‘Pizzabilities’ had its grand opening on Saturday in Alpine, right along Alpine Boulevard. The pizza shop has a pretty clever name, considering they provide possibilities for each and every employee who works there.
Grace Baker was one of the store’s first employees. She has Down Syndrome. Josh Baker is her dad, and he’s also one of the owners. Baker told NBC 7 that his daughter just graduated high school at 19-years-old, and was having a tough time locking down a job. That’s when inspiration struck.
“She loves pizza, and I’m a business owner, and let’s see what we can do,” said Baker. “We started this in hopes to be able to create jobs for people with special needs that are otherwise having a difficult time finding employment,” he added.
Management hired on about 20 employees, nearly all of whom have special needs or a disability. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, nearly 23% of people with a disability were employed in 2024. For perspective, the employment-population ratio for those without a disability was 65.5%.
“To all kids that have disabilities, this a big thing,” said Denise Ricci, one of the first customers to patronize ‘Pizzabilities’ following the grand opening.
The hope is to open more locations around San Diego County to employ more people with special needs like Grace and her colleagues.
One of the owners, Ron Burner, also happens to be Baker’s former Baseball coach from back in the day. He told NBC 7 that the ball to get more locations up and running is already rolling.
“Knowing Josh as long as I’ve known him, and knowing sometimes the struggle that there is when you have a special needs child, like our goal is to get this thing going,” said Burner. “You know, like 4 or 5 across San Diego to start with and then try to go a little more nationally, try to help out other families,” he added.
All of the proceeds from Saturday’s grand opening will go toward a wish list of supplies for an Alpine teacher who educates students with special needs.