By Tristan Hostetter / Jambar Contributor
While businesses need to make money to thrive in any area, a Youngstown bowling alley and bar has spent its time prioritizing people over profit on the city’s west side.
Westside Bowl launched its Pay-It-Forward Pizza program Nov. 2, offering customers the opportunity to donate $10 to cover the cost of a 12-inch pizza for someone who may come in and need a meal. Within the first week of its launch, Co-owner Nate Offerdahl said around 3,000 pizzas had already been donated.
“From the beginning, my wife and I decided that our business model was going to be radical hospitality,” Offerdahl said. “To make everyone feel welcome, wanted and seen and part of that is making sure they’re safe and fed and taken care of.”
Although the program began in November, it wasn’t entirely new for Offerdahl and his team.
“We did a pay-it-forward program during the [COVID-19] pandemic,” Offerdahl said. “A band locally came in, donated some money and that’s sort of what got the ball rolling. By the time it ended, we’d given away about 10,000 pizzas.”
Offerdahl said the revival of the program was fueled by both gratitude and concern.
“We have a deep sense of gratitude for the city of Youngstown and the people who frequent this place. If they had not been generous with us during the pandemic, we would not have survived. So, we feel a debt to the city that we’ll be repaying until we no longer do this,” Offerdahl said.
With Westside Bowl frequently hosting events for the community, the decision to bring this program back was also tied to rising local need.
“[Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] benefits were being cut,” Offerdahl said. “Youngstown is a food-insecure city to begin with, so we were very concerned that folks were going to be going without food.”
Offerdahl added that the program’s purpose extends beyond providing meals.
“Empathy is at the heart of what we do, and it turns out, it’s a fantastic marketing strategy,” Offerdahl said. “Because the more we give, the more business we get.”
Mike Ray, Youngstown city councilman, said Offerdahl’s example has made Westside Bowl a “great neighborhood anchor” for the area.
“[Offerdahl] has been a tremendous partner to the community. I don’t think he’s ever turned anyone away,” Ray said.
The councilman also noted that Offerdahl’s business model blends creativity and community spirit.
“He’s made tremendous investment in the west side and is very engaged in the community,” Ray said.
That same spirit of generosity drives Westside Bowl’s frequent fundraisers for local causes, including the annual YSU Faculty in Concert Scholarship Fundraiser and supporting organizations, such as All Paws Are Perfect Dog Rescue.
APAP Dog Rescue is located in Boardman, and its cofounder, Justine Huckle, said Offerdahl’s commitment has a real and lasting effect.
“Businesses like Westside Bowl make community rescue work possible,” Huckle said. “Having a partner who genuinely cares about the community gives our rescue more credibility, more reach and more hope. It reminds us that we’re not doing this work in isolation.”
Huckle said the partnership has also helped the rescue connect with new supporters.
“Partnering with [Offerdahl] and Westside Bowl gives us something we can’t create on our own — visibility,” Huckle said. “Fundraisers like this help us cover medical care for the dogs we pull from Animal Charity [of Ohio] and the Mahoning County Dog Pound.”
Offerdahl said the Pay-It-Forward Pizza effort reflects his long-term vision for what a local business can be, and although the program will go on “for the foreseeable future,” Offerdahl knows the spirit of giving back is evergreen.
“This is my political statement,” Offerdahl said. “I’m never going to run for office, but for me, this is a way of showing that there’s a different way of doing business. Not only can you be empathetic and radically hospitable, you can be profitable by doing those things.”