Become a Member Today
|
Where's On Tap Magazine?
|
Help Us Tell Your Story Premium Content Dry January Guide
Log In Sign Up
  • Play

    Play

    • A D.C. Beginner’s Guide to Working Out in Winter
    • Lace Up: A Boxing Guide for Beginners
    • Balance Gym Talks Safe Exercise This Fall
    • 10 Ways to Ring in 2021 from Home
    • How to Celebrate President Biden’s Inauguration from Home
    • Radar: To Do in D.C. 1.20-1.24
    • Beginner’s Guide: Meditation
  • Life

    Life

    • A D.C. Fall + Winter Style Guide
    • New Pup-Friendly Locales in the DMV
    • The Best of DMV-Made Winter Beauty + Skincare
    • Help Us Tell Your Story
    • Bar Owner Chris Marshall + Bartender Anna Welker Talk Booze-Free Business
    • DRY Botanical Bubbly Is Changing the Drinking Game
    • Make Room for Self-Care in 2021
  • Eat

    Eat

    • Sandwich Pop-Ups Are These Restaurants’ Bread + Butter
    • Mozzeria Brings Joy, Jobs and Pizza to the District
    • Alexandria’s King & Rye Serves Modern Updates on Southern Classics
    • Cuisine Solutions Simplifies Holiday Cooking
    • Two Beating Hearts: D.C.’s Immigrant Food Combines Gastronomy + Advocacy
    • CHIKO Expands to Bethesda, Adds New Concept to Capitol Hill
    • D.C. Battles Growing Food Insecurity
  • Drink

    Drink

    • Zero-Proof in D.C.
    • D.C.’s St. Vincent Wine Creates Covid-Conscious Experience
    • Inside Aslin Beer Company’s Creative Can Design
    • Top #MadeinDC, Booze-Free Beverage Brands
    • Top #MadeinDC, Booze-Free Beverage Brands
    • D.C.’s St. Vincent Wine Creates Covid-Conscious Experience
    • Eight Zero-Proof, Made-in-D.C. Drinks to Kickstart 2021
  • Culture

    Culture

    • D.C.-Based Meme Maker + Podcast Host Dave Tarnowski
    • Evoking the Senses with D.C. Gallery Transformer’s FlatFile
    • Same Voice, Different Stage: Morning Edition’s Esther Ciammachilli
    • Paper Routes to Reclamation: Women in the Arts Mid-Pandemic
    • Dry January + Beyond: the Alcohol-Free Movement Continues to Grow
    • Nat Geo Explorer + Environmental Community Organizer KM Reyes
    • Paper Routes to Reclamation: Women in the Arts Mid-Pandemic
  • Music

    Music

    • D.C. Seeks Support for Music Venues
    • Sondre Lerche Creates Solace on New Record
    • Byrdland Records Comes to Union Market
    • The Age of Aquarius + Covid: Yelle Releases “L’Ère du Verseau”
    • The Year in Review: Voices in D.C.’s Music Scene Reflect on 2020
    • A Music Lover’s Recap: Best of 2020 + What’s Ahead in 2021
    • A Voice for Venues: The Fight to Save Our Stages
  • Events

    Events

    • Dry January Mixology Workshops
    • Valentine’s Day with Tiki on 18th
    • Fashion on Film: The Rise of the Miniskirt – Norah Noh
    • Browse Events
    • Live Salon: Hotel Zena
    • Virtual Tour: Forgotten Women of Arlington National Cemetery
    • Live Tour: Downtown DC Callboxes (Women’s History Edition)
  • Log In
    Sign Up

    Help Us Tell Your Story
    Dry January Guide
Log In Sign Up
HalfSmoke’s Winter Wonderland Cures the Seasonal Blues
Ski Clear of Covid: Where to Ski Near D.C. + What to Expect
Radar: To Do in D.C. 1.20-1.24
How to Celebrate President Biden’s Inauguration from Home
Don’t Miss Our Dry January Mixology Workshop
Women Helping Women: Exploring Olive & Loom’s Full-Circle Moment
Home » Articles » Eat » Mozzeria Brings Joy, Jobs and Pizza to the District

Eat

Mozzeria illustration by James Coreas. Mozzeria illustration by James Coreas.

Mozzeria Brings Joy, Jobs and Pizza to the District Premium Content

Share:

October 30, 2020 @ 2:24pm | M.K. Koszycki

Upon walking into H Street’s Mozzeria, you’re most likely to be drawn to their pizza oven. The larger-than-average oven clocks in at around 12,000 pounds and is emblazoned with the name of the District by way of the Bay Area spot. And while the oven is perhaps the most immediately striking visual element, there’s something else at play that sets Mozzeria apart from other restaurants – and even other Neapolitan pizza joints.

The open layout and bright, inviting lights, while surely aesthetically pleasing, serve an important purpose at the restaurant, which opened September 4. Mozzeria is the District’s first Deaf-owned and operated restaurant, and these and other design elements allow for an optimal communication environment for the Deaf staff members who make and serve authentic Neapolitan pizza.

“We were really excited by the opportunity to work with [Mozzeria] to create a space that really embraces DeafSpace design principles,” says Allison Cooke, principal and director of hospitality design at CORE architecture + design, the firm Mozzeria partnered with to design the pizzeria’s D.C. location and lay the framework for future expansions of the restaurant.

