Melody Stein was denied an education at the California Culinary Academy over 20 years ago because she was deaf. Now she runs a successful pizzeria in San Francisco with her husband Russ, who is also deaf. They run a restaurant and two food trucks but by this time next year, they will have a restaurant in DC opened. Looks like that school was wrong after all. 

Melody recently spoke with the Washington Post recently and told them that growing up, her family owned and operated a Chinese eatery in San Francisco. After high school, her dream was to attend the California Culinary Academy and ultimately open her own restaurant. Yet the Academy told Melody’s mom that she was viewed as a liability because if there were an emergency, she wouldn’t hear what was going on. So because she’s deaf, her application could not be accepted. 20 years later, Melody and her husband Russ started Mozzeria. 

The Neapolitan style pizzeria is more than just a place to grab a slice. All employees from the chef to the waitress are deaf. Hiring only deaf employees was very important for Melody. The pizzeria has been so successful it will open a restaurant in Washington D.C. in the spring of 2020. This is part in thanks to the Communication Service for the Deaf Social Venture Fund , who invested several million into Mozzeria.

So how do diners communicate with the waiters?

It’s pretty easy actually. You can:

1. Use sign language if you know it

Or 2. Write it with a paper and pen which are available at every table 

You can always point too, according to the article in the Washington Post. Only 48% of deaf people are employed in the US in comparison to 72 percent of people who can hear. Communication Service for the Deaf attributes that low number to the stereotypes they experience in the workplace. Mozzeria’s Washington D.C. location is only seven blocks away from the first deaf-run Starbucks store,  which opened in 2018.