We were lucky to catch up with Isaiah Ruffin recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Isaiah, thanks for joining us today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

One major aspect of our operation is tipping, or the lack thereof. We believe firmly that the employer should pay a living wage and not rely on the charity of customers to subsidize the wages of our team. For that reason, we do not accept tips. This has actually been a problem for some of the customers. So far to the point, some have questioned whether some members of the team are paid well enough during service. Many have applauded our all-inclusive practice. Despite our best attempts to inform patrons of our practice, many still left cash behind. So instead of adding it to our coffers, we decided to start a non-profit and fund it through cash donations.

Isaiah, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Project Pizza was founded by me, Isaiah, and my wife Colleen. I have been a chef for 12 or so years, starting when I served in the Army. The food truck started as an idea I pitched to an employer as a way to fund a charity idea to fund school gardens. When I left that employer I took the idea and made it come to fruition. We make wood-fired pizza. That is it. We utilize a 1991 short school bus and placed a wood-fired pizza oven inside of it. We can crank out almost 100 pizzas an hour. I’m most proud of the farmers, ranchers, and fishermen (even if occasionally) who supply us with the products that make our pizzas so tasty.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

My wife and I met while working for a brewery. She, a professional in the human resources department, and I, the chef at the brewery’s first brew pub. Though there was interest during our tenure, it exploded when she left the brewery.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Branding is what helped our reputation in the market. You don’t see a school bus food truck often, especially one with a wood-burning pizza oven inside it. We don’t utilize generators either. We use lithium batteries charged by solar panels on the roof of the bus.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.projectpizzaco.org
• Instagram: @projectpizzaco
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/projectpizzaco
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/project-pizza/

Image Credits
Black Sparrow