A Philly pizzeria that only hires formerly incarcerated people visited Detroit last weekend, teasing a possible Detroit location.
Detroit’s Culinary Arts and Letters Literary Society and the Michigan Justice Fund brought Muhammad Abdul-Hadi, owner of Down North Pizza, to Detroit to promote his new book “We The Pizza” that’s about “slangin’ pies and savin’ lives”. The cook book contains recipes and stories from Down North Pizza, founded in 2019, to serve good pizza while reducing recidivism rates in Philadelphia.
Abdul-Hadi said there’s nothing concrete, but that as they consider expansion he would definitely entertain the idea of opening a Detroit location to build off the work of the Michigan Justice Fund, a philanthropic effort to support advances in justice reform.
“Working with the Michigan Justice Fund and what they do and how it aligns, hopefully we can build off of it. I’m definitely open to the idea of Down North Pizza in Detroit,” he said, even if it’s just a pop-up.
Desiré Vincent Levy, founder of Culinary Arts and Letters Literary Society, said she wanted Abdul-Hadi and Down North Pizza executive chef Michael Carter to come to Detroit so the city could learn from their social enterprise model.
“The issue that they’re essentially addressing with incarceration, with lack of resources being available for people who are coming home from incarceration, is not unique to Philadelphia, and it is very much here in Detroit too,” she said.
One issue advocates look to reform is juvenile life without parole sentencing – Michigan has the most juveniles serving life without parole in the whole country. As of 2025, 28 states and D.C. have banned juvenile life without parole, according to The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth. High incarceration rates are associated with a decline in community, social and economic well-being, according to the Detroit Justice Center, and associated with joblessness, housing instability, and homelessness.
The Detroit stop consisted of an intimate gathering and dinner at San Morello with Michigan Justice Fund partners, a pizza party and book signing at MOCAD for the general public, and a private visit to Coldwater Kitchen, a gourmet culinary training program at Lakeland Correctional Facility.
The event was one of several planned for Culinary Arts and Letters Literary this year.
In the fall, Levy plans to host Deb Freeman for a screening of her documentary about Edna Lewis, called the “Mother of Soul Food” followed by Anela Malik, author of “American Soul”, a book on the history of Black food in the United States that will be released in September.
Levy said not all of the society’s events will be based around cookbooks, but that there will always be a food element as food is a “great connector” for bringing people together.
“It’s going to be film, art, it could be other things, but using those opportunities of storytelling, of creativity to gather together around a meal and to continue to build community, “ she said. “That is where we all are best, when we have the opportunity to be together, understand and experience all the ways that we are much more alike than we’re different.”
Abdul-Hadi said the hospitality provided by Detroit was unparalleled.
“It was amazing. Detroit was probably the best stop so far front to back,” Abdul-Hadi said. “From the hospitality…the people, the organizations that came out and supported. That experience was like no other.”
Ashley Carter of the Michigan Justice Fund, an initiative of the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, said she wanted the Fund’s partners to be able to learn from Down North.
“In hopes of generating more of that type of programming across the state,” said Carter, who works with partners designing social enterprises. “I think there’s an appetite for something like Down North Pizza, but I think we are at the beginning of a conversation about what that could be.”
Levy and Carter said they don’t know of any Detroit food businesses currently that only hire formerly incarcerated people. This spring, Dink Dawson, a graduate of Hill’s Coldwater Kitchen, is opening a brick-and-mortar of his food truck The Green Mile Grille, at 14020 Gratiot.
Hearts warmed by the conversation and stomachs warmed by the cheesy Philly-style pizza, Carter said the weekend was a real celebration.
“It felt like an opportunity to celebrate the work that’s being done on the ground and also to inspire people and celebrate the work that Down North Pizza is doing to really change the conversation around returning citizens and around opportunity,” said Carter.
Editor’s note: This story has been corrected to say 28 states have banned juvenile life without parole sentences.
