EDITOR’S NOTE: Happy National Pizza Month! This October, we are celebrating America’s favorite food and the people who make it by featuring pizzerias that give back to their communities. To have your pizzeria included, email [email protected] and [email protected] with the subject line “Pizzeria Community Impact.”
Wholly Stromboli
Fort Lupton, Colorado
whollystromboli.com
Courtesy of Wholly Stromboli
“Joy feeds the soul,” according to Melissa Rickman, co-founder of Wholly Stromboli in Fort Lupton, Colorado. That is why the pizzeria endeavors to host events that go beyond serving great food.
Each year, Wholly Stromboli hosts a Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser to provide local children with back-to-school essentials such as backpacks and supplies. The event raises more than $15,000 annually. During the coronavirus pandemic, Wholly Stromboli converted the spaghetti dinner into a drive-thru operation, ultimately raising $17,000 for the local food bank.
“We’re proud to be a local pizzeria with a national heart,” Rickman tells Pizza Today. “It’s our responsibility to care for everyone in our community, even those who may never dine with us.”
On Halloween, the street in front of Wholly Stromboli is closed off, and the restaurant hosts a community event with a DJ and bounce castle right in front. Local businesses are invited to decorate their own booths and host tables to give out candy.
“It started as a way to give kids and parents a safe, festive alternative to traditional trick-or-treating – and it’s grown into a beloved annual tradition,” Rickman says. “We even get the police and fire departments involved now.”
Wholly Stromboli also organizes an annual pizza party for the Boys & Girls Club of Weld County. When schools were closed during COVID, the restaurant hired a college student to proctor a class for the children of restaurant staffers. “We called it ‘Boli Bits Daycare,” Rickman says, referring to her shop’s signature dish.
Wholly Stromboli is serious about its commitment to the restaurant’s staff. This was evident when Russcel, a sauté chef from the Philippines, lost her life. “We organized a funeral service for her here, at the local Catholic Church, coordinated to make it sure that she made it home to her family in the Philippines on Christmas Day,” Rickman says. The restaurant hosted a reception for Ruscell’s friends and family after the service. “We have a special bond with her mom to this day.”
