BY LEVAR ALONZO | A new business whose look, sound, and taste pays homage to the best of ’90s-era hip-hop is carving a niche by scooping up cups of edible cookie dough from its outdoor cart.
2 Dough Boyz made its debut on August 15 in front of Gansevoort Market (353 W. 14th St., btw. Hudson St. & Eighth Ave.). The business is the brainchild of Chelsea residents Matt Maroone, a former marketing executive at Universal Records, and his wife, Christina. The cart sells flavors whose names reference ’90s hip-hop songs and albums. Among the four items currently on the menu are “Confetti to Die” (a sugar cookie dough with white chocolate chips and rainbow sprinkles inspired by rapper Notorious B.I.G.) and “The World is S’mores” (named after rapper Nas’ “The World is Yours” hit single). Family and friends who share the couple’s love of ‘90s music helped come up with the names.
Matt, who grew up on classic hip-hop, was a marketing executive at Universal Records in the early 2000s — the dawn of music streaming. When CD sales dropped as songs and albums became easily accessible online, he found himself “tired of trying to sell a product consumers didn’t want.” That’s when the idea of creating a business model that captured the nature of rivals battling for the top spot began to take hold. He also wanted it to be fun and creative, something that stood out from the rest.
“I came up with the name of the company while listening to Outkast’s 1996 song ‘Two Dope Boyz (In a Cadillac),’ ” Matt recalled. “It was like ideas just came flooding into my brain and I had to find a way to get them out.”
Matt and his wife spent months in the kitchen whipping up different ideas for the childhood treat of cookie dough (they both are big cookie lovers, he noted). The couple saw an opportunity for themselves in the edible cookie dough market and set out to “create a unique dessert,” Matt said. “I wanted to do a fun creative project, something that was more than just business.”
In keeping with the cart’s fun hip-hop theme, Matt employs emerging rappers. He encourages his employees to use the same drive that make them want to be the best rapper and put the same energy into running the cart.
“I was hired on the spot,” rapper and cart employee Nate Logan recalled. “I was tested on my knowledge of hip-hop and passed.” Reaction to the product has been overwhelmingly positive. “This is definitely a fun concept and people love it,” he said.
Nate, a recent graduate from St. John’s University, looks to land a music internship or job in the industry. Matt urges his employees to bring their own ideas to the business, and he is looking to help Nate join a record label that gives him that same sense of creativity and freedom.
Another local rapper wrote the company’s theme song. Jamieson’s lyrics, which include the below passage, capture the essence of 2 Dough Boyz’ competitive spirit (for the whole song, visit youtu.be/OWDmzVHCAj4).
Old school, new school
Need to know this
We’re the only cookie dough specialists
My competition, I waive them good riddance
Flood the street with dough
Can you taste the difference?
The business is looking to expand its unique concept by adding a second cart soon. In the meantime, according to Matt, he and Christina are working on about 20 more flavors. They want to keep the menu small, though, because they’ve found that people don’t want a huge menu. He also urges anyone to “hit ’em up” on the company’s social media and suggest names for different combinations.
There’s only one requirement: “It has to be a pun on a ’90s hip-hop song or album and work with ingredients that reflect the pun and make sense,” Matt said.
The cart’s cookie dough comes in three different sizes — the $6 “Little Wayne,” the $9 “Fat Joe” and the $12 “Big Pun.” It is open from noon to 10 p.m. seven days a week. When it is raining and starts to get cold they will move inside of the Gansevoort Market, Matt noted.
Visit 2doughboyz.com. Email them at whatup@2doughboyz.com. Follow at facebook.com/2doughboyznyc, instagram.com/2doughboyznyc, and twitter.com/2doughboyznyc.
