Flatbread Oven Building

[clarkieburger.livejournal.com]

I hope that many of you managed to make it down to Sacco Bowl Haven this morning to help out the folks at Flatbread with building their clay ovens.  It was a great time and they had a portable oven outside firing par-cooked flatbreads from the Bedford location along with some of their baked goodies.  It was a really good time and we met Jay and John, the two co-founders.  These guys showed us how to shape the clay mixed with ash, sand, and hay to form the bricks that eventually became the ovens.  What a great way to involve such a great community (I promise I'm not being paid to write about this!).

Even more awesome was seeing many lanes still open for bowling.  In fact, kiddos who tired of making bricks could be seen rolling some balls.  For those of you not in the know, Flatbread is a pizza company that has bought out Saccos.  They are using the pool hall and the space from a few of the lanes to convert into a restaurant.  10-12 lanes will be kept operational.  They plan to open in June.

Comments

I enjoy teaching math to disadvnataged kids but...

[nvidia99999.livejournal.com]

Somehow, volunteering time to help a for-profit biz build their clay ovens does not inspire me. What am I missing here?

[fefie.livejournal.com]

I happened to be walking by during the festivities so I stopped to sample the free pizza and have a quick peek inside. Nice folks and yummy pizza! (I was told they plan to open in mid-May.)

[ron_newman]

Damn, I'd meant to post about this in advance but forgot ;-(

They are keeping 10 of the bowling lanes open, and covering over the other 5 for the restaurant and bar.

Re: I enjoy teaching math to disadvnataged kids but...

[sparkgrrl658.livejournal.com]

if you read the linked to blog entry, i think that gives you a better sense of 'why bother' :)

Re: I enjoy teaching math to disadvnataged kids but...

[nvidia99999.livejournal.com]

I looked at the link, briefly, but I still don't get it... They say "It includes giving back to their communities. " OKAY. What do they give back exactly? The great honor to volunteer time building ovens? ... I'm sure I'm missing some major detail.

Re: I enjoy teaching math to disadvnataged kids but...

[sparkgrrl658.livejournal.com]

hee, it also says they donate proceeds from their food to charity each week, and they are charities proposed by the customers, and the customers can put up signs for the chosen charity that week as well. it also says they use local ingredients, etc.

Re: I enjoy teaching math to disadvnataged kids but...

[clarkieburger.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the summary, sparkgrrl658. :) But, to respond to nvidia99999's original comment, MY reasons for doing this (and I am not one to say my view is the only view) are the following:

* I love this company's ethics. They know that a good way to help the bottom line is to bring a community together but also to be a contributing part of that community and that's GOOD business (not just a business that worries about money).

* They care about the food they feed you. They use local farms. They use hormone free, vegetarian fed humanely sourced meats. Even their alcohol list and non-alcoholic drinks come from local companies.

* There food is stinking delicious. The ovens we were building make some of the best pizza you'll ever have-- and to say I was a part of making two of them feels pretty cool.

* They help you meet awesome people. I met a bunch of locals today and had a really fun time. These are people who I probably would not have met otherwise. I also met John and Jay, the owners, who were fully involved in the process and were just two really laid back, happy, fun guys.

* Free stuff. They fed us ALL MORNING. Pizza, brownies, pound cake, soda, water. Kids were bowling while their parents worked. They were doing art projects. They also gave us awesome t-shirts (I got one that says "Flour Power," which as a baker really made me happy).

* They've scratched my back before, now it was my turn. Last year my husband rode for the PMC and he did a fundraiser at one of their restaurants. Anyone with a legit charity can do this free of charge. If I remember correctly, on your fund-raising night they donate $3 for every large pizza and $1.50 for every regular pizza to your charity. I've seen local swim teams, people doing walks or rides, marching bands, etc. They don't have to do it. They just like to.

Re: I enjoy teaching math to disadvnataged kids but...

[808.livejournal.com]

Good points and I'm glad to know this about the place. For-profit does not automatically mean evil. Although it does about 90% of the time. :)

Re: I enjoy teaching math to disadvnataged kids but...

[nvidia99999.livejournal.com]

That does sound nice... Hope it continues that way...

[jenskot.livejournal.com]

Pizza and candlepin? There cannot be greater evidence of god's love. :D

Re: I enjoy teaching math to disadvnataged kids but...

[josephineave.livejournal.com]

Actually, "volunteering" for a business is a bit problematic from a labor law standpoint. Like the Davis Square comic book store that got volunteers in exchange for store credit. If it's not an NGO or government entity, you really can't use unpaid labor (we won't debate the unpaid intern racket now --- it's done because businesses can get away with it).