While D.P. Dough has risen to become one of the nation’s favorite late-night dining options for college students, the chain wasn’t always so successful. Back in 1983, Penny Haley was selling calzones, baked potatoes and soup out of a food truck at the Big E fair in Springfield, Massachusetts. When her son Daniel joined her in the food truck four years later, he observed the popularity of his mother’s calzones. He had an idea to launch a retail and delivery location where he could sell calzones to students at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. The establishment did not sell typical pizzas but instead created unique calzones with unique names that all ended in “Zone.” When Dan combined his and his mother’s initials to form the title D.P. Dough, the brand was ready for launch.
Daniel always had a passion for creating unique calzones, but he was not concerned with building a national chain or brand. Within the first 25 years of D.P. Dough’s establishment, additional locations were opened by D.P. Dough employees or customers who truly demonstrated a passion for the product. While the new restaurants that opened received minimal operational or launch assistance, these new locations operated essentially as independent restaurants, only sharing the brand’s name and calzone-only concept. In 2010, Matt Crumpton, an attorney who studied at Ohio University, approached Dan Haley with an offer to purchase and franchise D.P. Dough. Crumpton explained to Haley that he had eaten over 100 D.P. Dough calzones during his collegiate studies. Upon hearing this, Haley was convinced that Mark’s passion and leadership experience made him the perfect individual to grow the D.P. Dough brand. Fast-forward to today and Crumpton has done just that, expanding D.P. Dough to over 27 college towns across the United States.
While having the term “dough” in the brand title might lead some to believe that D.P. Dough sells pizza, they never have and never will. Why don’t they sell pizza? D.P. Dough is a firm believer that calzones are simply way better than pizza, as they have been making calzone converts out of adventurous pizza connoisseurs. D.P. Dough calzones are delicious at any time of the day, but the eatery prides itself on being the place to go or call when it is “crazy late.” D.P. Dough is open seven days a week, from 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. daily. While other late-night options such as McDonald’s are open very late for delivery, food quality and timeliness is always a concern at these alternate locations. However, D.P. Dough ensures that their food is produced in a timely and delicious fashion by hiring their own personal delivery drivers while also cooking each order from scratch once it is received.
D.P. Dough’s calzone selection is expansive. The menu presents a diverse selection of calzone creations, ranging from a standard “Cheeze Zone,” to a unique “Falling Rock Zone,” consisting of bacon, tater tots, cheddar and mozzarella cheese and sour cream.
If none of their signature creations intrigue you, customers can build their own calzone, tailoring every aspect of the calzone to meet your exact specifications. Customers can select the proteins they want in their calzone, vegetables, cheeses, sauces and dipping sauces. If calzones don’t intrigue you, D.P. Dough has expanded their menu substantially since their launch. Customers can now order boneless and bone-in wings, “D.P. Tots,” including “Cheesy Bacon Tots,” and a diverse selection of “Stix,” which includes, “Cheese Stix, Cinnamon Stix, Garlic Parm Stix and Pesto Stix.” With such a vast selection of menu items, D.P. Dough’s menu diversity rivals our previously discussed Funk ‘n Waffles menu. Then, when considering that D.P. Dough is open seven days a week until 4 a.m., it is clear that the eatery has established itself as the premier place to go or call when it is “crazy late.” With such accessibility and menu diversity, D.P. Dough is a delicious late-night option that every Syracuse University student should try.
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