DeafSpace refers to a set of design principles established over the course of five years by architect Hansel Bauman of HBHM Architecture and the ASL Deaf Studies department at D.C.’s own Gallaudet University. The guidelines include five major elements essential to Deaf communication that allow those who sign to do so with more ease and accessibility, including space and proximity, sensory reach, mobility and proximity, light and color, and acoustics.

“It really opened our eyes to different ways to communicate design in general,” says Cooke of working with the Mozzeria team on the project. “Of course, we read through the DeafSpace design principles, but there are things that are really specific to restaurants, such as the exchange between seating guests at tables and what that looks like with the visual openness of a restaurant. From a staffing perspective, it’s looking at how the employees, chefs and bartenders communicate with one another. The Mozzeria team really played a strong role in saying, ‘Here are the challenges with our San Francisco space, and here’s what we need going forward.’”

Mozzeria’s CEO Ryan Maliszewski notes that Cooke and her team did a great job of modernizing what the original spot had on the West Coast and bringing the new location to life through the colors, openness and overall design of the space. He also notes the double oven’s eye-catching size and impressive ability to cook their pizzas in 90 seconds. Mozzeria was able to expand their restaurant and share their authentic pizza with the District thanks to a partnership with the CSD Social Venture Fund, the first Deaf-led social venture fund in the country.

“D.C. is a thriving foodie city, and we knew we’d have a lot more foot traffic here in comparison to San Francisco,” he says. “We wanted to make a significant investment with the double oven. It’s the focal point, spotlight and nerve center of our restaurant.”

Maliszewski, who joined the Mozzeria team as CEO earlier this year, has lived in D.C. since 2002 and notes several important elements that made the nation’s capital a great place for Mozzeria to set up shop for its second location. The District, he explains, is home to one of the largest Deaf populations in the U.S. due to the presence of Gallaudet University, and the federal government is one of the largest employers of Deaf people in general. Maliszewski himself used to work for the FBI. Mozzeria’s founders, Melody and Russ Stein, also attended Gallaudet, adding another layer of connection to the new restaurant, which is located just blocks away from the school.

However, unemployment within the Deaf community is a challenge, with about a 70 percent unemployment or underemployment rate. Mozzeria hopes to change that not only in the District, but throughout the country. They already have their sights set on new locations (Austin, another city with a large Deaf population and burgeoning culinary scene, is in talks to be home for a third location) and aim to open two new restaurants a year.

“I really see our team becoming excited about viewing Mozzeria as a springboard to help improve their soft skills: conflict resolution, negotiation skills, teamwork, team building [and] collaboration, and leadership skills, because often they’re not afforded those opportunities,” Maliszewski adds. “There’s always been talent there. They just haven’t had the opportunities. It’s something exciting to see that Mozzeria is branded as a Deaf restaurant, and we’re having more of a presence in the food scene. There are opportunities being created for them by way of being a part of Mozzeria.”

Maliszewski and the whole team are also excited about their H Street location and hope to collaborate with other local businesses and become a friendly neighborhood spot for great pizza for all: Deaf, hard of hearing and hearing alike. Their San Francisco location has a signature duck pizza, and the D.C. team is hard at work in the kitchen crafting a signature pizza that represents the city paired with their authentic Neapolitan style. In the meantime, their pies are available for pickup and delivery and include classics like Margherita and Italian sausage.

“We hope to continue [as] a source of inspiration for our customers from the minute they walk into our door,” Maliszewski says, looking toward the future. “There’s the misconception of having broken ears or broken hearing [but] I think we’re the most intuitive, visual people because we have lost a major sensory input. Because we can’t hear, there’s a huge gain. All of our other senses are amplified and heightened.”

He continues of his team, present and future, “We bring a lot of value to a lot of things in life, as far as employment opportunities go. I’m hoping this restaurant can represent that, not just for our customers but also for our employees, in knowing they can actually take these skills they learned and put them to good use after their experience working with Mozzeria.”

To check out the full menu or place an order for pickup or delivery, visit www.mozzeria.com. Mozzeria is open Tuesday through Thursday from 4- 9 p.m., Friday from 4-10 p.m., Saturday from 11 a.m. – 10 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. – 10 p.m. For the latest, follow Mozzeria @eatmozzeria on Twitter and Instagram.

1300 H St. NE, DC; www.mozzeria.com/washington-dc

Enjoy this piece? Consider becoming a member for access to our premium digital content. Support local journalism and start your membership today.

Share:

Related Articles

No Articles

District Fray Dry January
Mighty Movement Ad
COMPANY
About United Fray Team Where’s On Tap Magazine?
GET INVOLVED
Become A Member Virtual Community Corporate Wellness Media Kit
EXPLORE
Eat Drink Music Culture Life Play Past Issues
OUR CITIES
Washington D.C. Jacksonville Phoenix
Subscribe

By clicking submit, you agree to receive emails from District Fray and accept our web terms of use and privacy and cookie policy.

© 2021 District Fray.

Enjoying Our Article?

Thanks for reading District Fray Magazine. We’re glad you’re here!

Access even more premium articles when you claim your free membership.

Activate My Free Membership