How to be a great pizza steward to the community
Or, how to run a pizza shop without upsetting a whole city
Hi there fellow pizza fan!
It’s me, your favorite pizza journalist and I am coming in greasier than ever today. You ever notice how a nice pizza shop can be the cornerstone of a community? A pizza shop that provides for the neighborhood thrives, grows and gives back to the people that show them so much pizza love. Last week I talked about the magic of the pizza parlor, this week I’m exploring the pizza shops that give back to the community that give so much to them.
If you’ve been following the pizza news you know about the latest Kevin Sousa disaster. This guy just can’t get things right and he has once again Music Manned himself into and out of another Pittsburgh neighborhood. Virgnia Montanez deconstructs Sousa’s timeline and Hal Klein over at Pittsburgh Magazine goes into detail of the breakup, including a dispute over the price of pizza ($40 seems like a lot!).
But why waste all our oxygen fretting about a guy that doesn’t seem interested in building something sustainable? While Sousa is bouncing in and out of neighborhoods there are plenty of pizza shops that are staying put and giving back to the community. Let’s talk about some of them!
Driftwood Oven - Community Focused & Neighbor Loaves
Driftwood Oven relies on their community every step of the way. They’ve chosen to forgo traditional rounds of financing through banks and instead have relied on a Kickstarter campaign and a Honeycomb Credit round of funding to raise nearly $200,000. That’s pretty rad!
Driftwood Oven has an entire section on their website dedicated to the community and their community efforts. They pay tribute to the seven farms in Pennsylvania that supply their fresh ingredients that they use to create amazing, complex pies.
More importantly, they participate in the Neighbor Loaves program that allows you to purchase a loaf of bread and give back to the community. Now that’s how you keep the whole supply chain happy!
Spirit - A Wall That Speaks Volumes
Yes, Spirit has some of my favorite pizza and yes I refuse to stop talking about them. Since their inception they’ve been a bastion for community good. Whether that’s hosting fundraisers or campaign rallies, Spirit has opened their doors to support their community in any possible way. One of their standout pieces is their fantastic wall. Each year the wall is painted by local artist to showcase local talent and give them a platform to express themselves. From the website:
Spirit Walls was created in 2017 by local artist brian gonnella as a platform for showcasing the work of all intersections of Pittsburgh's street art community. Partnering with sponsors from the local business community, the project became part of spirit's annual summer recess block party, and covers the parking lot wall of Spirit with a new collaborative mural that changes each year.
Due to the unique circumstances surrounding the covid-19 pandemic and the nature of the ongoing struggle for racial justice and anti-police brutality in the country; the platform was turned over for 2020 to an all-star crew of black artists from the city of Pittsburgh, curated by Camerin "Camo" Nesbit, to create a special mural dedicated to this revolutionary moment in us history while simultaneously amplifying black talent in the city of Pittsburgh.
The Ever Humble Michigan & Trumble
Alright, this shop vacated Pittsburgh a few years ago to open up back in Detroit, but they’ll have a piece of my heart for eternity. Michigan & Trumble is run by Nate and Kristen and, I’ll be honest, they rule. They care so much about every single customer, every single pizza, there is no such thing as an afterthought to them.
On their menu you’ll find a “Good Corner” section full of a bevy of options. There’s a “Good Drink” and a “Good Pizza.” These are rotating selections that, when purchase, directly benefit a local organization! 25% of the sale price gets directly donated to a local organization. They make it easy to eat well and feel good doing it (even if you’re a little bloated afterwards, I mean those slices are bigger than they look).
Spak Gives Back
Spak Bros has carved out a slice of its community in the heart of Garfield. I think they best personify the neighborhood they’re embedded in. The art on the walls is from local artist, JR Holtz, they partner with the brewery next door, throw pizza parties at Roboto across the street and participate in community events, like Pizza Fest. In a strange way it feels like the neighborhood sprouted from Spak itself!
Not to mention they participate in the 412 Food Rescue program to reduce food waste and help the community.
Slice On Broadway - The People’s Pizza
Rico Lunardi, owner of Slice On Broadway, is the pinnacle neighborhood pizza. If there’s a local fundraiser, community event, or cause that needs dozens of pizzas to feed volunteers, kids or helpers you simply put up the Pizza Signal and Rico will answer the call.
Slice On Broadway consistnetly and repeatedly answers the call, that they have their own day dedicated to them (April 14th). Here’s a snippet from the proclamation that sums up their dedication to the local community nicely:
Whereas, Rico and Slice pride themselves as being citizens of the community and are proud members of the Beechview Merchants Association, because they believe that being integrated into the community is far more important than just serving a slice of pizza, and;
Whereas, they have watched Beechview undergo multiple transformations, but through it all, Rico says that the same people are still there, and the friendliness of the people never change, and;
It’s amazing to see these pizza shops find year after year of success while also giving back to the community. In some ways, their longevity can probably be attributed to the roots they have in their neighborhood. By giving back they’re cultivating a loyal following who are way more inclined to choose them over a shop that doesn’t show up as consistently.
Okay, that’s that! We will pizza ya next time!