Extra Extra Pizza was built by three career restaurant workers who decided that if they were going to work that hard, they should share in the profits. After taking classes with Cooperation Buffalo, they started their restaurant in cooperation with micro-developer Frits Abell, making 549 W. Utica St. into the sort of restaurant they actually wanted to work in.
Joey Pucciarelli, Bridget Murphy, and Soon Ho Sim opened in 2022. A fourth partner, Gabe Burgos Nieves, joined them a year ago. Employees have a path to ownership, and since last month, a 401(k) retirement account with a 5 percent employer match.
Somehow, they do it at prices commensurate with Buffalo’s pizza superstars. With ownership always on the floor, Joey and Bridget can still care for their six week old boy, and make it work.