A Chicago Pizzeria is Making Face Shields for Health Care Workers

While the foodservice industry at large is reeling from the ongoing fallout of the coronavirus crisis, one segment has found itself in an comparatively enviable position. Thanks to a long tradition of takeout and delivery, most pizza restaurants have not had to pivot dramatically to retain their customer bases, and in some cases they are actually seeing an uptick in business.

Given that relatively stable positioning, some pizza restaurants are finding creative new ways to support their local communities. Case in point: Dimo’s Pizza in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood, which Block Club Chicago reports has been making face shields in its pizza ovens and donating food to area hospitals.

Dimo’s is still making and selling pizzas, but now its ovens are pulling double-duty, alternating between pizzas and facemasks.

The pizza ovens heat the acrylic to the point it becomes malleable. Once hot enough the acrylic is set in a mold. Dimo’s worked with Avenue Metal, Co., 1640 W. Ogden Ave., to make molds for the shields.

Once the shield cools, Velcro and foam are added. Syrkin-Nikolau hopes to have a final prototype completed this week.

In the meantime, Dimon’s has already found an effective way to support the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic by providing free pizza to local hospitals including Northwestern Memorial Hospital, John H. Jr. Stroger Cook County Hospital and Lurie Children’s Hospital.

“When you think about war, soldiers are on the front line,” [owner Dimitri Syrkin-Nikolau] said. “In this situation, it’s our medical workers on the front line.”

Read the full article at Chicagoblockclub.org.