A New Hampshire pizza place may soon begin more carefully crafting its social media updates after confusing some of its loyal customers.
On August 29, Roger’s Restaurant and Pizza in Dover, New Hampshire, posted an update about an estimated 10-day closure from Sept. 5–14. The post left some wondering if the popular pizza shop was closing for good, reported WJBQ. It’s an understandable reaction, with some estimating that nearly 100,000 restaurants permanently shuttered as a result of the pandemic.
An apparent outpouring of questions from the local community prompted a second update, wherein Roger’s management clarified that the pizza shop was merely closing to redo flooring in its kitchen.
Roger’s Restaurant and Pizza is a full-service pizzeria founded in Dover, home of the University of New Hampshire’s flagship campus, in 1967 by Roger Boisee. The founder ran the business for about 50 years, eventually selling it to Mike Tsopas in 2017. Tsopas had begun working at Roger’s when he was just 14 years old, in 1979, and became known around town as “Pizza Mike,” according to Foster’s Daily Democrat.
Related: 5 ways to build engagement on your pizzeria’s social media pages
The pizzeria’s menu features standard pies like a Hawaiian (“Hawaiian with a KICK”) and a meat lover’s (“Roger’s ALL MEAT Pizza”). The menu also features some unique pies, like a Mac & Cheese Pizza, a Taco Pizza, and a Mexican Pizza.
Understandably, even the news of its temporary closure elicited strong feelings from Durham locals. “Oh no,” one Facebook commenter wrote. “I’ll have to endure withdrawals.”
“I don’t know how I’ll survive,” another Facebook user wrote.
Roger’s Restaurant and Pizza appeared on track to open back up on Friday, Sept. 15, just in time for a busy weekend with students back on campus. In the meantime, the pizza shop’s experience serves as a good reminder to other independent pizzerias: When closing temporarily, it can’t hurt to add a baseline of details to keep eaters in the loop.
