Park’d
After three years of owning and operating the Wrap Shack food truck, Portsmouth couple Sarah Blanchette and Ben Solomon have expanded into their own brick-and-mortar spot. Park’d (25 Sagamore Road, Rye, parkdnh.com), now open at the Rye Traffic Circle, features all of the same favorites that were available on the truck, from various wraps to the pair’s signature fish tacos and pickle dogs, along with several sandwich, salad, drink and grab-and-go options totally new to the space. “We loved what we were doing on the food truck, and we knew we were going to bring over a lot of those same menu items … but wanted a slightly different feel and kind of different identity,” Blanchette said. “The name ‘Park’d’ was kind of a play [on words]. … The truck is now parked. This is us, a little bit grown up and situated here now.” The new space has also allowed Blanchette and Solomon to begin serving beers, seltzers and canned cocktails, and a small bar bite menu to complement those options will likely be added in the near future, they said. Park’d is currently open Monday through Friday for lunch and dinner service; as for the Wrap Shack truck, Blanchette said she and Solomon have plans to eventually relaunch it for events and catering orders. The Scene recently caught up with Blanchette to talk about some of her must-try recommendations for when you visit Park’d.
How long has Park’d been around?
We opened on June 20. … We have a lot of ideas and plans moving forward for what we want this space to be. We’ll always have our signature wraps … but moving forward, we’re hoping to evolve into more of a full-service casual sit-down [restaurant].
What makes Park’d unique?
I gave this [question] to Ben, and his answer was great. … Honestly, I think that it’s us. Ben and I are definitely unique as business owners, because we didn’t have any sort of business background before we jumped into this. … We don’t even see it as a business. It’s just our day-to-day lives, and we run it that way. It suits us well because it’s very casual, comfortable and friendly. Starting the food truck and then moving into a restaurant has allowed us to be very close to our customers. We got to know them well, and I just think that that really resonates with people.
What is your favorite thing on your menu?
That [question] was easy for both of us. That would be our fish taco. We get our fish locally; it’s haddock that is lightly fried in a tempura that Ben has perfected, and it comes in a tortilla shell that’s a combination of corn and flour, so it’s neither hard nor soft and flimsy. … We keep it super simple. It has a little bit of Sriracha in it to give it a kick, but overall it’s mild, and there is fresh-squeezed lime over the top of it.
What is something that everyone should try?
My personal must-try is something that we call our “surf and turf,” and that’s in quotation marks. It’s a combination of our fish taco and our pickle dog, which is a tempura-battered and fried hot dog that comes in a toasted bun with a scratch-made pickle aioli and pickle relish. It’s a fun combination, because they come together in a little boat.
What celebrity would you like to see eating at Park’d?
I am saying Adam Sandler, only because I know he is local, and if he ever walked into the restaurant, I’m fairly confident that I would actually recognize him.
What is an essential skill to running a restaurant?
You need to be able to multitask and be able to switch gears quickly. But I guess above all else, you need to have the drive. If you are not willing to put in the time or the energy, and if it’s not truly a passion for you, it’s not going to be fun or worth it. … It’s a lot of work, so you really need to see the bigger picture and want what you’re doing.
What is your favorite thing about being on the Seacoast?
We’ve lived here our entire life, so this is what we know. But our favorite thing specifically about being in this area and opening our business here is that it’s home. We have our community, our friends [and] our family right here around us.
— Matt Ingersoll
Courtesy photo.
