WILMINGTON, N.C. — There's something about determination to succeed and perseverance against the odds that draws people in and perhaps that explains why Wilmington's newest pizzeria is such a hit.
Although the road was less than easy, Tammy Tilghman's dreams of owning a pizza restaurant finally came to fruition in October.
“I'm still in awe every night I go home,” Tilghman said. “I have the same feeling I did from the first customer to every customer after.”
She wakes up most days with a bone-splitting headache that stems from a neurological condition she's had her whole life. She's gotten used to setting that aside, though, so it came as a shock when she was diagnosed with a brain tumor halfway into opening Girls with Dough. First the pandemic stood in the way and then the tumor seemed like an impossible hurdle.
“I had asked my neural surgeon if I could wait until I got Girls with Dough open before I did surgery and he was like, 'Absolutely not,'” Tilghman said.
There was just a fraction of a moment where she considered giving up, but she's the type of person that doesn't stop until she doesn't have a choice.
“I always said I'm only gonna stop when I'm not here,” Tilghman said. “This brings me joy, this makes me happy — this makes my heart happy.”
And she had no choice but to step away for four months, yet in that time she discovered what good neighbors can do when they all come together.
“It was the people when I was gone that showed up every day that made sure the construction was still happening, made sure they could do whatever they would do,” Tilghman said. “How many times the neighborhood came up here and would walk in the door and say, 'Tammy we were just walking by, we've got extra hands. What do you need?' and there would be like 30 of them outside and they'd just come in and help.”
Even after multiple brain surgeries, there's nothing she would rather be doing than waiting on the people who made her dream a reality. As much as she loves to eat pizza, she's not an expert at making it just yet, so if she's not at the front she's in the kitchen working to hone her skills as a pizza chef.
“A lot of times they'll just come up to me while we're working and go, 'I hope you know how proud we are of you' and I'm about in tears and I'm like 'thanks,'” Tilghman said. “You're your only downfall, that's it. You're the only reason why you can't do it.”