Yusef Walker
Dolo's Pizza | Atlanta
april 2023
Born and raised in Queens, Yusef Walker comes from a long line of cooks. He’s been working in restaurants since he was 17 years old, and realized along the way that he had a natural affinity for being in the kitchen. Walker, along with his brother, moved to Atlanta in 2016 where they opened their first restaurant together, Negril ATL, serving the Caribbean cuisine they grew up eating. With the success of their first spot, they also went on to open Ms. Icey’s Kitchen and Bar in 2018. During the pandemic, Walker’s local pizzeria closed, so he started to experiment with making his own pizzas at home, constantly tweaking and testing his dough recipe until he and his partner Alyson Williams were happy with it. His time making pizzas inspired a new concept; one that would allow him to connect to the community on a more personal level.
In 2022, Walker and Williams opened Dolo’s Pizza, where he serves his New York-inspired pizza with a hint of West Coast and Caribbean influences. Located in Underground Atlanta, the city’s below-ground retail and exhibition space, Dolo’s has become a way for Walker to engage with his community. He participates in events with local farmers, teaches pizza classes to kids, and works closely with Casa Culinary School, teaching aspiring young chefs and often hiring them at Ms. Icey’s. Walker is determined to expand Dolo’s positive impact, looking to form a network of unsung local pizza makers and to collaborate with the Underground's vast artist network to showcase the work of Atlanta creatives.
