BALTIMORE — There's a new motto on Light Street: 2025, Staying Alive.
That's according to TinyBrickOven owner Will Fagg, who's embracing the wave of attention and foot traffic inspired by Dave Portnoy's OneBite review last month.
The Barstool founder's donation of $60,000 has also kept the Christmas spirit alive at the Federal Hill business on the first day of the new year.
"It's good to be tired, tired from serving so many customers, not tried from grinding away and getting no progress," Fagg said.
The business has been busier than ever in the last week. His GoFundMe, originally with a goal of $5,000 has now grown to more than $126,000.
Each Pay-It-Forward donation gets its own sticky note on a board up front at the tiny shop.
"The amount of donations we've received have far exceeded the capacity of our board and I would say have far exceeded the capacity of the people who can walk in and get it," he said.
Fagg has connected with Scott Weiner, whom he calls a good friend, who founded Slice Out Hunger in New York to figure out a game plan to ensure the donations match their power to make a positive impact.
"I can't just rely on trying to give food away from our little board. It needs to go beyond that. I feel confident that Scott, who's already done this before, will be able to help me figure out how to do it as well," he said.
Even with the newfound attention, a personalized experience is part of the experience of ordering from TinyBrickOven.
Each slice comes with a conversation, where Fagg makes an effort to get to learn his customers' names and a little bit about them.
"Thanks for being a part of our story," he told one customer on New Year's Day.
There's a lot of maybes ahead, the option to move or open a second location have cropped up. Nothing set in stone, but Fagg says he'll do whatever's best for longevity of the business and the Federal Hill Neighborhood.
"I hope both things can align," he said.
