A former inmate started Down North Pizza to employ formerly incarcerated people. Philadelphia has had one of the highest incarceration rates in the nation.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Down North Pizza in Philadelphia has made the best-of lists for their square, thick-crust pies - the New York Times loves them, so does Bon Appetit - With success that is built on a mission, hiring formerly incarcerated people. Laura Benshoff of our member station WHYY reports.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Down North.

LAURA BENSHOFF, BYLINE: Every Thursday through Sunday, the kitchen at Down North Pizza slings Detroit-style pies from a small storefront in North Philly. Executive chef Michael Carter says what's most popular changes depending on what was recently featured in the press.

MICHAEL CARTER: Because of The New York Times, it's been the Uptown Vibe. That's my veggie pizza. It has julienne red peppers, julienne red onions, sauteed mushrooms and kale and norf sauce.

BENSHOFF: Norf sauce is their spin on tomato sauce. It's sweet, spicy and smoky. Like everyone who works at Down North, Carter spent time in prison - 12 years total starting at age 16. He later went to culinary school and eventually found success. But Carter says prison is where he learned about mass production.

CARTER: The top job is the kitchen. It's the biggest job. Like, it hires the most people. It's always - the kitchen's always turning around because you've got a kitchen that feeds 4,000 people three times a day.

BENSHOFF: He now uses his own story when urging employers to hire people who've been behind bars. But when Carter was released, he had to hide that experience when applying for jobs.

CARTER: I had to lie. They ask about your background, and it's like nah. You know what I mean?

BENSHOFF: Every year, 600,000 people in the United States are released from state or federal prisons. Nine million spend time in jails. In the ZIP code in Philadelphia where Down North Pizza is located, about a thousand people come home every year. For many, prison is a revolving door.

To break the cycle of incarceration and stigma, Down North Pizza tries to model just working conditions. First, pay starts at $15 an hour. Sous chef Jamar Johnson says even with food industry experience under his belt, his record often meant he got undervalued.

JAMAR JOHNSON: I done been many places where they underpaid. I done recently worked for a company, which I'm not going to say the name out loud, but the dishwasher made more than me.

BENSHOFF: Second, provide support - the two apartments above the restaurant are available for staff to live in. Formerly incarcerated people often face housing discrimination. There's also a pro bono attorney available if an issue comes up with the terms of their release. Parole violations are a way people get swept back into jail even without committing a crime.

Sous chef Myles Jackson says working somewhere that gets all of this and makes a point of not hiding it gives him purpose.

MYLES JACKSON: I feel like what we're doing here is like a testament to our story for real, for real.

BENSHOFF: On a recent Friday night, a steady stream of customers moves in and out. Down North used to take only walk-up orders but switched to taking them by phone or app to manage the demand.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Here to pick up for a Fritz.

BENSHOFF: Many customers say they traveled from across the city because they heard the buzz about the food. But Keith Wiggins lives just around the corner and says he missed all that. He was drawn in after seeing the lines outside.

KEITH WIGGINS: I did not know their mission until today.

BENSHOFF: But it resonates with him. His son is serving a long prison sentence in Pennsylvania.

WIGGINS: Who knows? Maybe he'll come out and get hooked up with something like this. You know? Maybe I could take him under my wing.

BENSHOFF: Either way, he says he's glad to see a thriving business in his neighborhood and one that's shining a positive light.

For NPR News, I'm Laura Benshoff in Philadelphia.

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