DeKALB – Upon walking through the doors, an aroma of freshly baked dough, a strong whiff of garlic and a hint of melted butter drifted into the noses of patrons at a newly-opened restaurant, D.P. Dough.

It’s not your usual Italian restaurant, and it’s certainly not in Italy; but rather, it is a new calzone shop in DeKalb.

D.P. Dough, named after its original owners Dan and Penny Haley, 215 W. Lincoln Highway, is a late-night, college campus-oriented, one-stop calzone shop.

The calzone-focused restaurant opens at 4 p.m., allowing customers to enjoy an evening dinner. D.P. Dough stays open until 4 a.m., allowing college students who have nowhere to eat after the bars are closed or who just want a late night snack.

D.P. Dough’s Franchisee Frank Fatehali said there are good reasons to choose a calzone over a pizza.

“Kids, when they are going to college and they want a late night snack or food or something like that, they may not have the room to get a medium size pizza, and it’s more expensive and all that,” Fatehali said.

A calzone (often compared to pizza) is a turnover of baked dough usually filled with pizza toppings.

Some of the calzones at D.P. Dough include the Comfort Zone which is filled with tomatoes, green peppers, onions and mozzarella, or the Maui Wowi Zone which has pineapple, ham and mozzarella. 

Fatehali said he recommends patrons get their calzone’s “hooked up,” an add-on to the calzone which puts melted butter, parmesan and garlic seasoning on top of it for 75 cents.

Patrons also have the option to build their own calzone as part of D.P. Dough’s menu’s Construction Zone. 

Customers can fill their calzones with different proteins, veggies, cheeses and sauces.

There is also a DeKalb zone which features calzones themed around the city and university.

Other menu items beside calzones include wings, tots and breadsticks.

During D.P. Dough’s soft opening, the restaurant invited some local organizations, such as NIU’s club hockey team.

Jimmy Franklin, a first-year finance major and member of the hockey team, said the food was hockey-player friendly, as he’s currently having tooth problems after taking a puck to the face.

“With my chipped tooth, my nerve is exposed, so I can’t really put a lot of pressure or anything on that, and everything just melted right in my mouth,” Franklin said.

Other hockey players who are not missing a tooth, like Robbie Zimmerman, a first-year sport management major, said they enjoyed the food and are excited for more from D.P. Dough.

“Obviously it’s great for us college kids, open till 4 a.m. – can’t go wrong with that. So late night, definitely recommend. It’s hot, steamy, it’s gonna be fresh like you want it to be, and it’s just gonna hit the right spot,” Zimmerman said.

More information about the menu and ordering online can be found on the business’ website.