In North Philadelphia, Down North Pizza is bigger than a piece of Philly’s iconic square pizza. Founder Muhammad Abdul-Hadi created a North Star for hope through pizza slices when he opened the mission-led for-profit restaurant, Down North Pizza, in the Strawberry Mansion neighborhood in December 2020. Now, he is providing hope through the pages of his cookbook, We the Pizza: Slangin’ Pies and Savin’ Lives.
“I call it a memoir with some recipes,” he told BLACK ENTERPRISE. “It’s layered and has something in there for everybody. If you don’t care about the recipes and want to read some cool stories and see some photography, that’s there for you. If you want to dig into the recipes and make some bomb pizza, that’s there for you, too.”
Beyond the recipes and photos is information about the carceral system and its evolution. Footnotes throughout the cookbook take people on a journey of how the carceral system started with slavery and how it evolved over the centuries. The cookbook also sheds light on life after incarceration, with stories from former Philadelphia inmates.
“I always wanted to write a book, and when the opportunity presented itself, I didn’t want a traditional cookbook,” says Abdul-Hadi. “The book had to embody the brand and what we represent in the neighborhood. [I wanted to show] people eating pizza in the neighborhood. We call it ‘Pizza in the Wild.’ We want people to have a sense of the brand and what we represent.”
Down North Pizza: A Mission-Led Pizza Shop and Cookbook
Abdul-Hadi is from West Philly but purposely built Down North Pizza in the predominantly Black neighborhood of Strawberry Mansion. It is a place that he says has witnessed a range of transformations — from redlining, white flight, a drug crisis, poverty, and a lack of resources.
“Strawberry Mansion is one of the most underserved communities in Philadelphia,” Abdul-Hadi said. “A lot of times, when people open up businesses in areas like this, it rarely benefits the neighborhood. I wanted to change that narrative.”
Down North Pizza focuses on the community. Adbul-Hadi is particularly interested in recidivism and giving people a second chance after incarceration. He knows firsthand the challenges and judgments that those who were formerly incarcerated face, because he was once in their shoes.
Inside his shop, no two pizzas on the menu are the same. The “No Betta Love” is a four-cheese pizza with “Norf” sauce. The “Break You Off” is made with lamb sausage, lemon ricotta, za’atar garnish, and garlic honey drizzle. While the pizzas are different, two ingredients stay the same: Abdul-Hadi’s love for community and the gift of second chances.
“I want to show the world we are not our worst mistakes. We can do things if given the right circumstances and thrive as well,” he says. “The brand exemplifies that, and when you come to the shop, you get to see all of that tenfold because that was very important to me.”
Money from every purchase — from the cookbook to the pizza — is recycled back into Strawberry Mansion through the pizza shop and Abdul-Hadi’s foundation, Down North Foundation.
“We have different initiatives that provide direct aid to individuals in need. We build our initiatives off necessity.”
One initiative he is proud of is “Protect Your Crib,” which assists people in danger of losing their houses to delinquent property taxes. The Down North Pizza team paid delinquent taxes for nearly a dozen people through the foundation, which also assisted residents in enrolling in a program that halted property tax increases for 10 years.
“Our biggest thing over here is the impact,” Abdul-Hadi said.
The part-cookbook-and-part-memoir is available for purchase online.
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