Hidden in Vermont: Great Pizza, at last...
Ripple Pizza & Bar is Making Waves in Randolph, VT
June 7, 2026
Randolph, Vt—You might wonder how someone like me who grew up in New Haven, CT has been able to survive in Vermont for the past thirty-seven years knowing the pizza scene here is, well, a bit on the thin side. Now, I’m not talking thin-crust pizza, though my taste for New Haven/Neapolitan-style “apizza pie” does skew in that direction. I am talking about a truly yummy, newly-opened pizza place on Randolph, VT’s main drag called Ripple that I visited yesterday. I’ve been searching for that “little slice of heaven” served up simply and without fanfare on a simple paper plate, and now, at long last, I’ve found it.
I’ve often told people that if they wanted good pizza, either drive three hours south or come to my oven. It usually gets a laugh. Now, I can direct them to Ripple Pizza & Bar knowing they’ll get a delicious serving of the kind of pizza I’m used to cooking and eating. Ripple has fine-tuned its pizza-making prowess since my first visit there shortly after it opened in early April. Yesterday, I ordered two pizzas: The Wheel Pizza with added sausage, and the Morning Dew Pizza. Both were excellent, but the crust, oh, the crust. These pizzas had the thin crust I love and were cooked well enough to offer a slightly crisp bite without the floppiness or mushiness of a soft crust that loses cheese and toppings when you hoist it mouthward. I’ll even venture to call Ripple’s pizza crust al dente, “to the tooth,” that lit up the texture side of my palate.
Premium (and local) ingredients were apparent with the first bite. I learned from Ripple’s owner and manager, Brandon Shawn, that the extra sausage I’d ordered on The Wheel Pizza had come from Vermont Salumi in Barre, VT. This sausage with hints of coriander, fennel, and red pepper made The Wheel Pizza, already a delicious symphony of traditional Italian flavors, that much more mouth-watering. Great stuff!
Pizzas here at Ripple are of the 14 inch variety, served up in six slices per pie. Want a single slice? Just venture back to the counter and grab what’s available. There was plenty to choose from when I visited, but I wanted to order whole pies to get the full pizza parlor experience of my youth. My partner and I ate all but four slices. I had five of The Wheel and she had one Wheel and two Morning Dew’s. That left us with four Morning Dew slices to take home in a box. I had two slices for lunch the next day as leftovers that made me want to head back to Ripple for more.
Beyond a truly taste-worthy pizza-eating experience, which is really all I’d wanted to write about given that there’s now, at long last, real ‘za available in central Vermont inhabiting the Upper Valley’s northwestern slice, I should mention a few more things about Ripple.
First, it’s got a great little bar (seven stools strong) serving up libations of beer & wine, cocktails, mocktails, some mighty inventive craft sodas, and non-alcoholic beer. It also has seven tables of two tops, four tops, and larger where you can sit with your own party or join another. Its large front windows let in plenty of natural light through which customers can catch the action on Randolph’s South Main Street. And, as its Grateful Dead song-inspired restaurant name suggests, it’s got some really good music running though its ovens, pizza paddles, stools, chairs, tables, walls, paper plates, and friendly staff numbering nine employees at the latest count.
On a final note, the atmosphere here reminds me of a small pizza place I used to frequent in my home town that’s now closed, but the memories Ripple evoked rippled through me with every slice I ate. The mix of Mozzarella, Parmesan, and Asiago cheeses on my Wheel pizza were blended and cooked to perfection. This pizza was reminiscent of a splendid melding of New York, New Jersey, and New Haven-style pizzas. I’m comfortable calling this a strong contender as a first-rate Neapolitan “apizza pie.”
Ripple is open every day except Tuesday from 11 AM to 10 PM. Long hours to be sure that are bringing people in the door when other eateries are closed. They haven’t had to do much advertising, and business is brisk. Ripple does have a website, ripplevt.com, where you can find the menu and plenty of information about live music every Monday night from 7 - 9 PM, and more.
This feels like a passion project started by a guy who loves food and has decades of restaurant and bartending experience. Brandon knows how to source ingredients, do up a fine pizza, and treat customers right. Pricing is on target with slices starting at $2.75 and full pizzas at $16 - $18 each. Takeout is definitely part of the Ripple scene, and local businesses are ordering pizzas for large groups. Brandon is there fifteen hours a day, and his efforts show—and taste—great. He also appreciates those who work in the restaurant industry and is giving back with “Industry Monday” when restaurant workers can come in on the one day they’re typically not working and get a free slice. It’s his way of giving back to his profession and to those who serve the rest of us every day.
If I lived a bit closer, I’d be heading to Ripple most days for lunch of a slice or two, just like that little pizza place of my youth that still sends ripples of fond memories through my pizza-loving soul. When you visit, get ready for a thoroughly taste-worthy pizza-eating experience, and some new memories of a home-town pizza parlor of your very own.
Dave Celone writes from Sharon, VT about pizza (and other lesser foods), occasionally about VT maple creemees, and also about art, education, and goings-on in Vermont, New Hampshire, and the Upper Valley region that pique his (and, hopefully your) interest.