Melody Stein, a deaf pizzaiola from Los Angeles, and her husband Russ Stein, both Gallaudet University graduates and the first deaf certified professional pizza makers by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, co-founded pi00a, a deaf and CODA family-owned frozen Neapolitan pizza brand. With $422,000 in lifetime sales, 270 retail stores including Whole Foods, a Lori Greiner Shark Tank deal of $200,000 for 12% equity, NEXTY and Shelfie Awards, and a mission to employ the deaf community, pi00a is changing food and employment simultaneously.
Gallaudet University, Mozzeria San Francisco, and a Pandemic That Became a New Beginning
Melody Stein and her husband Russ Stein met at Gallaudet University, America's most celebrated university for deaf and hard-of-hearing students, where they discovered a shared passion for food and a shared conviction that the deaf community deserved the same access to meaningful employment as everyone else.
Their first step into the food industry was extraordinary. They co-founded Mozzeria, a San Francisco pizzeria staffed entirely by deaf people, opening in 2011. Melody and Russ became the first deaf certified professional pizza makers by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, the Naples-based institution that defines the authentic standards of Neapolitan pizza worldwide. That credential placed them among the most qualified artisan pizza makers in America, deaf or hearing.
During the pandemic, they sold Mozzeria. And then they built something that could scale beyond a single restaurant, reaching deaf job seekers and pizza lovers across the entire country.
They founded pi00a, pronounced pie-oh-ah, a name that is itself a statement of craft. The zz in pizza was replaced with 00, the name for the premium imported Italian flour that forms the foundation of every crust. Their hearing children, daughter Taysia and son Rylan, joined the family operation as CODA, Children of Deaf Adults, creating a fully ASL-communicating workplace where every member of the team worked together seamlessly.
Handcrafted Frozen Neapolitan Pizza, 270 Stores, Award-Winning Flavours, and a Mission That Makes Every Sale Matter
The boldest product decision pi00a made was to take the most uncompromising standard of artisan pizza, genuine Neapolitan technique using imported Italian 00 flour and hand-stretched dough, and deliver it as a frozen product that cooks in under 10 minutes, ready to a restaurant-quality result in any home kitchen.
The flavours are as distinctive as the mission. The range includes globally inspired pies: Margherita, Miso Eggplant, Quattro Formaggi, and Four Cheese, each reflecting the culinary ambition and global perspective that Melody and Russ brought from their years of certified professional pizza training. The team produces approximately 250 pizzas per day by hand, ensuring quality control at every stage.
The Miso Eggplant pizza earned both the Shelfie Award and the NEXTY Award for best frozen product at Expo West 2025. In March 2026, pi00a was a Pitch Slam finalist at Natural Products Expo West and partnered with online grocery service Good Eggs to deliver frozen pizzas across the Bay Area and Los Angeles, expanding its digital distribution alongside its retail footprint.
The retail reach confirms the market's response. Pi00a launched into 36 Whole Foods Market locations across Southern California, Arizona, Nevada, and Hawaii in 2025 and subsequently expanded into Gelson's, Bristol Farms, Mother's Market, Earth Fare, Nugget Markets, PCC Community Markets in Seattle, and New Season Markets in Oregon, reaching approximately 270 stores by mid-2026.
The mission behind every sale is explicit and measurable. Unemployment affects more than half of the deaf community in the United States. Pi00a was built to directly address that statistic. Following their Shark Tank success and retail expansion, the team announced they are actively hiring for Food Production Associate and Logistics positions, directly fulfilling the founding promise of creating meaningful employment for the deaf community.
The Shark Tank Moment — ASL in the Tank, Sharks in Tears, and Lori Says I See You
Melody, Russ, Taysia, and Rylan Stein appeared on Shark Tank Season 17 Episode 18, the season finale that aired on April 22, 2026. They entered seeking $200,000 for 5% equity, valuing pi00a at $4 million.
Melody and Russ addressed the investors entirely in American Sign Language while interpreters stood nearby. Several Sharks were moved to tears. Lori Greiner and Daniel Lubetzky praised the flavour. Rashaun Williams noted it tasted like fresh restaurant-quality pizza. Kevin O'Leary stepped out citing the highly competitive frozen food space. Kendra Scott was deeply moved by the family's story but stepped out citing a lack of grocery sector expertise. Rashaun Williams and Daniel Lubetzky also stepped away noting similar concerns about scalability.
