WILLOW CREEK — The scent of wood smoke and baking crust now drifts down Elm Street with the opening of Maples & Margherita, a wood-fired pizzeria that has transformed a long-vacant storefront into what owners hope will become a downtown dining destination.
The restaurant, opened by husband-and-wife team Leo and Sarah Gagnon, occupies the former Bissonette Hardware building that had sat empty since 2020. A custom-built brick oven imported from Naples anchors the open kitchen.
“It was a shell when we took possession. No plumbing, no electric worth mentioning,” said Leo Gagnon, a former line cook who trained at a pizzeria in Portland. “But we saw what this town is becoming with the trail and the tourism push. We wanted to be part of it.”
The menu features Neapolitan-style pizzas alongside Maine-inspired toppings including smoked trout, wild mushroom, and maple-glazed sausage sourced from O’Flaherty’s Maple operation.
First Selectman Arthur Pendelton praised the investment. “Every vacant storefront filled is a small victory,” he said. “This is exactly the kind of business that makes a downtown worth visiting.”
Maples & Margherita is open Wednesday through Sunday, with plans for extended summer hours when the Mattawamkeag River Trail season peaks.