Vaughan Dugan knows the restaurant business from top to bottom. A partner and owner in Sub-Culture Group’s Kapow Noodle Bar and newcomers Penelope and Shaker & Pie in Mizner Park in Boca Raton, Dugan has worked every job in front and back of house.
Coming from a family of business owners, his independent streak and interest in the hospitality business started at age 13 as a dishwasher in Newport, R.I., where he grew up.
“It came naturally to me being around it my whole life,” says Dugan.
But Dugan credits his single mother, a teacher, for motivating and validating his career path that led him to where he is today. “She gave me a lot of freedom and a lot of liberty to develop into the character that I am,” says Dugan. “Having a mother that really supported everything I did was probably the single biggest reason I wound up as an entrepreneur. A lot of parents can stifle a child’s dreams. She lit a fire under mine.”
While he didn’t complete his degree at FAU, when he came to South Florida in 1991 he started a chapter of his fraternity and became an entrepreneur. He made a name for himself throwing events for the fraternity.
“It exceeded any of my expectations of what a job would be outside of college, so I pursued it,” Dugan recalls.
Being an idea man means keeping an ear to the ground on cultural and dining trends. Pizza Fusion, his first restaurant concept in 2006, where he was a founding partner, was “ahead of the curve,” he says. When sustainability became a hot button issue, the all-natural and organic pizza restaurant delivered pizza in hybrid cars. Pizza Fusion grew to 50 franchise units.
It was love at first slice for Dugan when he met his wife Angela through Pizza Fusion, where she was a corporate trainer. She is now mixologist behind the craft cocktails at Kapow and the new restaurants.
Dugan, 50, is also managing director of Dugan Holdings Group. One of its ventures is distributing his wife’s line of handcrafted cocktail botanicals, bitters and tonics, Dugan and Dame.
The Dugans, who married two weeks after Kapow opened in November 2011, are parents of “one gregarious young entrepreneur,” son Bassil, age 6.
While what sets Sub-Culture Group apart is its ties to the local community, Dugan says, the group is working with strategic partners to replicate Kapow’s success in Nashville and Aspen.
“We do our best to be a big part of the community. That’s our formula for success, taking care of the people around us,” says Dugan.
