Riko's Pizza Opens First Massachusetts Location in Dartmouth

It's go time at Riko's Pizza in Dartmouth.

Housed in the former Buster's Sports Bar & Grill building on State Road, Riko's had a soft opening Tuesday, April 23. Manager Kayla Teixeira said she expects the place to be packed over the weekend for its official opening.

Riko's specialty is "hot oil" pizza.

"The oil itself is infused with stinger peppers," Teixeira said. "It leaves a spicy kick in your mouth. So, it's a spicy pizza, but it doesn't have initial spiciness. It hits after."

In the front of the house, Riko's looks almost exactly like Buster's. There appear to have been few renovations. The biggest change is that the Buster's backroom has been taken over by the kitchen, which has four pizza ovens.

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Teixeira said Riko's will be known for pizza, wings (baked, not fried), salads and salad pizzas (put whatever salad you'd like on a pizza).

To give an idea of pricing, I built my own pizza with linguica and peppers for $16.46.

The former Buster's location has, for the most part, sat dormant since the pandemic hit four years ago. The building's owner, Mike Panagakos, waited patiently for the right tenant. Nearly three years ago he told Fun 107 that he had multiple offers of $2 million or more for the business, but declined them all.

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Back in September, Fun 107 broke the news that a new chapter was about to begin at the Buster's location. Panagakos said he had signed a multi-year deal to bring in the hot oil pizza place chain. Panagakos said Riko's is a "very famous group with several locations in Miami, New York, and Connecticut."

Dartmouth is the first Massachusetts location and the first Riko's location to carry linguica.

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