Our Mission
*To be a blessing to all those we come in contact with*
*To be relevant each day to our team, our customers and our community*
The Beginning
We began our journey as Chanellos Pizza Franchises in late 1999. After 14 years as a district manager for one of the large chains, the opportunity to partner with Chanellos Pizza was the break I/we had been praying for. Our early years were a blur of working nearly open to close every day as we learned how to be business owners. In 2004, after seeing some positive results in our Williamsburg location, we had the opportunity to take over the Greater Richmond market as a master franchisee. This started a new whirlwind of activity as we helped grow several additional stores in the market. In addition to the Richmond market, we are involved in our original Williamsburg location as well as a couple of stores in Newport News.
By 2008, Mama C (my wife, Courtney) was having health issues and was struggling with her day-‐to-‐day responsibilities. We attempted to sell some of our stores to some of our best managers to lighten her workload. Unfortunately, every one of those deals gradually failed. By 2011, we were in full rebuild mode from that season of setbacks. Mama C was not any better. We were struggling to figure out our next move and our purpose.
A New Chapter
At this time, my nephew was completing a rehab session for teens at an inner city church formerly known as the Roc. My sister asked us to help keep him in church and that started a whole new chapter of our lives. We became involved with the teen ministry and this gave us a purpose. (Due to the illnesses Mama C deals with, we had never had our own children). We quickly found ourselves volunteering and connecting with youth from many of the toughest housing projects in our city.
In May 2012, we took on the role of God-‐parents to a 16 year old who was struggling with depression and anxiety. Being mom and dad quickly became our new favorite jobs. Before long we had fourteen kids as a part of our “God-‐family”. This created a drive and a ”why” we had been missing. When this journey began, the kids were between the ages of 14 and 18. The youngest is now 20.
Our Family and Business Today
Today, we own 8 stores and provide oversight on one more. This keeps us beyond busy. We love serving our team and our community. We do our best to keep up with these wonderful kids and now several grand kids that we have been blessed with. We love the role God has given us. We are truly blessed. I truly love being a dad and grandpa. Mama C often felt lost because she had been denied motherhood. But God has given her a huge family to love on now. She is the best mom and grandma. We have had the honor and privilege of teaching kids to drive, file taxes, dress for job interviews, and such. Hopefully we have given each of them a sense of their value and worth. We look forward to the new challenges and blessings on the horizon.
Charitable Trust and the future
Our next goal is to set up a charitable trust to help us reach more kids and young adults. If you are interested in helping in any way or in donating to our cause, please contact me directly using the form below. Also, check our online ordering system for future links to donate. The goals and objectives of our charitable trust will be:
- connecting role models to those less fortunate and often trapped by our failing inner city school systems.
- teaching and coaching the skills necessary to enable home ownership, basic investing, and insurances.
- teaching the value of home ownership and as funds allow, helping others achieve that dream . A hand-‐up, not a hand-‐out!
- providing emotional support, hope, love and Christian fellowship to the lost and hurting.
Charitable Trust Contact Form
Join us as we extend a hand to Make a Difference. Join us as we help others to help themselves. Education, Resources and Compassion leads to dignity and self-‐reliance! ME FIRST!