Louise Joseph, the proprietor of a pizza truck, recalled the day she discovered her wood-fired pies were popular, even in apizza-crazed New Haven.
Joseph claimed that at the city’s 2015 Apizza Feast, her family informed her that people were waiting in line. She was mistaken to believe that they were being kind.
I remarked, “Oh, thank you,” to which Joseph replied. And we’re worried, like, no, no, no. It’s quite lengthy.
After leaving a corporate catering position, Joseph had just begun her new venture, Dough Girls, Wood Fired Pizza on The Go. It didn’t take her long to know she was hit.
Joseph claims that in her tenth year, she had managed to overcome a pandemic, growth pains, and distrust from some pizza enthusiasts in the largely white, male-dominated industry.
She attributes her success to the encouragement of other female pizza entrepreneurs and the friendship of other pizzerias throughout the state.
According to Joseph, it took her three years to perfect the dough. She bakes wood-fired pies herself. Traditionally, coal-fired ovens are used to produce New Haven style pies. She claimed that the crust isn’t as crunchy or as thin as New Haven style.
She also learned her recipe from a restaurant in Fairfield, but it took her a long time to perfect it.
“The dough, the dough, the dough,” Joseph remarked, in response to the constant criticisms. And during the three years while the vehicle was being manufactured, I worked on that dough.
She claimed that although she has a menu, her margherita pies are the most popular among her patrons.
She stands out for other reasons as well. Joseph has Cape Verdean ancestry as well. She loved New Haven-style apizza growing up in New Haven.
However, she acknowledges that some people don’t believe her pies.
Joseph remarked, “I just laugh it off because what else am I going to do?” I find it amusing.
Additionally, August is National Black Business Month. According to U.S. Census data from 2023, more Black-owned businesses have opened in recent years than in 2022.
However, pizza is not an exception to the underrepresentation of women in such fields. Joseph attributed her company’s success to Connecticut’s Women’s Business Development Council (WBDC).
She added that since many pizza places are still controlled by men, a group called Women in Pizza has been a great resource.
Although she claims Connecticut has been encouraging, some patrons have questioned her about her decision to start making pizzas.
According to her, it relates to a broader discussion about who is allowed to access particular culinary areas.
According to Joseph, “people assume that you have to be of that ethnicity to make that type of food, whatever it is.” Bobby Flay and Rick Bayless are producing Latin and Mexican cuisine, yet nobody seems to care.
She claims that her pies frequently have second thoughts. However, she claims that one consumer group is, in the best possible way, more direct than the others.
She performed in a soft opening in Greenwich, close to Bruce Park, about ten years ago. She was parked next to a quinceanera that was taking place. A boy got a slice from her.
She had been honing the dough for years. Then she ran into him once more.
When he returned to the truck, Joseph remarked, “That was the best pizza I ever had.”
