A Q&A with Anita Craig, 2 Dough Girlz Pizzeria Birmingham, Alabama

Concept:

We fuse food, fashion and hip hop together to create a fun approach environment. Taking an artisanal approach, we create food that is flavorful, fresh and clean. We use as many fresh products as possible and limit our use of canned products. Hip hop tells a story, and pizza tells a story; combine them together and you will create a story that will last for years.

Pizza Style & Dough:

Our pizza style is artisan hand-tossed Neapolitan inspired. We use whole wheat, organic dough. Due to limited space, we partnered with a family-owned company out of New England for our dough. We tell everyone the secret ingredient is dirty Boston water.

As a new business, how are you building community in the Woodlawn neighborhood?

We have been in the Woodlawn community for some time now, building our coffee brand Trvl Love Koffee, so when the situation presented itself to open the closing pizzeria we jumped on it to do this I reached out to my sister Jennifer Craig , who along with Steve Debrow came on board to create something special for the community. In addition we give back by employing students from the high school, partnering with other local businesses and being active with the local city council.

How have you been able to create the 80s 90s vibe?

That is all Steve. He definitely brings the feel of days of the past, the family environment, the open-arms feeling with music playing in the background and sports on the TV. I will say we are definitely the pizzeria version of Cheers.

Your pizza menu is innovative. Tell us about your combination focus and flavor fusion.

We have your traditional menu items that you would find in any pizzeria. However, we also bring elements like oxtails, fried chicken, collard greens, shrimp & crawfish to create mouthwatering arts of work.

What is your main focus for the first two years of the business?

The main focus the first two years is to create a brand with staying power. We want people to love the product, the concept and the people behind it. We want to grow into new markets within the first year and start to show our true staying power as your local pizzeria!