The Hardest Aspects Of Running A Pizza Shop, According To David Dobrik - Exclusive
The restaurant business is famously unforgiving. Although the oft-quoted statistic that 90% of food businesses fail in the first year is a myth, almost one-fifth of restaurants do close during their first year of operation — and that figure doesn't include restaurants that limp along while not making a profit, either, per Toast. Figuring out how many hours to schedule your employees is tough, and some of your biggest expenses — ingredients — are constantly in danger of going bad in your fridge, basically setting your money on fire. You usually have to work long hours. And even if you are successful, you can look forward to slim 3-5% profit margins, on average (via Toast).
None of this deterred David Dobrik, who has a career that many people would kill to have. After building his name with his wildly successful YouTube channel, he has branched out and found success as a content creator on multiple platforms, including a travel show on Discovery+ called "Discovering David Dobrik." Despite having a life where he gets paid to film himself and his friends having fun, Dobrik couldn't resist the siren song of becoming a restaurateur and opening his dream pizza place, Doughbrik's. A Chicago native, Dobrik is passionate about the pizza from his home city, but Doughbrik's also serves a special new "doughy" style that he dreamed up.
All professions — including being an internet content creator — have their difficulties, but as Dobrik shared in an exclusive interview with Tasting Table, opening Doughbrik's has presented him with numerous challenges to overcome.
You need to have your hands in a lot of pies
Unlike some celebrity restaurateurs, David Dobrik has been highly involved in all aspects of Doughbrik's from the beginning. The first task was getting the pizza right. "We did — I don't know how many — 30 to 50 [or] more taste tests," he said. The most difficult part was making sure the pizza had structural integrity and the correct ingredient ratios.
But of course, creating a good product is only the beginning. After that, you have to make sure you can put it out at high volume in a consistent way, all while dealing with the small day-to-day crises that happen in restaurants. "That is difficult — to train employees, or get everyone on the same page, or make the pizzas consistent, or make sure we have enough cheese," Dobrik said. The key is to always stay connected with the business so you can deal with anything that comes up. "This isn't a thing you open up or you turn the key and then it's good to go. This is a full-time child. It needs attention every hour of the day."
Although the restaurant business is hard, for Dobrik, the effort is worth it when he sees hoards of happy customers. "I wasn't expecting that many people to come check out a pizza place. I was so blown away by it, and the fact that it's consistently full."
You can eat Doughbrik's Pizza at its location at 8363 Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood.