From a Garage-Born Hobby to a South Florida Favorite
By Darien Davies
Sure, everyone was making sourdough starters during COVID, but what about sourdough pizzas?
Yup. Next level.
What began as a lockdown experiment in a Boca Raton backyard has now risen – literally and figuratively – into one of South Florida’s most drool-worthy pizza kitchens. How Ya Dough’n isn’t just another pizza joint firing out the basics. It’s a movement fueled by making f**king delicious, artisanal pizza for all to enjoy.
“What started as a weekend hobby with sourdough and a residential pizza oven quickly turned into an obsession with fermentation, heat, and crust,” said Garett Goodman, co-founder and CEO. Garett, a Long Island native and longtime South Florida resident, wasn’t a chef by training. He was co-owner of a logistics and technology firm. But everything changed when a close friend introduced him to a residential Gosney pizza oven. “I realized that a [24-hour] sourdough taste blew away any [72-hour] commercial-yeast dough, so I never looked back,” Garett said.
Gabby Goodman, Garett’s wife, has a background in branding, photography, and the creative arts, and immediately saw the potential to turn this passion project into a real brand with fresh personality, story, and community at its core. Together, the combination of culinary curiosity and cool brand vision – mixed with a few kitchen martinis in the inception phase – created their cult-favorite brand known as How Ya Dough’n?
“Gabby and I were making wild-yeast sourdough pies for friends, then strangers, and before long, we were filling more than a hundred orders a week straight from our backyard. People would sign up for ‘pizza drops’ on Calendly and pick up pies on our lawn,” said Garett. Gabby, the brand’s co-founder and CBO, insisted they document every batch on social media.
The whole operation became so popular that Garett and Gabby’s neighborhood HOA served them with a cease-and-desist order, which is now framed and displayed in their store.
“The demand told us everything: people didn’t just want pizza – they wanted this style of sourdough pizza,” said Gabby. “That’s when Garett sold his stake in his logistics and tech firm, and we opened our first storefront in Boca Raton at Spanish River.”
What sets How Ya Dough’n apart is the foundation of everything they do: their sourdough. This is not just a trend or a gimmick. It’s a science, a craft, and an art.
Their dough is made from wild yeast and ferments for eight to 12 days, compared to the typical commercial yeast, which ferments for only 24 – 48 hours.
“The long fermentation breaks down gluten, creates complex flavor, and results in a crust that people tell us they can digest easily, even if they’re usually gluten-sensitive,” said Gabby. “For us, sourdough is the foundation of what pizza should be: Natural, flavorful, and made with patience, not shortcuts.”
This commitment to time and quality is what makes How Ya Dough’n unique in a market saturated with fast, mass-produced pizza. Every aspect of the process, from the ingredients to the preparation, reflects a level of care rarely seen in fast-casual dining.
“Everything is chosen with Michelin-level intention,” said Garett, especially with how he collaborates with local farms and artisans. “[We use] low-acid New Jersey tomatoes for a balanced and digestible sauce, locally sourced mozzarella delivered in whole blocks, soppressata flown in from Chicago, custom-blended local sausage, fresh herbs, scratch-made everything. Nothing in our kitchen is accidental.”
In just four years, How Ya Dough’n has expanded from its original Boca Raton location to three stores between Boca and Boynton, with Las Vegas (yes, Las Vegas) having just opened last month. A Coral Springs location is next on the horizon, set to open early this year. With all this pizza making, they’re producing over 2,500 pounds of sourdough a week.
“The biggest growing pain has also been our greatest advantage: staying committed to quality,” Garett said. “We refuse shortcuts, even when expansion is happening fast.”
While the menu is filled with standout creations, one reigns supreme: The Pistachio Pie, made with mozzarella, Havarti, pecorino, truffle oil, roasted pistachios, and honey.
“It’s the pizza that put us on the map,” said Garett, who modeled the pizza after his favorite mortadella-and-pistachio sandwich.
Even with all the growth, the Goodmans remain rooted in their mission to bring their “New York Sourdough” pizza to the nation without ever sacrificing the integrity of their dough or their brand.
“After Vegas, we plan to launch franchising so we can bring our style of ‘New York Sourdough’ pizza to more markets nationwide,” Garett said. “The long-term vision is a national brand that still feels local, soulful, and quality-obsessed. We’ll scale, but we’ll scale smart. No shortcuts, ever. That’s the promise.”
After all, according to Garett, “we’re not in the pizza business, we’re in the ‘make someone’s day with incredible sourdough’ business. And we’re just getting started.”
