The First of its Kind, How a Pizza Franchise Focuses on Deaf Employment
Written and Photographed by Sarah Goolishian
November 23, 2020
I hurried towards the corner of H Street and 13th street in a popular dining neighborhood of D.C. I was headed in the direction of a large modern corner restaurant while trying to juggle my camera and my coffee. I was greeted by a few other staff as I walked in, but instead of shouting across the restaurant a simple wave and a “Good morning, how are you?” in American Sign Language continued to make the morning very calm and quiet. I couldn’t yet tell how many people were already inside preparing the day’s checklist. All I could hear were footsteps and general kitchen noises as pots and food prep buckets were being tossed around. It was fun walking into a hive of typical kitchen activity on mute.
“Where’s my coffee?” Jeff Perri joked as he swung his arms wide with his hands open and for dramatic effect furrowed his brows in mock disapproval. I had my hands full, which effectively rendered myself mute, as is most often the case for many who use American Sign Language as their primary language. Before I could snap back a witty response, he started to laugh and began my tour. Inside the restaurant, it already looked unique and designed with a specific mindset. Windows from waist height all the way to the ceiling bring in vast amounts of natural light, also mixed with numerous softly lit tungsten lights to ensure that there’s clear visibility—paramount for the deaf community to be able to communicate with ease. The entire interior space is open— from the ordering station to the kitchen, to the tables everyone can see everyone. This combats scenarios where non-deaf staff could simply yell from one room to the other, where deaf staff rely on eye contact.
Sehuam Bakri working behind the bar chatting with other coworkers on a busy Saturday night.
Isao Flores (center) and Yordi Morales (right) chatting as they prep pizza dough. Staff typically try to prep 200 - 300 dough balls before a busy day.
When customers come to Mozzeria but may not know American Sign Language a common way of placing orders is through writing notes back and forth.
“I would label myself as highly professional in culinary arts. I know a lot about food and the business relationships that take place. I have over 30 years of experience.” Jeff Perri explained when talking about his position as the assistant manager for the back of the house in the restaurant. He identifies as a Deaf person but has never felt that he has ever had limitations. His journey to working at Mozzeria wasn’t like most non-deaf managers. He attended the Scottsdale Culinary Institute of Le Cordon Bleu in Arizona. He didn’t ask for any special treatment; instead, he worked with an interpreter and through his own handwritten notes to communicate. Jeff graduated in the top three of three hundred chefs and was the only deaf person in the program.
His first job?
Working at a Hilton Hotel for three dollars an hour.
Mozzeria opened its founding restaurant in San Francisco but soon sought to expand their horizons and did so when they reached out to the Communication Service for the Deaf (CSD). CSD is a global and social impact organization specifically focused on providing technology and resources to the deaf and hard of hearing community. They aim to support ideas that ultimately generate a measurable, beneficial, and sustainable social impact on behalf of the deaf community. Mozzeria began their journey looking for small business grant opportunities and in 2017 they were able to receive CSD’s first social venture fund. CSD chose to invest and partner with Mozzeria to establish the first deaf owned and deaf operated U.S. restaurant franchise. It will be the first of its kind in the United States.
Christopher Soukup, who is the executive officer for the Communication Service for the Deaf, echoed Jeff’s experience in an interview for the Washington Post.
“Deaf people confront damaging stereotypes in the workplace that can disrupt their careers or even prevent their hiring. People think because someone cannot hear, they are incapable of handling high-stakes jobs — which is false in most cases. That’s why Mozzeria is so important, the more we can put those success stories out there, brick by brick we can combat that perception.”
Mozzeria staff getting food prepped and stocked before a busy Sunday lunch shift.
An analysis by the Gallaudet Research Institute of NHIS (the National Health Interview Survey) found that across all age groups, approximately 600,000 people in the United States (0.22% of the population) are "deaf”. Although in a study conducted by the National Deaf Center (NDC) at The University of Texas at Austin, less than half of deaf people were employed in 2014; in the same year, over 70% of the hearing population was employed. The NDC also noted that almost half of deaf people were not in the labor force at all in 2016.
The founding members of Mozzeria, Melody and Russell Stein, who are both deaf themselves, sought to create a space dedicated to serving and supporting the deaf community while combining their shared passion for great food. “Many deaf people have graduated from college or have advanced degrees, but they aren’t hired in their field — they have to get a job that’s completely unrelated to what they do. Russell and I believe that we have a social responsibility to the deaf community, no matter their background. We set ourselves apart by offering opportunities for them to work. It’s making an impact on the deaf community.” Melody said in an interview for Square.
Alexa Paulay-Simmons using the Video Relay System to place orders via phone interpreter.
“Yes, there is the Deaf Starbucks, but that is different because it is not actually Deaf owned.” Jeff continued in his interview. “[Starbucks] is hearing owned, and we can see that in the money. The money that it takes to open up a new store. This here is the first time that Deaf people have had the money and made the investment and started from the ground up to build a business. Never before have we seen a Deaf owned, and bought, aspect of what we have here. This is the first, we are it. I have never seen other Deaf owned business like [Mozzeria].”
In case all of you were wondering, well are the pizzas even any good? I had a chance to quickly grab a few comments from one large party all seated in the back corner spanning two separate tables. It was a large group of deaf friends trying to figure out a seating arrangement so they could all be able to ‘talk’, see each other.
Matthew Pollock from Norfolk VA couldn’t wait to give his input. “Not only is the food amazing but this is the first place to really show, yes deaf people can do this. We now have the opportunities and the skills to really showcase deaf talent to the hearing community.”
Mozzeria is quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with as it grows in esteem within the culinary world and for reaching to bridge that gap between non-deaf and deaf individuals. It’ll be exciting to see where the team at Mozzeria decide to go from here, and potentially which city they’ll pick next for a new restaurant location. This is only the beginning.
David Uzzell one of the kitchen managers (front) trying to coordinate orders with customers and staff.
