess offered us indoor and outdoor seating, and we chose inside so we could watch the action at the new exposed kitchen and wood-fired clay oven where the pizzas are baked. Our menus each had unique covers, which we later learned were created by child patrons.
Managing partner Jim Harrison is here for the summer getting this new location underway. Except for one chef and one baker, the staff has been locally hired. They have quickly formed a team embracing the Flatbread philosophy.
Our server expertly guided us though the menu. There are four “traditional” flatbreads — traditional meaning they have a tomato sauce base. There are three flatbreads with no sauce, one with a homemade chipotle BBQ sauce, and one with a fresh basil and garlic pesto sauce. The organic salad with homemade berry vinaigrette, as well as some of the flatbreads offer a “no boundaries” option. This means you can choose from a list of ingredients, like oven-roasted red bell peppers, Vermont goat cheese or hormone-free maple fennel sausage to add to your dish.
The company is committed to using fresh ingredients available with a focus on locally grown vegetables. Right now, most of their produce comes from Morning Glory, Whippoorwill, and North Tabor farms. The sauces and the pizza dough are all made in-house using Flatbread’s recipes. The texture of the crust is the perfect balance of chewy and crunchy, forming an ideal foundation to carry the lively flavors of the toppings.
Every Wednesday night at Flatbread is Family Dance-O-Rama from 5:30 until 8 pm and every Tuesday is benefit night. Book your organization’s fundraiser at Flatbread and the restaurant will donate $3.50 for every flatbread sold.
They are open every day offering eat in, take out, or “take and bake” options. For great food and great fun, pack up the family and see for yourself what Flatbread Company is all about.
