Pizza Today - November 2019 - 14

Conversation

CHRISTAL
SPATA
VA L E O ' S P I Z Z A
KENOSHA, WISCONSIN

VALEO'S IS A DELIVERY/CARRYOUT
PIZZERIA FOUNDED IN 1965. We specialize
in Chicago thin-crust pizza, cut in squares. Eric
and I are the third owners of Valeo's Pizza.
We purchased it in 2012 from my in-laws who
owned the restaurant for 40 years. Valeo's was
the third pizza restaurant in Kenosha. Now there
are over 30. It has a long legacy of investing in
the community. A couple causes that we are very
involved in are foster care - because we are
also foster parents - and school pizza lessons.
We started by coming to our own kids'
classrooms as something fun for their class.
We bring in precooked crusts, portioned sauce
and portioned cheese for each child. Some
schools allow their kitchen staff to cook the
pizzas, but most classrooms eat the pizza like a
Lunchable......only it's much better. I use my
hour with the students to talk about the quality
of our food, kitchen safety and sanitation as
well as having a whole lot of fun!
AS I WAS WORKING IN THE OFFICE LATE
ONE NIGHT IN MARCH, I decided to put it out
on our Facebook page that we do pizza lessons
for classrooms and it's completely free. I was
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blown away at the response and so I decided
to go all in. As I was on my way to a local
public school, I decided to make a video of me
explaining what I was doing and I broadcasted
my goal of doing 100 classrooms in that
calendar year. The demand was massive. I was
able to complete my goal of 100 classrooms
in three months. I actually had to start turning
classrooms away because I couldn't fit any
more into my schedule. As it grows, I have
trained up additional people to continue going
into classrooms every year. The kids love it,
the teachers love it and we love it. In addition
to every student learning how to make their
own Valeo's pizza, we send them home with
a goodie bag full of Valeo's merchandise and
specials coupons just for their families. This
year, we are expanding our program to include
free t-shirts, pop sockets, balloons and a Pizza
Master business card for every child.
BUILDING COMMUNITY IS MULTIFACETED. As foster parents, we are very
dedicated to being active in the foster care
community. Every time a child comes into the
foster care system, the family they are placed

with receives a free pizza from us. I know
firsthand the anxiety, fear and uncertainty
foster parents feel when an unknown child is
about to move in with them. Dinner is usually
the last thing on their minds. It's important that
we be there for them. Pizza is a universally
loved food. We want that initial time between
the foster parent and the foster child to be one
of bonding and comfort. What better way than
ordering the child's favorite pizza.
AS ANY RESTAURANT OWNER KNOWS,
WE GET LOTS OF FREE REQUESTS for food
donations and gift card donation requests
for fundraisers. We always say yes. School
pizzas is also a huge way that we invest in
the community. We do special things for
active police and firefighters. Another one
of my favorite activities is that we go into
high schools and teach interviewing skills. I
am astonished at how poorly high schoolers
interview en mass. I teach them how to
approach the questions, how to ask compelling
questions and how to tell if a company they are
interviewing for is toxic and why they should
stay away from them.
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Pizza Today - November 2019

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