Founded by childhood friends, Muhammed Abdul-Hadi and Chef Kurt Evans, Down North Pizza is no ordinary neighborhood pizza joint. It’s one that marries serving top-quality delicious comfort food with the mission of reducing recidivism rates in black communities. Their aim is to help erase employment barriers faced by formerly incarcerated men and women, by providing culinary career opportunities at a fair wage within an equitable workplace.
Executive Chef Michael Carter has been cooking his whole life. Whether it be family reunions, fish fries, or his family’s barbeque spot on 52nd Street, their business model is unique because of its honesty. They aim to shine a light on the restaurant industry’s backbone, the formerly incarcerated and undocumented workers.
Pizza being a food everyone enjoys was the perfect catalyst to use for the bigger issue at play, which is to talk about the over arching issue of mass incarceration.
What’s next for Down North? Everything they do is to better their community. At the top of the list is to build a sustainable community garden across the street from the store. They aim to create a place where their patrons can get fresh produce once they are harvested, build community centers in the Strawberry Mansion area to teach job training skills to the youth, and build a food co-op in the heart of Philadelphia, where people can work and receive memberships on discounted foods.
Watch the full interview here: https://fb.watch/aGzlHZFgGX/
Head over and grab your personal Detroit Pie at Down North Pizza Today!
Located at: 2804 W Lehigh Ave., Philadelphia, PA
Open Thursday – Sunday only. Be there early because they sell out fast.