DeadProof Pizza Co. is a Manchester, NH–based mobile pizza pop-up turning brewery patios, festivals, and private events into full-on pizza parties, often going beyond pies with wings, smash burgers, and more. The brand’s voice is loud, fun, and very New England: “good vibes and dope pies,” menu changing weekly, and plenty of personality to match.
In the past year, DeadProof has racked up serious love from locals, including being named WMUR Viewers’ Choice Best Pizza in New Hampshire (2024) and New Hampshire Magazine’s Best of NH (2025) winner for Food Truck/Pop-Up Dining Experience. Owner, Dante Marino, shares his story with us.
What inspired you to get into foodservice?
“I had no chance when it came to my career – growing up in a big Italian family from Italy and the North End of Boston, food was practically a religion. Food was always involved when something great happened, something bad happened, accomplishments, milestones, deaths or just to get over a bad day. I knew food was where I’d end up, I just never knew when – and here I am. After multiple years of working behind a desk, selling my house and truly betting on me, I own a food trailer that just received Best of NH’s Best Food Truck/Pop-Up Experience, 2024 Best Pizza in NH, and most recently, a nomination for NHLRA (New Hampshire Lodging & Restaurant Association) Roaming Kitchen of the Year. I chose hospitality, I chose making people happy, and making a difference – this career brought me there and then some.”
What do you love about your business?
“I love the people – new, familiar and everyone in between. I’ve been able to build lifelong connections through a love of food, industry and hospitality, and that’s what’s truly been worth it, and continues to be.”
What's the most interesting/oddest/coolest thing to happen to your business?
“Winning some awards unbeknownst to me that we were even up for – that and how many people in the last 6 months have said this is the best pizza they’ve ever had, or one of the best. Makes all of the hard work worth it.”
What was the biggest business challenge you overcame?
“Learning to let go of facets of the business and putting my trust in others to carry it with me. I’m a fiercely independent person, but in this industry, that’s not sustainable – I’m a big advocate of having my people be a part of the world they help create, so having my team want to be a part of this, and its growth, allows me to really focus on big picture and grow this for them.”
What Cambro products help make your business work?
“How much time do you have? I am a BIG proponent of the stackables – I go through all of my 2 qt, 4 qt, 6 qt, 8 qt and 12 qts predominantly for food storage but I really want to start looking at getting more into Insulated Transport for the catering side of the business to help ease my mind of food quality during transport 😅 there’s so much I want to grow into and Cambro allows me to do that with peace of mind and a brand I can safely say I’ll use for life.”
