Taking care of your community and your employees isn’t cheap, especially when rent keeps soaring along with food prices. That’s why Michigan & Trumbull Pizza, a Detroit-style pizzeria on West Elizabeth Street in the Motor City, is looking to make a move in 2023.
In a January 23 post on social media, owners Kristen Calverley and Nate Peck said they’re looking for a new location even as they celebrate their third anniversary in business.
“After years of trying to renegotiate our current lease, we’ve come to the sad conclusion it’s time to move on,” the post reads. “This relocation comes in an effort to avoid raising our prices and continue our commitment to living wages and our ‘Good Corner’ donations.”
The Good Corner program raises funds for local nonprofits. In an upcoming event, called Bike the Blizzard, Michigan & Trumbull Pizza will support Back Alley Bikes, which provides cycling education and services with a focus on youth development, sustainable practices and community access.
Related: Niko Frangas’ 7 tips for raising your pizzeria’s prices
Michigan & Trumbull’s owners want to be able to continue helping out causes they care about while also paying a living wage to their employees. They said they hope to find a new space in Detroit by July 2023.
“We’ve learned a lot of really hard lessons, so this time around we’re going to be more cautious,” Calverley told the Detroit News. “We’ve prioritized keeping things as affordable as possible, committed to paying a living wage, and we want to continue our charitable donations.”
Calverley and Peck opened Michigan & Trumbull in a food hall in December 2017 before settling into their own location on West Elizabeth Street in January 2020. Their menu includes Detroit-style specialty pies like the Packard Pepperoni (pepperoni, mozzarella, pickled chiles and housemade hot honey) and the McLovin (Beyond Beef, mozzarella, cheddar, iceberg lettuce, sweet onions, sesame seeds and Awesome Sauce).
Their pizzas range in price between $11 and $17, and Calverley and Peck want to keep it that way. After all, they’re not just in it for the money, as they explained to the Detroit News. “Running this business has to feel more meaningful to us and less transactional, because otherwise it’s really draining,” Calverley said.
