the good corner
in March 2020 we were invited to a Corktown Business Association meeting in the back room of Nemo’s Bar. the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade was two days away, a huge event and tremendous money maker for all the Corktown bars & restaurants …and it was going to be our first one. the context for the meeting was whether or not the event should be cancelled given the looming threat of an unprecedented virus we had all been hearing about. there was a lot of debate considering a lot of these businesses had already bought and prepped their inventory for the event, versus the alternative stance that encouraging people to come down would be irresponsible. at one point the president of the business association said “we’re not sure how this is going to play out, but a lot of businesses in this room will not survive this.” my stomach dropped, i whispered to Nate “he’s talking about us.” after all, at this point we had been open for less than two months, had just completed (and funded) a massive buildout, and hardly had the name recognition to rely on. the parade went on, a compromise was made only on the amount it would actually be promoted. that day, my brother manned the Rent-a-Center sound system i secured last minute, desperately trying to take everyone’s mind off the overwhelming uncertainty. occasionally taking breaks to give me a pep talk during unending crying jags in the back hallway.
the following week, the world shut down.
we had to lay off everyone we had just hired, and figure out a whole new business model while homeschooling our two children. essentially what that new model entailed was me and Nate working alone. he was in the kitchen, i was taking orders. takeout only. we purchased bean bag chairs and decorated the restaurant to be more accomodating for the 10 hours the kids would be there with us. eventually, we were spending so much time at the restaurant we decided to move out of my mom’s house in Royal Oak and into an apartment two doors down above a neighboring italian restaurant. it was a minute walk from the restaurant, a much needed adjustment to our commute, and a much closer refuge during an extraordinarily stressfull time. a by product of this time in our life, and this apartment, was the Good Corner.
a couple months after our move, George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. the video being circulated was horrifying. it felt bizarre to go on living as if i hadn’t seen it. what’s more, Covid-19 seemed to be amplifying the inequalities and inadequacies in healthcare for minorities at the same time. it was all-consuming. what offered some solace was the activism that followed. i got to see firsthand from our second story window overlooking Michigan Ave. march after march demanding justice for not only George Floyd, but for black people everywhere. i needed to find a way to do my part and decided i wanted to use our restaurant platform to do it.
i reached out to a friend who had helped with design projects over the years, and asked about how we could incorporate a charitable element to our business while showcasing local organizations doing work around the causes that meant something to us and our surrounding community….and the Good Corner was born.
the Good Corner is a nod to our square pizzas, that features rotating local organizations paired with seasonal pizzas. each month 25% of the sales of the Good Corner pizza goes directly to the featured organization. but there is also an option of purchasing a Team Pizza, which is a $10 pizza that can be redeemed by the organization staff at anytime.
this year alone we have donated just over $5,000 to local organizations and donated 71 Team Pizzas.
thinking back it’s wild that something born out of communal grief, despair, and uncertainty has become something that gives back to and benefits the community that carried us through it.
