Food and Cooking

“We the Pizza: Slangin’ Pies and Savin’ Lives,” written by Abdul-Hadi with recipes from Carter, includes 65 recipes and the story about the restaurant’s mission to educate and support formerly incarcerated people while serving smile-inducing food.

“When I add up the guys who work here, it’s about 63 years incarcerated. So it’s like we understand each other, where we come from,” Carter said in an interview. “We had the same barriers when we came home, like whether it be employment, housing, health care — we all had to figure it out.”

About two-thirds of people released from prison will be arrested again within three years of their release, according to the Justice Department. One-third of formerly incarcerated people participating in a study by the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics couldn’t find jobs within four years of their release.

Abdul-Hadi developed the business in hope of reducing recidivism rates in the area.

“We’re building a revolution for the people through business economics by looking to advance everyone, particularly the formerly incarcerated, so we can shatter glass ceilings,” said Abdul-Hadi, who was awarded for his work by the James Beard Foundation last year.