Dough Boys Pizza Moves to Downtown Hudson

What started as a take-out and delivery-only operation on the skirts of town has grown into a downtown Hudson pizza shop.

Dough Boys Pizza has relocated to 529 Second St. nestled between Pier 500 and the Phipps Center. The lease was nearly up at the old place on the hill and owner Chad Hoyt said he was looking for a place  that would bring in more foot traffic.

The move comes after nearly four years at the old spot. One of the challenges, Hoyt said, will be to get customers down to the new spot –
but many of the customers over the first three weeks have been regulars checking out the new place.

But getting a downtown crowd is key in growing the pizza shop.

So he’s keeping a daily lunch special – a slice and soda for $2.95 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. daily which he’s hoping will bring in the downtown lunch crowd.

At the new location the scenery is largely the same but some things have changed.

“We liked what we had at the old place,” said Hoyt. “We kept the color scheme and feel pretty much the same – a Mediterranean feel.”

While the location is a new one, the food is the same. The pizza is a traditional Greek pizza. Unlike Italian pizza with a tossed crust and
ingredients atop shredded cheese Dough Boys pizza is a thinner crust with the ingredients hidden under a block of melted cheese.

“It’s seamless and cooks more like a pie,” Hoyt said.

Aside from pizza made with homemade ingredients made on the spot, Dough Boys serves gyros, salads, fish, pasta and subs. The most  popular menu item is pizza, the owner said, but gyros are becoming more popular with the downtown crowd – which is also traditionally Greek with the meat cut off the cone and served on a freshly-made pita.

Hoyt said since he eats there daily he doesn’t have a favorite dish.

“I try and eat different things all the time so I don’t really have one things a favor,” he said.

Hoyt’s background is in the pizza business – he started working in a shop in Menomonie in 1993 and is still making pie crusts. Being in Hudson is great for the restaurant because it’s a community-oriented community, Hoyt said.

“Hudson people are Hudson-conscious,” he said. “They go to local shops and make it a point to support local businesses.”