A “fair wage” pizza parlor dedicated to “economic justice” has been forced to close its doors — because it didn’t turn a profit.
Dudley Dough in Boston promised “pizza with a purpose”– offering high wages to its employees, as well as culinary and leadership training.
The pizza place was popular with residents, both for its food and for its mission. But there seemed to be no way around basic economics.
“The challenge for Dudley Dough was to support itself,” explained Bing Broderick, executive director of the nonprofit, Haley House, which ran the restaurant. Unfortunately, Dudley Dough was unable to break even — and its financial problems risked pulling down the entire Haley House organization.
Despite the failure of the business, Dudley Dough’s management is looking to help its employees transition to new jobs–and is optimistic over their economic justice “experiment.”
“I don’t think anyone is looking at it as a failure,” said Luther Pinckney, a manager at Dudley Dough. “It’s an experiment, and some excellent things came out of that, such as skill-building for staff and being in this building at this time of gentrification and change in this community.”