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.
Via 313
Austin, Texas
via313.com
With 25 locations in Colorado, Texas and Utah, Detroit-style pizzeria Via 313 seeks to be involved in both longstanding neighborhoods and new growth markets, according to Kiplan Welsch, president of Via 313.
Pizzeria founders Brandon and Zane Hunt, two brothers who hail from the Detroit area, personally select the charity and nonprofit partners they work with through the Better Giving Through Pizza monthly give-back program as well as opening-day beneficiaries.
“We focus on causes that matter deeply to us and our guests: supporting people experiencing homelessness, fighting childhood hunger, caring for animals and uplifting LGBTQIA+ communities, among others,” Welsch tells Pizza Today. “Using our platform to support underserved groups, raise awareness and volunteering is just as important as the pizzas we serve.”
Community needs vary by location, and so Via 313 takes a “hyper-local approach” by partnering with smaller nonprofits to make its support go further – not just through financial contributions but also amplifying their missions and driving community connection.
At a recent store opening in Cypress, Texas, Via 313 partnered with Cy-Fair Helping Hands, an organization dedicated to helping the unhoused become self-sufficient. “From our opening-day sales, we donated over $4,000 to their programs,” Welsch says. “Their team also joined us at the event to share resources with guests and raise awareness of their primarily volunteer-driven activations.”
Recently, Cy-Fair Helping Hands collected school supplies to ensure every student starts the school year with all the supplies they need.
Since Via 313 has a pizzeria in Lehi, Utah, the company partnered with Lehi-based Saprea to help provide retreats for survivors of sexual assault through proceeds from monthly specials. Pizzeria team members also made fleece blankets to include in each retreat-goer’s welcome package.
Welsch says the team was moved when Saprea returned to Via 313 with bundles of handwritten thank-you notes from survivors who attended the retreat. “Reading those letters was a powerful reminder of why community involvement matters,” he says. “Every dollar, every blanket, every effort can bring comfort and hope when people need it most.”
