When Colleen Doran graduated from the University of St. Thomas School of Law in 2007, she immediately set out to start up her own business law firm. Doran Law Office opened its doors in May 2008. Just one month later, Doran’s husband, Jordan Smith, decided to pursue his dream: opening a New York-style coal-fired pizza restaurant.
“As a business law attorney, you help other people build their business,” Doran, 43, says. “It’s really fun to focus on your own business.”
While Smith has had a history of success in the restaurant industry, with a hand in 23 restaurant openings, including most of the D’Amico & Sons locations in Minnesota and Florida, the pizza venture was the first that Doran got involved in. But she was ready.
“Law school gives you a certain amount of critical thinking that can be really valuable with any business,” Doran says, “which allowed me to do some creative work in how to get investors for the restaurant.” The restaurant was entirely privately funded—meaning they didn’t have to take out any loans—using a “secret financing scheme” created by Doran, along with “lots of help from family and friends.”
Black Sheep Coal Fired Pizza—named after its ovens’ fuel source, coal, the “black sheep” of the fuel industry—opened in the Warehouse District of Minneapolis in October 2008. The restaurant has exceeded Smith and Doran’s revenue projections. “We didn’t expect to be this busy right away. The restaurant has taken off way, way beyond what we had hoped for in the first year,” Doran says. “It was the right concept, in the right place, at the right time.”
Black Sheep’s unexpected success has caused Doran to take a small step back from the law firm and hire an associate, Jason Emery, to oversee its daily operations. Doran now does much of her legal work from her office in the back of the restaurant, which she says is actually much nicer than her office at the firm, making it easier for her to write pre-hearing conference briefs and run the restaurant floor simultaneously.
Doran is also happy that the restaurant has allowed her family to spend more time together. The family’s five children have all worked to make the restaurant a success—including her 12-year-old stepson, Jacob Smith, who has earned the nickname “Salad Boy” for his expertise at the salad bar.
Although Black Sheep has taken some focus away from her legal career, Doran is not ready to give it up just yet. “I went to law school with the intent to do good, so I’d like to continue using that degree for good in my life,” she says.
In fact, Doran’s legal connections have gotten Black Sheep a lot of business. “I’d say at least 10 percent of lawyers in Minneapolis come to the restaurant. I’m shocked by the numbers,” she says. “I don’t know if it’s because lawyers go out to eat more than anybody else, or if they just really like pizza.”
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