By Oliver Brochu-Dufour

Meet Amber Haque and Rami Badawi, proud owners of a local pizzeria in Dubai called The Pizza Guys. Ever since they started accepting Bitcoin about a week ago, their little pizzeria has literally gone viral.

On my vacation to Dubai to visit my family, the news came to my ears that a little pizza shop in the Business Bay area had started accepting Bitcoin; a first in the big city. I decided that it was time for my first Bitcoin pizza; it was delicious.

Amber and Rami opened their business a little over a year ago with the objective of creating a pizzeria that crafts the highest quality artisan pizza you can find. With a secret New York style dough, derived from a 300 years old Neapolitan recipe, everything that goes in the making of their handcrafted pizzas is fresh, high quality and has never been frozen. The restaurant actually made the decision not to own a freezer in order to offer the freshest products possible. You can actually taste the care that goes into each slice.

Since they started accepting Bitcoin, the shop has became an overnight sensation. Amber and Rami first heard of Bitcoin a few months ago during the Silkroad crackdown. After doing their own research and seeing that Bitcoin was more than just what the traditional media had reported, they decided to give it a shot. With the help of Tarik Kaddoumi (@bitcoinmena) they set up a wallet and started accepting the currency. Instant transactions and low fees are what sold them. They explained that the three opening (business) days processing time and huge markup that credit card companies take, plus the yearly fees just to be able to accept the card, are expensive and can be hard on small companies like theirs.

The Pizza Guys couldn't have hoped for a better response. Their story, now viral, brought new traffic to the shop. Bitcoin savvies as well as intrigued clients new to the concept of a digital currencies came to support the business. Advocates for Bitcoin, The Pizza Guys now take the opportunity to spread the word and provide a space for Bitcoin meetups and workshops. The small pizzeria is quickly becoming a hub to exchange ideas for Bitcoin maniacs over a slice. As a matter of fact, when conducting the interview a small meetup was taking place with people from Bitcoin UAE, Bitcoin Middle East & North Africa, Bitcoin Lebanon and DoctorBitcoin. Next Thursday, they will also be hosting an event for people unfamiliar with the currency who are willing to dip their toe. If you’re interested in attending one of the events, details can be found below.

If you happen to be in Dubai and are hungry for pizza, make sure to stop at The Pizza Guys and if you can, pay with Bitcoin! You won’t regret it!

Photo credit: Francis Dufour (http://francisdufourphotography.com)

Dubai Bitcoin Meetup: http://www.meetup.com/Bitcoin-Dubai/ Beirut Bitcoin Meetup: http://meetup.com/Bitcoin-Beirut/ Bitcoin UAE: @Bitcoin_UAE Bitcoin Middle East & North Africa: @bitcoinmena Bitcoin Lebanon: @btclb DoctorBitcoin: @doctorbitcoin

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