We recently connected with John Carruthers and have shared our conversation below.

John, appreciate you joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

I started Crust Fund pizza back in August 2020 to give back to the nonprofits making Chicago better through direct social action. It’s a way to give back and form meaningful relationships with charities addressing a host of issues in the Chicago area. The way it works is my customers give a direct donation to the month’s designated nonprofit partner in exchange for their pizzas. We choose a different organization every month, and try to highlight their story alongside the pizza.

John, 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?

I have a long history of cooking and writing – my background is in journalism, and my first job was in a kitchen. I’ve written both cookbooks and freelance food features, but I didn’t dial in on pizza until everything shut down in 2020. My wife and I make Fridays into pizza & movie nights with our kids, and while we made a lot of different styles, the family heavily preferred the thin-crust square-cut Chicago tavern style pizza. So that’s all I made week after week and eventually I thought I was ready to sell it to folks.

Tavern style pizza, for a really long time, existed in the sizable shadow of deep dish. I wrote a recipe for a freelance assignment in 2020 more or less because there was no one else out there exploring the style. My timing was fortunate, because as America continues its fascination with regional pizza styles, the popularity of tavern style has really grown. When the New York Times decided to feature the style in its food section in 2022, I’m one of the folks they came to see. I’ve also appeared on Chopped and the Kelly Clarkson show, and been featured in the Chicago Tribune and Food & Wine. It’s pretty special to love something so much that you get to be part of its story too.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I had to give up the idea of perfection as a set of measurements that were absolute. A lot of folks will stick to their recipe (whether it’s an actual recipe or just their way of doing what they do) because they feel like they’re done learning anything new about it. Some key moments in the development of Crust Fund came from trying something new – either to pursue incremental improvement or just to challenge conventional wisdom that I’d been told.

Back before this pizza style was popular, most of the writing on technique warned against extended cold fermenting or proofing. I’ve taken my dough from overnight up to 30 days, and along the way learned that not only was “don’t let it overferment” wrong, but that an extended fermentation was key to making pizza that people come back for again and again.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Before I started making pizza, I had *maybe* 300 followers on Instagram. Today, it’s over 23,000, for one small alley pizzeria. I’ve learned that people love a good narrative – the charitable angle, the singular focus on a specific style, and a little bit of FOMO. I originally set pickups in my alley so I didn’t have to give strangers my address, and that little bit of mystery has become one of the main things people remember about Crust Fund. They appreciate openness about process and recipe, and organic presentation. 90% of the photos I use are shot in my kitchen, with very minimal lighting and editing. If people feel like they know you and they’re a part of your story, they’ll engage at a much higher rate than if they feel like you’re always trying to sell them something.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.crustfundpizza.com
• Instagram: @nachosandlager