After two years, J.J. Dolan’s Irish Pizza Pub models success

DOWNTOWN—A message had been left for J.J. Dolan’s Irish Pizza Pub co-owner Danny Dolan, deriding him for not answering a request for an interview because he was probably hob-nobbing with Honolulu’s business elite on the golf course at Waialae Country Club.

He returned the call soon after the message was left. “Actually,” he laughed, “I’m at Pinehurst.” Pinehurst, of course, is the fabled, elite golf resort in North Carolina frequented by international oligarchs and statesmen. After enduring some good natured abuse, Dolan explained. “We won the trip in an American Heart Association raffle. Good things happen when you do the right thing.”

The sentiment rings true one week later, as Dolan and his business partner Jay Niebuhr discuss in their shared office above the pub the approaching two-year anniversary of the opening of J.J. Dolan’s on November 7. Theirs is a success story unfolding, and their commitment to giving back to the community is as much a part of their business plan as pizza dough and Guinness are.

Conventional wisdom, or pessimism, perhaps, holds that 90 percent of new restaurants fail within their first year. Dolan and Niehbur are dismissive of the notion. “It’s a myth,” they agree.

Niebuhr estimates that the kitchen is now pulling 700 pizzas a week from their ovens. “That’s a low estimate,” says Dolan, peering over framed pictures of his wife and kids. J.J. Dolan’s employs 25 people, most of whom receive medical benefits. They are needed to work because the approach that Dolan and Niebuhr have taken attracts customers, and it keeps those customers coming back.

“Pizza, beer, in a clean place with a good value,” offers Niebuhr. “It’s a simple concept, really. But we’re amazed at the number of people who really love it, by the positive response. It’s humbling.” During First Friday events in Chinatown, the kitchen at J.J. Dolan’s routinely reaches its maximum output and restaurant occupancy. “We sell everything in the kitchen. It’s a good problem to have.” That amounts to about 230 pizzas alone, in just a few short hours.

Since their opening in 2008, several businesses have come and gone along Bethel Street. There are challenges every small business will face, and those enterprises that succeed are the ones that learn quickly. The owners of J.J. Dolan’s are both experienced restaurant and bar industry veterans, and they went into business with a good idea of what they faced.

In those two years, they expanded their menu beyond pizza and brought on more staff. They brought in MLB and NFL packages on multiple HD screens. They got involved in the First Friday phenomenon. And they support charitable efforts as much as possible. Whether it be for gift certificates, pizza donations, or monetary donations, Dolan and Niebuhr are beseeched daily for support, from a wide variety of organizations. “It goes from little league teams to international stuff,” explains Dolan. “It’s part of our business model, really. It’s the right thing to do.” Their inboxes are full of letters and faxes from dozens of non-profits.

The restaurant business is a perilous one at the mercy of any number of variables, from taxation and regulation to the fickle nature of consumers. Bureaucracy has proved the most time consuming aspect for the owners of J.J. Dolan’s. “Everything moves a lot slower than we anticipated,” says Niebuhr. “But people are the most challenging part of the business. The human side is the best and the worst part of the job.”

Dolan and Niebuhr appear to have no problem with the human side of their business as they talk breezily with staff and patrons following a lunchtime rush. Dolan steps behind the bar to pour a few drinks as Niebuhr ties on an apron and goes back to work in the kitchen. Both are smiling, laughing, and generally making people feel at home. A San Francisco Giants fan, Dolan jibes a customer in a Philadelphia Phillies cap. Niebuhr, a rabid New York Yankee fan, shouts something in a perfect New Jersey accent from the kitchen about the baseball playoffs on television.

“I don’t know about longevity,” shrugs Niebuhr later, as the dinner crowd grows. “It’s been two years. We’re still here.”

J.J. Dolan’s Irish Pizza Pub
1147 Bethel St.
(808) 537-4992
http://www.jjdolans.com