Guelph's newest wood oven pizza spot is opening with a bang.
On Wednesday, DoughBox on Stone Road will be giving away 500 free two-topping pizzas to people who sign up on their app.
The first location opened in Hamilton in 2019 and has since expanded to 12 locations.
Nagaraji Majeti, Ananth Badarala, Jitesh Padala, and Subhas Chandra Bose Boggavarapu, are four friends who decided to open up the Guelph location at 292 Stone Rd. W.
They are hoping to also open up a location in Waterloo, said Padala.
“That is the main plan, going for university towns,” he said.
Wednesday will be a very busy day and it will be a test for us to see how quickly we can serve our guests, said Padala.
“Most of the time when people think of wood fired pizza. They have to make a reservation at a restaurant and sit down,” said Gio Folino, director of franchising for DoughBox.
DoughBox is a quick service-style restaurant serving wood fired pizza, pasta, and salad, where customers order at the cash, and can eat-in or takeout, said Folino.
He owns other restaurants and saw the changes in the restaurant industry, where people are choosing to takeout because of their busy lives.
“What we’re finding is that dining is actually dying,” said Folino.
DoughBox plans to expand across Canada and eventually make it to the U.S., said Folino.
“Guelph is a city of its own and it’s quite unique. And it’s also known for its university,” he said.
The pizzas are one size, 12 inches, and aside from their signature pizzas, customers can build their own, with an unlimited amount of toppings.
There are thin, thick, cauliflower and gluten-free crust options available. There are also vegan cheese and halal options.
One of the more popular pizzas and Folino’s favourite is the twisted club. It has a parmesan basil pesto as the base sauce, oven-roasted chicken, pancetta, tomatoes, mozzarella, arugula, avocado, and lemon pepper aioli.
“First of all it’s been overwhelming,” said Folino. There has been a lot of curiosity from customers since it is a new place around town, he said.
