By JACKSON WANG
Executive Editor
College students will continue to have access to calzones in the Pine Hills neighborhood. The owner of 212 Western Ave. says D.P. Dough will be reopening in mid-March or early April.
“[The new owner] has the full support of the franchise,” said Mark Dasco, who has owned the Western Ave. property for 25 years now.
Both D.P. Dough locations, Albany and Troy, shut down back in early January. The owner at the time, John Keyes of Johnny Dean LLC., gave Dasco just a week’s notice that they were closing. Dasco said Keyes abandoned the location in a hurry as soda machines and ovens still remain in the Albany store. Dasco also said there were still orders coming through GrubHub, a system for online orders.
Dasco believes Keyes was a victim of the tough economy.
After D.P. Dough closed, Dasco had a ‘For Rent’ sign up on the building for about a month. But a new potential owner approached him recently about acquiring the building to reopen D.P. Dough. Dasco didn’t release the new owner’s name, but describes him as a businessman from New York City.
But Dasco said everything is lining up and it looks like D.P. Dough will return as he recently finished negotiations on the lease with the new owner and the D.P. Dough Company.
“We’re 98 percent sure we’re all set,” Dasco said. “Everyone’s on the same page here.”
D.P. Dough did not return emails for a comment.
Dasco said the new owner will fly out to Columbus, Ohio with his business partners to go through a 10-day training session at the D.P. Dough headquarters to make sure they’ll be ready to run the calzone store.
Dasco said construction could start as early as next week inside his 212 Western Ave. building. He also said the new owners will be rebranding D.P. Dough in Albany as well.
Dasco said he’s happy to see D.P. Dough return because he believes it’s good for the neighborhood and college students.
“I was happy to inform them it was coming back,” Dasco said.
