If someone was to tell me a year ago, these 3 words would have something special in common, I'd call you crazy. But since covid hit there are so many things we never thought we would be doing today.
Storytime: It was January 2020, Pamela Carthy just signed on as the newest owner of Penguin Pizza. A place she had managed for years prior. After a couple months of renovations & menu updates, she was ready to kick butt as as the proud owner. Located in Mission Hill, Penguin Pizza was the go to spot for both college kids & hospital staff. A steady flow of customers was the norm between classes & hospital shifts, nevermind the loyal bar patrons when the sun goes down. Business was booming and things were good.
ENTER COVID, when normal everyday life quickly began changing. Restaurants everywhere were ordered to close down (except for takeout) and the country went into lockdown.
Well, Pamela Carthy (longtime manager and now new owner) knew the shop had to make some quick adjustments to figure out a way to survive this like so many others. An idea that started as a small chat between friends quickly blossomed into a game changer for her business. They decided to get creative with their takeout offerings.
That’s when they started offering Make Your Own Pizza Kits for the kids to make at home which include dough for the crust, cheese, pizza sauce and toppings like pepperonis. Pairing that with pitchers of cold brew (now cans), beer & cocktails to-go (think adult capri sun cocktails), their little idea took off.
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The Penguin originally decided to stay open to help support the hospital staff across the street who were working tireless hours. And since the majority of us were stuck at home, they began offering free local delivery on a weekly schedule to surrounding neighborhoods and towns thanks to some loyal family and friends. What started out in Mission Hill has now spanned through Weymouth!
In a recent interview, Pam said “The response was absolutely phenomenal, We were delivering up to 400 pizza kits a week and then obviously incorporated it with the beer to go, the cocktails to go. It definitely was a huge drive behind why we stayed open.” Since April 2020, they estimate delivering over 3000 pitchers of sangria total & up to 400 pizza kits weekly.
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Even though these were extremely trying times for her new business, she still found a way to pay it forward. Penguin Pizza started the “Feeding the Frontline” initiative which helps connect people and restaurants in supporting our communities. You can learn more about this grassroot program HERE. They have also started working with fundraisers and PTOs across the city to help give back whenever they can. To help other small businesses during covid, The Penguin began partnering with them to offer special menu items on top of their pizza kits and beer & cocktails to go. Partnerships include local favorite Baby Cakes Bakery in Quincy and have many more planned in the future. Thankfully, all that hard work hasn’t gone unnoticed. Her first year as owner, during a pandemic, the City of Boston presented Penguin Pizza with the 2020 Business of the Year award.
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Right now the program is running on a monthly schedule with deliveries on Thursdays to Weymouth, Braintree & South Boston. Then Dorchester, Quincy & Milton on Fridays.* Make sure to follow Penguin Pizza on Facebook to be notified on delivery weeks. Kits can be picked up anytime during hours of operation as well. To order your pizza kits or beer & cocktails to-go for a no contact local delivery you can either email her directly at Pamela@thePenguinPizza.com or reach out via direct message on The Penguin Pizza Facebook. All types of payments are accepted: Venmo, Paypal, cash or CC.
*Please note: at this time the kits & to-go beer & liquor are a separate program from the bar/restaurant. If you want to order from their regular menu, you can either order online or call their direct number (617.277.9200) or stop in to take advantage of their outdoor dining setup.
I had the pleasure of talking to Pamela a few weeks back to learn more about her story, first hand. She has such an amazing personality, that you can tell just by talking with her she cares deeply about her business, staff and customers. My son and I got to try out Penguin’s famous pizza kits and let me be 100% honest, They were delicious, the best pizza we have had EVER. To be completely transparent, my son has struggled mentally alot since the pandemic hit. We try to get out as much as possible but during the week, with remote school until 4PM, it's hard to plan anything fun before dinner especially pre-daylight savings. So this was a great change to the usual “MOM, what's for dinner?” and added something to look forward to during the week of our delivery.
On the day of the scheduled, We received a confirmation email that we had a special delivery around 3pm on our porch. Everything was packed neatly inside the paper bag with a direction sheet included. We got 2 kits ( 1 cheese, 1 roni).
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We were prepared with ample counter space and the kitchen utensils required for the pizza making to begin (Spoons for sauce, Pizza Pans, Rolling Pin, and personal mini pizza chef).
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My son had an incredible time putting together his pizzas. His excitement is something I was so happy to see again (who knew a pizza kit would bring so much joy). We even tried being fancy pizza makers, by throwing the dough in the air but quickly decided to leave that to the professionals. He used a rolling pin to stretch the dough, we rolled the edged for the crust, layered on the sauce and cheese in style, and added the roni to the second pie. Popped them in the oven for the directed amount of time and we had an incredible family dinner. We even shared with my parents (who are also our neighbors) and they too were amazed at how delicious these pizza kits were.
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If you are looking for something fun to do for family night, or any night for that matter, I highly recommend ordering some Pizza Kits from Penguin Pizza, you will not be disappointed. Don’t forget to add a pitcher of Sangria or cocktail to-go for the perfect adult add on. Don't drink alcohol? That's ok too, they can also deliver SipSahol ColdBrew cans (who doesn’t need coffee?). Check them out and give them a try next time you're in the mood for pizza. Get in touch today, they are delivering this week!
