Paul Newman’s got a pizza truck, but don’t expect to get his autograph with a slice. After all, the legendary actor passed away in 2008.
But that won’t stop Newman’s Own, the company he founded in 1982 to help children facing adversity, from peddling its pizzas on the streets of New York City and other cities nationwide.
The company debuted its first-ever Pay What You Want Pizza Truck this week. The mobile pizzeria will make 22 stops in 10 cities, including Boston, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Milwaukee, Chicago, Miami, Westport, Connecticut, and San Jose, California.
Related: How independent pizza makers are elevating the frozen pizza segment
Customers can choose their own price for a baked version of the brand’s upscale pizzas, which include the Thin & Crispy Crust, Stone-Fired Crust and the new Sourdough Crust, which debuted in April.
“We’re excited to hit the road this summer with our Pay What You Want pizza truck,” David Best, president and CEO of Newman’s Own, said. “We can’t wait to share our delicious pizza, celebrate the great generosity in this country and help even more kids.”
Newman started making his own salad dressings, packaged in old wine bottles, as Christmas presents for friends in 1980. That led to the creation of Newman’s Own, with all after-tax profits being donated to the Cool Hand Luke actor’s favorite charities that support children’s causes.
Once we decided that’s what we wanted to do, we decided we’d give the money away,” Newman said, according to People magazine. “We had no idea whether the business would be successful.”
In 1988, Newman founded the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp—a name inspired by one of his classic films, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid—so that kids living with serious medical conditions could, in the actor’s words, “raise a little hell.” That camp, which started in Ashford, Connecticut, spawned more camps around the world under the umbrella of the SeriousFun Children’s Network. The camps serve children living with cancer, blood disorders, immunological conditions, neurological conditions and more.
Today, the Newman’s Own brand offers more than 100 products, from dressings and sauces to seasonings and cookies as well as the line of frozen pizzas.
