Galway’s travelling pizza brothers aim to prove there’s dosh in dough

BY JESSICA THOMPSON

Grub on the go is a big thing during festival season – but when that food comes from the Dough Bros, you’re guaranteed restaurant quality food at street prices.

Eugene Greaney is a 27-year-old Galway native with big ideas for his business. The Dough Bros is a mobile, wood-fired pizza business which serves authentic Neapolitan pizzas on the streets and at local and national events from a trailer.

Using unique, hand-made dough, homemade sauce, and fresh, locally-sourced ingredients, the Dough Bros – Eugene, Ronan and Laurence – prepare, cook and sell high-quality pizzas at competitive, affordable prices.

After being made redundant from his sales and marketing job in January, Eugene had to plan his next move. Finding another job was near impossible and he had no intention of emigrating, so he used his initiative and decided to set up a business.

“I wanted to do something that I’d be happy in, that I’d do for maybe the rest of my life, rather than just getting another job for the sake of getting another job,” he said.

The food industry has always been part of the Greaney family life. Eugene’s parents have worked in the catering and restaurant business for 20 years, and his mother is the manager of the Galleon, one of Galway’s busiest restaurants. His 21-year-old brother Ronan also has some restaurant experience. Eugene has always loved the food business and always wanted to be part of it.

AIB are very supportive of new and existing businesses and SMEs and AIB Relationship Manager Tom Burke said that he was “impressed with [Eugene’s] passion, drive and enthusiasm for his new venture” as well as the “depth of his business plan and his ambition for his business”.

So he “took the plunge”, and with the help and support of AIB, he got the funds to start his business.

“Obviously it was going to cost too much money to set up a restaurant, so I did my research and started looking at the street food market,” he said.

“The quality of street food now isn’t what it used to be – greasy burgers and chips.  A lot of people don’t have the money to eat out a restaurant, so they eat on the streets. So you’re getting restaurant-quality food on the streets at low prices.”

Trips to Naples as a kid introduced Eugene to what he says is “the best pizza in the world”, and he wanted to recreate Neapolitan pizza here in Galway and make it mobile. With the help of his brother, Ronan, and their childhood friend, Laurence Enright (26) who has been working in a Michelin Star restaurant for the past four years, this dream became a reality.

Maeve Killilea, Relationship Manager of AIB on Tuam Road referred to The Dough Bros as “an exciting new venture” that embodies [the street culture of Galway and are a perfect foodie fit to young, vibrant Galway lifestyle.”

The Dough Brothers have worked at several local events and are regular fixtures at the Moycullen Farmer’s Market on Fridays. They are also available for private parties.

“It brings a kind of theatre element to a party – the big wood-fire oven is absolutely beautiful and the flames from it naturally draw people in – it’s a centrepiece. We do all the hand-tossing of the dough and all the theatrics. It’s a little bit different at a party,” Eugene explained.

The business is young and the three Dough Bros are still learning; “It’s going to take time. It’s not going to be an overnight success; if it was, everyone would be doing it.”

But the reactions to their food have been positive so far, with some people even referring to it as “the nicest pizza they’ve had”, and with food this delicious for prices as low as €5 for a 10-inch pizza, it’s easy to see why.

They are available for hire and can be contacted on 0871761662. More information is available on their Facebook page, The Dough Bros Wood Fired Pizza.