Pride 2017: A Queer Pizzaverse

When you think of Dimo’s, the word queer may not be the first thing that comes to mind. We get it. Our flagship store is in the heart of Wrigleyville, where people come to grab a slice before a Cubs game, or after they’ve gotten out of one of the Clark St. bars. However, life from inside Dimo’s fleshes out a different story. Simply put: the alternative pizzaverse has always been pretty queer.

Here at the pizzaverse, we have never done things the conventional way. We don’t have menus for our slices, we serve up radical ‘Za, we do all deliveries via bike, and for about a year now, we haven’t even had managers. Dimo’s is definitely not your typical restaurant, and it doesn’t provide a typical restaurant worker experience. Here, we do things offbeat.

We strive to recruit people who are looking for an alternative type of food-service job, because as we lay out in our mission statement, “our pizza can only be as relevant, radical and creative as the people who make it, support it, and love it.”

The people that have come to work here, then, don’t squeeze themselves into particular molds or binaries.

They’re creative, they’re offbeat, and they’re queer.

In particular, our embrace of the offbeat is what has attracted many LGBTQ employees to work at our stores throughout the years.  Just as pizza isn’t limited to cheese and pepperoni, the way people express their love or their gender isn’t limited to two normative options. We welcome and encourage queer gender expression, gender identities, and sexual orientations.

We are wholly committed to providing a safe work environment for all queer individuals, an environment where they are free to be themselves, untethered from fear and restrictive binaries, an environment that will serve as an alternative and supportive habitat where their creativity can flourish.

The queer workers who have come through our company have enhanced our imagination, expanded our vision, and strengthened our commitment to unity and justice.

So whether you own a small or large business, use Pride Week in Chicago to thank your LGBTQ workers for their contribution to your organization. Remind them that they are valued, cared for, and appreciated. Remind your staff of the importance of being accepting towards all sexual orientations, gender identities, and expressions. And always be mindful that comments you might think are harmless and funny, may be hurtful to others.

Do it because championing equality and justice above all else is the right thing to do. Do it because it will strengthen your business or organization. Do it because, without contributions from your LGBTQ staff, you might not be where you are today.

To all of our LGBTQ staff, we thank you for everything you do for us. We’ve always got your backs.

Eat offbeat, work offbeat, love offbeat.