SALEM — Through a partnership with Northeast Arc, businesses like Amazing Pizza & More in Salem are providing employment and workforce training for people with developmental disabilities.
For people with intellectual disabilities like Ruby Castro from Lynn, who are eager to learn a variety of skills to enter into the service industry, employment at Amazing Pizza provides a unique opportunity to get involved in every part of the way the restaurant runs.
“I like doing everything; I can’t choose,” said Castro, who on her second day at Amazing Pizza had already trained in everything from chopping vegetables to waiting on tables.
Amazing Pizza owner Jacqui Field, who partnered with Northeast Arc back in July, said she operates her business very differently from most restaurants. Workers are multi-disciplined and instead of divided into specific segments of hospitality.
“Since we’re so hands-on in every aspect of what we do here, there’s no job where people will say ‘oh, that’s not my responsibility,’” she said. “It’s everybody’s job to wait on the guests, or get food out to tables, or wait on delivery vendors. And I think that’s a healthy part of how we run the business, because we all just work so well together.”
Northeast Arc operates three local businesses to provide paid employment and training for individuals with developmental disabilities, including Breaking Grounds Café in Peabody, Heritage Shredding in Danvers, and The Caning Co. in Peabody. However, the program at Amazing Pizza is the first time the organization is running a live training program in an active business owned by a member of the community.
“Jacqui’s not only providing work opportunities for people with disabilities by putting folks on the payroll, she’s also opened up the opportunity for Northeast Arc to utilize the kitchen area for training,” Northeast Arc Chief Innovation and Strategy Officer Tim Brown said.
By having job coaches employed by Northeast Arc come into a business and help with hands-on instruction, employers such as Field are freed of the burden of training, one of the most expensive parts of hiring a new employee.
“And so with that program, we’re having people work side by side with our kitchen staff, with our front of the house staff, learning the tasks that go into all aspects of food service and customer service, and then we’ll support those people to find jobs in other restaurants in the area,” Field said. “And the benefit for Northeast Arc is that we’re able to focus solely on the training and job placement aspect of the program, and not the operation inside.”
After an employee becomes comfortable in the position, the job coach will slowly fade out of the picture. However, Northeast Arc never completely leaves the picture, as they will check in for additional coaching if a job or specific skill needs to be developed.
Additionally, through Northeast Arc’s assistive technology center, individuals are provided with any learning aids or adaptive equipment- such as visual aids to clarify tasks, or devices to steady writing, that they may require in order to perform certain parts of the job.
During its 11 years in Salem, Amazing Pizza has not only stayed true to Field’s commitment to fresh, organic ingredients, but has consistently provided support to the local community, with their partnership with Northeast Arc being only the most recent contribution.
Because of its commitment to fresh ingredients, Amazing Pizza makes a donation every day to the Salem food pantry with items that were not sold the day before, but are still in great condition. Additionally, it offers its space to community groups that want to use it, including Salem State University, which holds poetry nights at the restaurant.
“I think that’s why our guests love coming here so much,” Field said. “It’s a very cool, laid-back atmosphere, they get good attention, and they know that they’re getting the highest quality Italian American cuisine.”
Michael McHugh can be contacted at mmchugh@northofboston.com or at 781-799-5202