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Pam Baker and her granddaughter Grace Baker at Pizzabilities in Alpine
Story and photos by Karen Pearlman
July 2, 2025 (Alpine) – Any way you slice it, Pizzabilities, Alpine’s newest addition to the culinary scene, is about to serve the community in some of the most delicious and unexpected ways.
While Pizzabilities serves delicious pies, it is not your typical pizza joint. About half of its staff are people with special needs who have intellectual, physical or other challenges.
The fast-casual restaurant employs more than two dozen employees who serve in various roles. All workers wear bright orange t-shirts with “Pizzabilities, Pizza With Purpose” on the front and “Where Pizza and Abilities Rise Together” on the back -- and they also wear brighter smiles.
Individual pizzas are handmade and personalized by employees at a counter with several different crusts (including cauliflower) sauces (including pesto) and cheeses (including a vegan cheese option), with myriad toppings available for diners.
Each pizza is custom built to the customer’s likings in a build-it-yourself style, a la Subway or Chipotle. The pizzas are baked in an oven behind the counter, and then brought piping hot to diners by Pizzabilities servers.
The restaurant also will serve salads, desserts and has a selection of wines and craft beers on tap, as well as water and soft drinks.
A combined undertaking between accomplished business owner Josh Baker and Italian restaurant veteran Ron Burner, Pizzabilities has had a few soft openings in the past weeks and will officially open its doors to the public at 2710 Alpine Blvd., Suite M on July 12. Hours will be 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and the restaurant will be open seven days a week.
Major Backing -- from the Community
Long before its official opening, the community has been backing the new restaurant, with some offering to donate equipment and others wanting to get involved, including people from his church, Baker said.
“Everyone we initially spoke with about the idea absolutely loved it,” he said. “We attracted attention from many news outlets and even a reality show TV producer! We have been inundated with support from everyone, including vendors who are donating services and supplies. It has been truly awesome to see the amount of support we are getting. The community has been amazing so far.”
Baker said he sees Pizzabilities fitting into the Alpine community as well as broadening conversation around inclusive employment.
“There are several Facebook groups for the people of Alpine and we have had an overwhelming amount of support from them,” he said. “Alpine is a tight knit community, and the support already has been surreal. We are excited to get in and serve the community.”
Pizzabilities’ website notes that the restaurant is “where purpose meets passion, where inclusion is baked into every slice, and where people of all abilities are given the chance to shine.”Baker expects to employ between 20 and 30 workers total in assisted and unassisted roles, noting how “Pizzabilities is a place where people of all abilities are accepted.”
All employees will be cross trained from making pizzas, to greeting, bussing tables, running food to customers at their tables, restocking supplies, folding pizza boxes, cleaning and more, Baker said.
“There is a role for people of all abilities," he said.
Pizzabilities was born out of the heart of Josh and his wife Amy Baker, inspired by their daughter, Grace.
Born with Down Syndrome, Grace Baker has spent her life exceeding expectations and pushing for growth, independence and equality, Josh Baker said. She is one of three siblings in the Baker family, and the only one with special needs.
After recently graduating high school, Grace was looking to land a job, but meaningful employment opportunities proved few and far between for the teenager. Seeking to help their daughter, Josh and Amy Baker didn’t wait for someone to open the workforce doors, they decided to open one up for her.
A Perfect Partner in the Pizza Biz
Baker found the perfect partner in Burner, a football coach at El Capitan High School, who was also Baker’s baseball coach when he attended West Hills High in the late 1990s.
“Josh and I have remained close over the years and actually live in the same neighborhood,” Burner said. “When Josh came to me about eight months ago with this idea and asked me to help him get it started, I was so moved by his passion it was a no-brainer to be honest.
“His passion to help not only Grace but all families with children that have disabilities just totally inspired me and continue to do so. This is something we envision can help a lot of families with similar situations throughout the country. This is chapter one of hopefully many chapters.”
