MERRIMACK – With over 100 beers on tap, brick oven pizza, mounds of burgers and a fun, fast-paced atmosphere, the owners of the popular New Hampshire chain Thirsty Moose have christened their latest location at 360 Daniel Webster Highway in Merrimack.

Co-owner and co-founder Brian Ward, chief of operations, said Merrimack has always been on the company’s radar.

“Our partner, John Upton, grew up in Merrimack and he’s lived here his whole life,” he said. “We knew there were a few places [to visit in Merrimack] but not a ton. People tended to head towards Nashua and Bedford but there was nothing really right in Merrimack. We saw this as a great opportunity and somebody reached out to us regarding this particular space, which was an old Shaw’s plaza, and then it was vacant. The landlords here spoke to us, and it took a while, but we got it.”

The Moose brand has certainly offered their fifth location a boost.

“We started in Portsmouth and we’ve tried to grow gradually, and we didn’t want to go super far away so that you lose that,” said Ward. “But keeping it close enough as not to ruin our current business but with the name recognition, people know the brand, they know what we’re after. It’s really helped – especially here in Merrimack, with John’s network of family and friends, a lot of people already knew about it.”

Ward said the response was quick and community support has been great.

“It was overwhelming,” he said. “We’ve been packed since day one and every day ever since.”

Merrimack residents have long commented on the lack of place to go right in their own city.

“We didn’t see a lot of American bar and grill-type places here,” continued Ward. “Something with a little night life. Most of what you find here relies on specialty- Italian, Mexican, that sort of thing. We thought this would be a cool spot for us to be. And we had considered Nashua, but we couldn’t find the right spot. So, when this became available, we said let’s do it.”

Renovations were long, but War said having the opportunity to create the Merrimack space from a shell was fortuitous in the long run.

“This was the first time that we had done it like that and there was some stuff that we had to learn but it worked out great,” he said. “We had a plan and we worked closely with a designer, and it was a very good experience.”

For anyone thirsty who has visited a Moose nearby, the chain’s mission is the same: provide quality food and professional service in a fun atmosphere.

Ward said starting off in Portsmouth proved to be an early test.

“Ever since Portsmouth, when we opened there, we painted it, we mudded the walls. We had to demo it,” he said. “When we opened, we had no money left in the bank. There was about a dollar left. So, we did most of the stuff ourselves. And as we’ve grown, we keep picking up new stuff and we have been evolving at the same time. This Merrimack location is the culmination of four other trial and errors, of seeing what we like and what we don’t like, and the restaurants that we have built.”

In addition to burgers and apps, called “beer bites,” smoked chicken wings, salads and “chowdah,” the Thirsty Moose Merrimack also offers brick oven pizzas.

“We do pizzas at all of our locations except Manchester because we couldn’t get the hood for it due to cost and the logistics,” said Ward. “Here, with the brick oven, we lower the temp a little to make the pizza a little crispier. When a pizza is cooked too fast, the vegetables on the pizza release their water but it doesn’t have time to evaporate. We cook it a little longer to get that perfect pizza.”

For Ward and the other founders, following trends comes with the territory.

“There’s me and my partners- there are five of us. Joe Kelley, John and Carrie Upton, who are married, and Chad Stepien, who is Carrie’s brother. It’s a family business. Me, Joe and Carrie have worked together for 20 years-plus. I started to work for Joe in high school, at Joe’s New York Pizza, which he owns. At one point, we had eight. There were three in Las Vegas, so we were out there, then we came back and opened the first Moose in Portsmouth. We all know each other well and we each specialize in something different. There’s a lot of back and forth but we always work towards the middle.”

With his role in operations, Ward utilizes his life-long experiences of working in different restaurants, bringing decades of experience to the table.

“I’ve worked in restaurants my whole life,” he said. “Everything from dishwasher, to line cook, server and bar back. Over the years, I’ve done it all. I have managed pizzerias and also full-service restaurants. After that, I went to Boston University, and got a degree in management. And I think my formal education really helped me see things a little differently. I already knew through hard knocks, how to run the floor. But when you have thirty people on the floor and you’re jamming, there are a lot of moving parts, a lot of personalities. There’s a lot to it.”

Moose reputation for people wanting to work for the company.

We try to foster good environments that are fun and if you work hard, you get rewarded. No one’s really screaming at you. It is restaurant work, so it’s hard work, late nights and a tough job. But I think we do a good job of respecting what people do. And most of the teams end up being friends. So, you’ll see that day one of a new store, no one really knows each other but after a month in, they’re all out getting drinks together on their days off.

With expansion, comes the usual ups and downs for any team.

“There’s been a lot of obstacles,” said Ward. “When we first opened Portsmouth, it was so busy, that we had to learn quick, to be able to handle that kind of volume. Then we opened the second in Dover, but we were bouncing back and forth. But now we have an area director, and an area executive kitchen manager and they have been on board since we opened Exeter. That made this store open a lot smoother.”

Ward said the Portsmouth location is the only one that differs slightly from the rest.

“It’s touristy and late-night based because it’s downtown Portsmouth and we have a late-night menu,” he said. “It’s more of a drinking crowd. The others are not like that. Here in Merrimack for example, its family based. Strong lunches, strong dinners. Happy hours, people come in for snacks. But this store quiets down around 11.”

Thirsty Moose now adds to its reputation of providing good food, a cornucopia of beers, in a setting that they boast, “is the cure for the common bar.”

“Outside of Portsmouth, we didn’t know what to expect,” Ward admits. “When we opened our second location in Dover, we started seeing a lot of families and sporting event crowds. It was awesome, and we thought that was really good. And now we’re thrilled to bring that to the people in the Merrimack area.”