GLEN ALPINE — A longtime Glen Alpine eatery is getting new ownership, a new name and a few new recipes for customers to try.
The oven of Sobrino De Botín has been burning for almost 300 years. Coming here is a complete experience not only for foodies, but for anyone visiting Spain.
Foxhole Pizza and Subs opened for business on Jan. 2 at 101 E. Main St. in Glen Alpine, the former home of Doogie’s Pizza and Subs. Doogie’s, which had been a mainstay in Glen Alpine for 29 years, permanently closed at the end of 2022 so owner Randy Curtis could retire. To help Curtis carry the Doogie’s legacy forward, he turned to Randy Fox, who bought the business from him last year.
With the new year, brought a new name to the restaurant and Foxhole Pizza and Subs was officially open for business. Fox said his goal is to build on what Doogie’s had built over its nearly three decade run in Glen Alpine.
“Randy Curtis was running a great business,” said Donna Ollis, Fox’s longtime business partner. “We’re just doing a little bit of a different twist with the pizzas.”
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This twist includes homemade sauce and an upgraded crust.
“For the meats, we’re putting Boar’s Head meats on it,” Fox said. “We’re using the best.”
To help him run the new restaurant, Randy Fox turned to his sister, Teri, and her daughter, Keddi Frogge. Teri brings years of experience running restaurants in Burke County and Frogge comes from Twin Brother’s Pizza Co. in Valdese with plenty of cooking knowledge.
“(Frogge) is the one with the recipes,” said Ollis.
“She cooks the hamburger that goes on the pizza right here, she cooks the sausage that goes on the pizza, makes her own pizza sauce,” said Teri. “You’re all coming with grade A, select ingredients.”
“You’re not just pouring stuff out of a bag,” Ollis added.
In addition to the family connections behind the counter, Fox has also brought in a few family recipes, including his brother-in-law’s secret blend for wings, Bubba Rub.
“Kelly Kincaid was my brother-in-law,” said Fox. “He loved to cook. He always cooked them that way. That was his thing, so we call it Bubba Rub in memory of him.
Fox said he has also added baked spaghetti and lasagna to the menu.
“The lasagna is homemade too,” he said. “It’s a family recipe.”
The freedom to innovate like this is what made Fox want to own his own pizza restaurant in the first place. Fox and Ollis are no strangers to owning a business with Fox logging years of experience owning and managing several Subway franchises as well as owning Sam’s Xpress Car Wash in Morganton, and Ollis owning and running A Kut Above Salon for the last 25 years.
“I’ve run Subway’s for about 20 years,” said Fox. “So, we’ve had a lot of food experience and I always just wanted a pizza place.”
This longtime desire began to become reality in 2019 when Fox and Curtis began discussing what it would look like for him to take over Doogie’s.
“He was really wanting to retire,” Fox said. “He wanted to turn it over to someone who was going to do it good, keep it going and keep doing the same stuff.”
So far, customer feedback has been positive and, Teri said, while the menu has changed slightly, the central focus of the restaurant — pizza and subs — are not going anywhere. As for loyal Doogie’s customers missing their longtime favorites?
“If they had it, we probably have the stuff to make it,” Teri said. “If they can just tell what they like — the sandwiches and subs they wanted — we can do that.”
