Doughboy’s Owners Find Opportunity in Pizza

By Hannah Werle
WARREN, Ohio — After six months of preparation, Doughboy’s Pizza and Gyros co-owners Roger Morgan and Steve Haitzialexiou were excited to spread the news of their grand opening Tuesday.

Morgan and Haitzialexiou – natives of Howland and Warren, respectively – used to work together running fair concession trailers. However as COVID shut down many of the events they did business with, the pair found themselves looking for a new opportunity.

They had been told by friends and fellow business owners that the one food service that saw an increase in profit was pizza, so that’s what they decided to do.

The longtime business partners conceptualized their project in January, completing their work in only six months. From conception to opening, it was rather fast “for a complete turn around,” Morgan said.

The pair spent some $50,000 in renovations at the 3511 Youngstown Road location, Haitzialexiou said. The restaurant had a soft opening on May 26.

Doughboy’s blends Greek cuisine with other staples, like burgers and pizza. Haitzialexiou feels that Doughboy’s unique menu will help attract prospective customers.

“We try to be unique in some of the things we’re doing,” Haitzialexiou said. “We have a pizza that I don’t think anybody else has, a pulled pork, macaroni and cheese pizza.”

From pizzas to sandwiches, Doughboy’s aims to make as much food from scratch as possible.

“We make a lot of homemade foods here,” Morgan said. “That’s one of the biggest things we’ve tried to do… We try to do as much as we can from scratch to give people that family-owned restaurant, family-owned business feel.”

The pair also look to hold events at the restaurant, such as bike and car shows to generate local interest.

Employee Raylee Bubela said he was excited to work at Doughboy’s alongside Morgan and Haitzialexiou. He hopes to learn more about business in the process one day apply the skills he’s learned to his own career.

“I think it’s really good for young people my age to be so close to people who are opening up new businesses and franchises,” Bubela said. “It makes it a little easier to go along with what actually happens in that process.”

Pictured at top: Steve Haitzialexiou and Roger Morgan are joined by family and employees as they cut the ribbon to their new restaurant.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.