Deliciously irresistable D.P. Dough in DeKalb

Frank Fatehali, owner of D.P. Dough in DeKalb, is business savvy and understands how location can affect the success of his restaurant. His newest D.P. Dough franchise opened last year near Northern Illinois University.

“I have two locations,” he said. “One in DeKalb of course and one in Chicago. Basically, I manage the stores, the finances, the scheduling, and the paperwork on that. I do have a general manager at both locations. My wife was also very actively involved in this business. And she actually manages the Lincoln Park location in Chicago.”

They opened D.P. Dough in DeKalb in September of 2023 and have enjoyed monumental success since.

“I was looking for a new concept,” Fatehali said. “Generally, when you’re trying to get into a business, especially the food service business which is very competitive, you want to get some sort of niche, some sort of edge that will differentiate your location from the rest of the big companies. When I was looking around, I actually came across this idea from one of the advertisement literature that was posted, the nearest location was in Bloomington-Normal at the ISU location, in a nice state university location.”

That particular location piqued Fatehali’s interest and he was immediately drawn to the area.

“I was sort of intrigued because it’s a little bit off the normal path as we specialize in calzones, which is similar to pizza but non-pizza,” he said. “I visited the Bloomington-Normal location, and that’s when I realized that it does extremely well and that their whole concept is to be present near or in college towns.”

Thus, Fatehali looked around locally to find a location fitting the successful descriptors he found to be true at the Bloomington-Normal location.

“When I was looking around where to open, I came across the university here which is a pretty big campus,” Fatehali said. “So, obviously, that’s why it was a good fit.

“Then I was also debating where else to open. I have the Lincoln Park Chicago location, which is very close to DePaul University. That’s where I decided to open, and I have more options available to open by Loyola University. So, I have a couple more spots that I can possibly open in the near future. These locations provide differentiation and room for growth in the business. Since it is a smaller company, there is less red tape, so a lot of those factors played into my decision-making process.”

In DeKalb, D.P. Dough has found a pretty perfect place to call home.

“The location is unique in the way it is pretty close to downtown, as well as pretty close to the campus,” Fatehali said. “Plus, it’s a standalone building, so there is a lot of seating available for the customers. It is on the old site where the Tom and Jerry was, which was a very, very well-known place for the students as well as for the residents of DeKalb. They can relate well to where in particular this location has opened up.”

D.P. Dough is a company that specializes in calzones, with a pretty extensive array of choices on the menu.

“We have more than 25 different varieties of calzones,” Fatehali said. “It’s not just one or two toppings, or just sausage and cheese, or sausage, or pepperoni and cheese, there is anything you can think of in the calzone, and we can make it.”

In a true twist on the classic snack food, D.P. Dough also serves their delicious calzones stuffed full of creamy mac n’ cheese, if that’s your fancy.

D.P. Dough also serves up a truly epic menu item appropriately named the Construction ‘Zone.

“You get to pick about four toppings and that’s all included in the price,” Fatehali said. “You can pay for more than four, which is just a small upcharge. But you can make your own calzone the way you want it. You want black olives in there? Sure. You want pulled pork in there? Of course. You can have vegan cheese, and we can get anything that you can possibly think of.”

The DeKalb business community has been a highlight of Fatehali’s foray into the area as a business owner.

“The residents are extremely welcoming. The first few weeks I didn’t have time to catch a breath. And even when the college kids are gone, I have a decent amount of business from the residents in DeKalb. They are so welcoming and friendly. They have a very real sense of pride, and they are so helpful to their hometown. You can just tell they love it here so much.”

For Fatehali, running his own franchise has been exciting and unique in each location where he has opened a store.

“One thing that is extremely unique about this place is the timing of the store’s hours,” he said. “We are open from 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. in the morning, seven days a week.”

D.P. Dough is only the second restaurant in the area open at that particular stretch of time aside from one of the biggest fast-food chains in America.

“We are open and if you’re hungry at three in the morning, you can come over here, and you can have your calzone, we’ll make it fresh for you,” Fatehali said. “We provide that convenience, if you didn’t have your dinner or you’re just awake and your stomach is growling at three in the morning, you can come in to eat.”

Even if you love running your own business, it can be quite challenging, but Fatehali has a firm grip on the franchise.

“It’s challenging as well as satisfying,” he said. “And any businesses like that, you want to feel fulfilled and good about the service you are providing to your customers. You want to feel like you are providing something that your customers really look forward to. It is so rewarding while being equally as challenging, but I love to make the customers happy.”

215 W. Lincoln Hwy., DeKalb | 815-766-3199 | dpdough.com