At Down North Pizza, every slice tells a story—not just of bold flavors and crispy crusts but of second chances. Muhammad Abdul-Hadi, 38, has championed this mission through his Black-owned pizzeria, and now, his latest venture blends his passion for social change and culinary artistry.
Hadi partnered with Clarkson Potter to create We the Pizza: Slangin’ Pies and Savin’ Lives, a book released Tuesday featuring 68 recipes and his story of using food to combat recidivism. A West Philadelphia native and serial entrepreneur, Hadi applies his academic background in criminal justice to challenge a system that disproportionately criminalizes Black men.
Hadi’s goal in opening Down North Pizza was to address recidivism
In 2021, Hadi opened Down North Pizza in North Philadelphia’s Strawberry Mansion neighborhood. The neighborhood has a high crime rate and significant underdevelopment. But despite these challenges, Hadi aimed to establish the business as a positive community hub.
“Honestly, I just picked one of the issues to focus on, which was recidivism within this community,” Hadi said in an interview with Blavity. “You see a lot of businesses come in these neighborhoods, but, for the most part, it’s nothing beneficial for the community, so I wanted to change that narrative around and put something in this particular neighborhood that the community could benefit from.”
A second chance
Hadi opened Down North Pizza and planned to hire formerly incarcerated men, offering them a second chance and a path to reintegration. Having been directly impacted by incarceration, Hadi understood the importance of providing these men with the tools to transform their lives and described how a lot of them were looking for ways to turn around their lives, but doors were constantly being closed in their faces.
Hadi said, “I didn’t think twice about having the opportunity to … help the neighborhood at large and also help the individuals get back on their feet.”
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‘What started as an idea is about to become a published book‘
We the Pizza spotlights Down North’s formerly incarcerated staff alongside renowned chefs like Marc Vetri and Marcus Samuelsson. The book offers readers a deeper look into the lives of these individuals, sharing how their experiences fueled their determination for success.
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When asked what inspired him to launch a cookbook, Hadi said he had always wanted to become an author and share his journey with others, especially those who looked like him. However, he was unaware of how much work was needed to make the project happen, and he mentioned how he learned about the publishing process throughout his journey of bringing We the People to print.
“Things were just coming together over the two years it took to kind of bring this from the idea to the actual book now about to be published on February 11,“ Hadi shared.
A cookbook for everyone
For his debut as an author, Hadi wanted to create a project that captured the fabric, essence and grit of North Philly in every chapter. Photography by a photographer from North Philly played a crucial role in bringing the cookbook to life. The book features striking images of everything meaningful, including beauty shots of the pizzas.
Hadi said this book has something for everyone, keeping in mind his versatile readers. Hip-hop fans will appreciate that all pies are named after famous R&B and hip-hop songs by Philadelphia artists. Academics will find value in the historical timeline woven throughout, which traces slavery’s inception in the 1600s to how it evolved into the carceral state we see today.
Down North’s signature dish is tender, crispy-edged, square-cut pies with sauce on top. In We the Pizza, an entire chapter is dedicated to vegetarian pizzas like “No Betta Love,“ made with four cheeses and the arrabbiata-inspired Norf Sauce. While the pizzeria has several top favorites, Hadi said the vegan pizza, the PSK, stands out as one of his favorites due to the effort it took to crack the code and perfect the recipe. Hadi said the level of difficulty of cracking the code requires appreciation.
The book features popular meat and seafood dishes like the “Roc the Mic“ pepperoni pie, berbere brisket “Tale of a Hustler,“ and the “Say Yes“ pizza with jerk turkey sausage and roasted butternut squash. The “Break You Off“ consists of a lemon ricotta base, a four-cheese blend and halal jerk lamb sausage with a honey-garlic drizzle. We the Pizza offers something for everyone, catering to various lifestyles and dietary needs.
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The definition of success is not confined to one standard
Hadi received the James Beard Foundation’s 2024 Leadership Award, which led him to reflect on how success is defined. He emphasized that success is subjective and based on personal perception, a key takeaway from his experience as a business leader in North Philly. He added that he wants to help people redefine success on their terms.
‘We the Pizza’ is a homegrown journey with pizza at its heart
Hadi plans to expand Down North beyond Philly in the next five years, with a potential location in New York City. He is confident that his pizza can compete with some of the best in the city, known as the United States pizza mecca.
For We the Pizza, Hadi hopes readers will better appreciate the individuals who contributed to the project and the carefully crafted recipes.
Beyond the delicious recipes, he wants people to take away a deeper understanding of the individuals who started working with the restaurant and those still part of it. The book offers a glimpse into how they ended up at Down North, including Hadi’s story.
He plans to take We the Pizza on a multi-city tour starting Tuesday in Philly. Other cities include New York City, Brooklyn, Los Angeles, Chicago and Detroit.
