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• Saturday, February 04, 2012

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Dishin' Dough: This year, Fireside Pizza employees are donating a portion of their tips to Tahoe Women's Services. Now, customers can help too. Photo by Ryan Salm

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A Piece of the Pie

Fireside Pizza creates culture of giving

Every little bit counts. That could be the unofficial motto of Fireside Pizza Co. in Squaw Valley, where for the past two years employees have been donating a portion of their tips to a local charity. But a better motto might be owner Ray Villaman’s philosophy: “lead by example.” That’s because between Fireside’s Fall Fundraising Feast, Tuesday Bluesdays sales, and Villaman’s matching donations, philanthropy has become a major tenet of the restaurant.

Since Fireside opened in 2002, helping local nonprofits has been a priority. Anytime a Tahoe, Truckee, or Reno organization asks the restaurant to contribute to a fundraising raffle, Fireside always donates gift cards. For the past seven years, it’s also been holding Local Hero’s Day every Monday in the off-seasons, allowing teachers, nurses, and firefighters to eat for free.

But last year the pizza joint’s staff decided they wanted to personally participate in Fireside’s charitable giving. Villaman (whose Tahoe Restaurant Group also includes Bistro 22 at Squaw and Rubicon Pizza at Northstar) is on the advisory board of the Truckee-based Adventure-Risk-Challenge Summer Literacy & Leadership Program and has hosted the organization’s fundraising dinners for the past three years. A member of ARC came to speak at one of Fireside’s staff meetings, and the employees were inspired. They decided to start pooling a portion of their tips each day to donate to ARC.

“It’s up to them how much they want to give — a couple dollars, even 50 cents,” said Fireside manager George Barbieri. “A couple extra dollars really added up with five to 10 servers working per day.”

The restaurant also donated any proceeds from outdoor pizza sales, which were held during summer events like Bluesdays, the Art Bark Fest, and the Art, Wine and Music Festival, to ARC. In addition, Fireside held a pasta dinner buffet to benefit ARC in the fall. Villaman donated all the food and the employees volunteered their time. Altogether, Fireside raised $4,800 for ARC last year, which included a matching gift from Villaman.

“I like creating a culture of giving down to the dishwasher who volunteers to come in and help,” said Villaman, who’s also a member of the Truckee Rotary Club. “Rotary’s mantra is ‘Service above all else.’ I try to live by that.”

This year, Fireside’s employees chose Tahoe Women’s Services as their charity. As with the selection of ARC, the workers chose TWS after a presentation at a staff meeting by general manager Wrenn  Johns and another server, who are both TWS volunteers. Johns’ goal is to raise $10,000 for the women’s organization.

“It’s a lofty goal for a small restaurant, but I think it would be great if we could do it,” she said.

Johns’ goal will be aided by a new fundraising tactic this year. For the first time, Fireside customers are invited to join in the restaurant’s charitable giving. On each table is a placard explaining TWS’ mission, its crisis hotline number, and asking guests to talk to their server if they would like to add $1 (or more) to their bill to benefit TWS.

“We usually get $8 to $9 a day from customers, but it adds up by the end of the year,” Johns said. “Just people asking about TWS, and realizing that it’s part of the community and needs help, is great, too.”

While Villaman says that it’s common for restaurants to donate to local organizations, he said what makes Fireside’s giving unique is its staff involvement. Even the pizza place’s spaghetti dinners (there will be one this fall to benefit TWS) were started by an employee. In 2008, kitchen manager Danny Scott’s friend suffered a spinal cord injury while skiing at Squaw. Scott organized a fundraising dinner at Fireside to raise money for his medical bills. The event raised $4,000.

“They were inspired and energized by their efforts,” said Villaman, who will match whatever the employees and restaurant raise. “That’s they type of employee I want to attract.”