Article

&pizza masters art of 'opening up' when government shuts down

Washington, D.C.-based &pizza has stepped up to help nearly half of the estimated 800,000 federal workers left without paychecks during the partial government shutdown.

January 21, 2019 by S.A. Whitehead — Food Editor, Net World Media Group

Washington, D.C.-based &pizza has stepped up to help thousands of government employees affected by the partial government shutdown, which has been going on for the past month. 

"We adjusted the offer multiple times in an effort to be as inclusive as possible, learned a ton in the process and are proud to say we've given away over $200,000 in pies to date," &Pizza spokeswoman Vanessa Rodriguez wrote in an email to Pizza Marketplace.

Many restaurants in the D.C. area that have lost an estimated average of about 20 percent of their business due to the shutdown. &pizza has not quantified what, if any, business it has lost. The brand said, however, today it is ending the giveaways that have racked up the $200,000 in free pizza donations but is continuing another initiative it had been working on in partnership with chef and humanitarian, Jose Andres. Andres opened a pop-up kitchen — Chefs for Feds — last week at World Central Kitchen, 701 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. 

&pizza is now supporting Andres' effort at Broccoli Bar, 1817 7th St. NW.., which is open daily 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., to help feed federal workers and their families. Rodriguez said the chain is also looking for volunteers to help with the effort, as well as federal workers on furlough to work there for $15 an hour. 

In another effort to help pull the community together in this "time of crisis," &Pizza sent an open letter Monday to the D.C. community via email, social media and traditional media outlets, saying: "On December 22, 2018, the federal government shut down because of a dispute over a wall —a structure designed to divide. As a company represented and emboldened by a symbol of unity, that's literally the opposite of what we stand for."

&pizza Founder and CEO Michael Lastoria said the shutdown and its effect on the people of his community has moved him to action. 

"It has been an incredibly eye-opening and in some cases gut-wrenching few weeks," Lastoria said in during an interview with Pizza Marketplace. "When you cut off funding for about a quarter of the federal government, leaving 800,000 employees without pay, businesses have to step up. It's the right thing to do."

About S.A. Whitehead

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Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb editor Shelly Whitehead is a former newspaper and TV reporter with an affinity for telling stories about the people and innovative thinking behind great brands.