By Rick Hynum
When acclaimed pizzaiola Melody Stein and her family—husband Russ, daughter Taysia and son Rylan—show up tonight as contestants on ABC’s Shark Tank, they won’t just be representing independent pizza makers. They will be showing the world what Deaf people can accomplish when given the chance. And it’s high time the world took notice.
The Stein family, owners of the fast-growing pi00a frozen pizza brand in Los Angeles, will try to persuade one of the Shark Tank tycoons to buy into their business in the series finale, airing at 10 p.m. ET tonight on ABC. The Steins had to keep mum about their appearance until recently, but they’ve been featured prominently in this week’s on-air and online promos for the episode.
Did the sharks bite? The Steins can’t tell us that just yet.
“We were contacted by a casting director who reached out to see if we’d be interested in pitching pi00a on the show,” Melody Stein told PMQ. “At first, we thought it might be a scam, so we did our research. Once we confirmed it was legitimate, we set up a Zoom call to learn more about the process. We submitted an audition tape, and, fortunately, the team responded very positively. It’s a lengthy process, and eventually we were invited to film. As for what happens in the Tank, you’ll have to tune in to find out.”
Frozen pizza is a booming segment these days, but pi00a stands out for several reasons. For starters, it’s a Deaf- and CODA family-owned business (CODA stands for Children of Deaf Adults), almost certainly the only one of its kind in the pizza industry. Moreover, the Steins specialize in globally inspired Neapolitan pizzas all made by hand. And in case you can’t tell, pi00a is spelled with the numerals 00, pointing to the premium imported Italian flour they use to make every pie.
Just landing an appearance on Shark Tank potentially opens doors to other investment opportunities for pi00a. It’s all a bit ironic considering that Melody was once considered high risk even as a culinary school applicant.
After graduating from high school, the aspiring chef put in her application to the California Culinary Academy. Their response: Thanks, but no thanks. Not because Stein lacked culinary talent, but because she’s Deaf. The assumption was that a Deaf person would be a liability in a busy restaurant kitchen.
Boy, were they ever wrong.
Stein went on to train with pizza masters in Italy before returning to the U.S. and co-founding the highly acclaimed Mozzeria, considered one of San Francisco’s premier pizza restaurants, in 2011. And not just any pizza restaurant but one that was owned, operated and staffed entirely by Deaf people, including Russ, whom she met years earlier at Gallaudet University in Washington D.C. And, it should be added, the operation ran so smoothly, it won coverage from local TV stations, the San Francisco Chronicle, the New York Times, the Washington Post and numerous other media outlets.
Health issues forced the Steins to exit Mozzeria during the pandemic but didn’t keep them out of the pizza game for long. “After moving to Los Angeles in 2021, we noticed a clear gap in the frozen aisle,” Stein said. “There were very few options that combined authentic Neapolitan techniques with globally inspired flavors. We saw an opportunity to bring something new to the market. In August 2023, the four of us came together to launch pi00a and pursue that vision.”
Their mission, Stein says, is “to create meaningful job opportunities for the Deaf community.” And, of course, to save pizza lovers nationwide from frozen-pizza mediocrity. “With pi00a, we wanted to take what we learned and reimagine it in a way that could reach more people. Frozen pizza gave us the opportunity to scale our product nationally and bring our style of pizza into homes across the country.”
They’re off to a good start. Earth Fare was their first natural retailer, and now pi00a pies can be found in Whole Foods Markets across Southern California, Arizona, Nevada and Hawaii, as well as Gelson’s, Bristol Farms and Nugget Markets. “Most recently, we expanded into PCC Markets in Seattle, Washington, and New Season Markets in Oregon in May,” Stein says. “Today, pi00a is in approximately 270 stores. Each step of that growth has allowed us to further our mission by creating more job opportunities within the Deaf community.”
TV shows like Shark Tank require contestants to keep mum until their episodes have aired. But Stein was able to tell PMQ that her family’s appearance on the show “was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The most meaningful part was that the four of us got to go through it together as a family.”
“Walking down that long hallway before entering the Tank was surreal,” she added. “We grew up watching the show and never imagined we’d one day be standing there ourselves. It was both exciting and humbling.”
The Steins also hope to elevate the Deaf community through the Shark Tank exposure. “We were incredibly grateful for the opportunity to share both our product and our mission on such a large platform,” Stein said. “We wanted to encourage businesses to hire Deaf individuals and give them the opportunity to thrive.”
“Deaf people are highly capable, talented and bring tremendous value to the workplace,” she continued. “We hope our story helps open more doors and shift perspectives. We would also love to see more Deaf entrepreneurs appear on Shark Tank. There are so many talented founders with incredible products who deserve that kind of visibility.”