Burner knows a little something about the restaurant business and pizza. His grandfather started Nicolosi’s Italian
Restaurant nearly 75 years ago. Burner owns and operates two Nicolosi’s restaurants in San Diego County, including one in Santee. Nicolosi’s was started in San Diego by Salvatore Nicolosi in 1952. Burner has been running the Nicolosi’s show since 2009.
“The food experience will be amazing for the workers and of course our customers,” Burner said of Pizzabilities. “This is not a ‘one-time come try,’ but a pizza and environment that will bring you back over and over again. It will be a vibrant and exciting place to come to. We have amazing personal pizzas and salads that everyone will love from the simple cheese pizza to the Buffalo chicken or BBQ or Meat lovers.
Ron Burner teaching Nico Campagna about baking pizzas at Pizzabilities in Alpine.
“We are combining a mixture of great New York-style pizza and fast-casual dining with take-out and delivery. Nicolosi’s has always been a family-owned company that plays a huge part in every community we serve from youth sports to community events and just about everything in between. “We bring over 70 years of pizza making experience to this awesome concept. The training has been amazing, to say the least. Josh and Grace have been our inspiration to be a partner and a huge part of this.”
Taking Care of Business(es)
Baker, who owns an escrow company and runs other real estate ventures, said his success in other businesses means the restaurant wasn’t opened as a way to become wealthy, it was for Grace and others like her to have gainful employment.
But further growth appears imminent.
Baker said he sees this as a model that can be franchised throughout the United States and hopes that Pizzabilities might inspire other businesses that support the inclusion of the special needs community.
“We plan to open several locations in San Diego and then sell franchises throughout the United States,” Baker said. “Our ideal franchisee is a family like mine with a member with special needs that wants to have a place to call their own and create jobs for their local disabled community.”
Other businesses like Pizzabilities have found success, including Mychal's Cafe & Bakery in Redondo Beach, Howdy Hommemade in Dallas and Bake Ability in Holicong, Pennsylvania.
Bake Ability owner Paula Di Fabio Fasciano started the business because she said she knew that unemployment within the intellectual disability community is significantly higher than the national average.
“Bake Ability affords individuals opportunities to learn a trade, grow and serve the community in the baking industry,” said Fasciano, who has two children with Fragile X Syndrome, and who opened Bake Ability in 2021 backed by other parents who have children with special needs.
Taelynn Brown, 18, is a part-time Pizzabilities employee who has been mentoring her cousin, Grace Baker, on the ins and outs of pizza making. The two are six months apart.
Brown said she has a lifetime of experience in teaching Grace different things through the years, and has learned things herself, like the need to have more patience, from working with her and other special needs colleagues at Pizzabilities.
“It’s just been really cool to see Grace transfer out of high school not knowing what to do and now there’s this whole new idea for her, and this is showing that people with special needs can have purpose,” Brown said. “Grace says, ‘This (Working at Pizzabilities) is like the best thing ever,’ which she says about everything, but this really is. She is so happy and it’s so much better for her to be here and not just sitting at home.”
Taelynn Brown, Grace Baker and Kenidi Phoenix (left to right) makeing a pizza on July 1 at Pizzabilities in Alpine
While having children with special needs can be challenging, Josh Baker said “Grace’s life has changed my life for the better in ways I can’t really explain.”
“She is a joy in everyone’s life that she is around, and it just made me think ‘What are some ways I can get her interacting with more people and touching more lives? What is something she can get passionate about?’” he said.
“She loves people and loves pizza so this was a great way check all those boxes. I also own Alliance Escrow. We have been in business for 10 years and I have two offices, one in La Mesa and one in Mission Valley. It’s definitely not as exciting as Pizzabilities, which is much better suited for Grace.”
Baker said it is his hope that Pizzabilities will continue to provide a place “where people look forward to coming to work, feel included and enjoy the benefits of being a productive citizen just like everyone else.”
He said just from the initial training of employees there has been such appreciation and excitement as this is a first job for many or they have been looking for a long time for employment with no success. “It is an amazing feeling to be able to provide this for the special needs community,” he said.
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