Throwback -- this is Episode 1, originally recorded in spring 2025 and first aired June 19, 2025. Hap's Roast Beef closed in July 2025. Seventy episodes ago, before Beyond the Plate with Carol had a studio, a logo, or a single subscriber, it had two chairs at a table, a camera Carol Erickson's son set up for her, and that same son sitting across from her. This is Episode 1 -- Carol's very first podcast -- recorded with Tyler Isabelle of Hap's Roast Beef in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, eight days after Tyler and his partner Amanda Long brought home Carol's first grandbaby. Tyler grew up inside the Red Arrow Diner. He jokes that he was born in the basement, and he worked every job across all four New Hampshire Red Arrow locations -- dishwashing, prep, the line, front of house, manager. In January 2023 he and Amanda took over Hap's, a forgotten sub shop on Lafayette Road with missing ceiling tiles and a lot of history, and spent two and a half years turning it into one of the most talked-about roast beef sandwich spots on the New Hampshire Seacoast. In this episode Tyler walks Carol through perfecting North Shore style roast beef -- pink and rare, never gray -- and the 1986 Berkel slicer that finally made it right after oven cooking, convection and sous vide all failed. He explains the New England beefer world, a Facebook community roughly 50,000 members deep that will absolutely tell you when your beef is off, right down to napkin count and beef-to-bun ratio. He tells the story of the Hap's bathroom -- the black toilet, the gold fixtures, the murals and fine art, its own scent machine and its own one-song playlist -- and why he thinks every restaurant owner in New England should invest in their bathroom. And he opens up about closing Hap's, becoming a dad, and personally hand-picking Tostimo's Pizza Kitchen out of Seabrook, New Hampshire, to take over the Portsmouth space so the community would be in good hands instead of watching the lease go on the open market. Hap's closed for good in July 2025, which makes this one a time capsule. Watch it for the story of how a shuttered roast beef shack got its shine back, for a mother and son talking shop as equals, and for the first time Carol Erickson ever hit record. 📍 Hap's Roast Beef -- 2222 Lafayette Road, Portsmouth, NH (the location is now Tostimo's Pizza Kitchen) 🔗 hapsportsmouth.com Carol Erickson has spent nearly 40 years in the hospitality industry as the owner of the Red Arrow Diner -- four New Hampshire locations, all open 24/7 -- and hosts Beyond the Plate with Carol, a New Hampshire-based podcast covering food, restaurants, and hospitality all across New England. Every episode, Carol sits down with the chefs, entrepreneurs, content creators, and everyday people with an interesting New England story to tell -- from family-owned restaurants and food trucks to second-generation operators like Tyler Isabelle. It's not just about the food -- it's about the journeys, the community, and what drives people to go beyond. This episode is sponsored by Belmont Hall & Restaurant. Manchester, NH -- family-owned for over 90 years. belmonthall.net | Instagram: @belmonthallandcatering | Facebook: @belmonthallandcatering 🔔 New episodes drop every Tuesday -- hit SUBSCRIBE and turn on notifications so you never miss one! Find Beyond the Plate everywhere: linktr.ee/BeyondtheplateNH 0:00 - Intro 0:23 - Carol's very first guest 1:06 - Where Carol finds new places 1:47 - Born into the Red Arrow 2:32 - Maine, Amanda, and Hap's 3:16 - Who Hap's was named after 4:32 - The year he changed nothing 5:02 - The 1986 slicer 5:47 - Pink and rare, never gray 6:19 - Inside the beefer world 7:34 - Every job at the diner 7:54 - Diner doodles become Hap's doodles 9:01 - You have to see this bathroom 😂 11:12 - Its own scent and its own playlist 😂 12:07 - Invest in your bathroom 13:23 - Becoming a dad 14:52 - Why Hap's is closing 15:54 - Sauces and spice packets 17:22 - Finding the right successor 18:46 - Tostimo's takes Portsmouth 19:38 - You have to start somewhere 20:21 - Carol's first radio show 22:06 - Closing