Lori Greiner stepped forward. She offered $200,000 for 15% equity. The Steins countered at 10%. The final deal closed at $200,000 for 12% equity from Lori Greiner. After the deal, Lori hugged the family and said three words that carried the weight of everything: "I see you."
After the West Coast airing, pi00a began processing high volumes of pre-orders. The brand launched a Shark Tank Bundle for $69.00 featuring a curated selection of their globally inspired pizzas. Pi00a's current net worth is estimated at $1 million to $2 million in 2026. The business was not yet profitable at the time of the Shark Tank pitch, with the team focused on scaling production and distribution to achieve profitability.
1.Restaurant Proof-of-Concept (2011–Pandemic):Co-founded Mozzeria in San Francisco as an all-deaf staffed pizzeria; earned AVPN Neapolitan pizza certification before selling during the pandemic.
2.Brand Inception & Frozen Innovation:Launched pi00a in Los Angeles alongside CODA children, pivoting to packaged frozen Neapolitan pizzas made with Italian 00 flour.
3.Retail Footprint & Industry Recognition (2025–Early 2026):Expanded to 36 Whole Foods locations and 270 regional grocery doors, winning the NEXTY and Shelfie Awards for Miso Eggplant.
4.Shark Tank Season 17 Finale & Strategic Scale (April 2026):Secured a $200,000 deal for 12% equity with Lori Greiner, initiating high-volume bundle pre-orders and hiring for production and logistics roles [cite: The Strategic Genius — Handcrafted Frozen Neapolitan Pizza, 270 Stores, Award-Winning Flavours, and a Mission That Makes Every Sale Matter, The Shark Tank Moment — ASL in the Tank, Sharks in Tears, and Lori Says I See You].
Scale and Real-World Impact
| Enterprise Parameter | Key Metrics & Operational Details |
| Co-Founders | Melody Stein & Russ Stein (Gallaudet Graduates; AVPN Certified Pizzaiolos) |
| Family & Team Structure | Taysia Stein & Rylan Stein (CODA); fully ASL-communicating workplace |
| Headquarters & Inception | Los Angeles, California (Mozzeria founded 2011, sold during pandemic) |
| Product Unit Economics | Production COGS: $3.64 per unit | Wholesale Price: $6.50 | Retail Price: $13.99 |
| Production Scale | ~250 handcrafted pizzas per day capacity |
| Lifetime Sales & Trajectory | $422,000 total lifetime revenue ($222,000 in prior fiscal year) |
| Retail Distribution Footprint | ~270 stores by mid-2026 (Whole Foods, Gelson's, Bristol Farms, Mother's Market, Earth Fare, PCC Markets, Nugget Markets, New Season Markets) |
| E-Commerce & Delivery | Digital expansion via Good Eggs partnership (Bay Area & LA); $69 Shark Tank Bundle |
| Accolades & Recognition | Expo West 2025 NEXTY Award & Shelfie Award; Expo West 2026 Pitch Slam Finalist; Project Potluck $10,000 Madeline Haydon Award |
| Shark Tank Investment | Season 17, Ep 18 (April 2026): $200,000 for 12% equity with Lori Greiner |
| Estimated Net Worth (2026) | $1 Million to $2 Million |
The Most Powerful Brands Are the Ones That Turn a Personal Injustice Into a Universal Mission
The sharpest lesson from pi00a's journey is this: the most enduring and most emotionally resonant consumer brands are the ones built by founders who experienced a systemic injustice personally, refused to accept it, and built a business that corrects it at scale.
Melody Stein was rejected by an ice cream shop at 16 because she was deaf. She was turned away by culinary schools in 1993. She felt invisible for much of her life. And then she became the first deaf certified Neapolitan pizza maker in America, opened a fully deaf-staffed restaurant in San Francisco, and built a nationally distributed frozen pizza brand that employs deaf people and proves their capability to the world.
"We've felt invisible," Melody said in the Tank.
Lori Greiner looked at the entire Stein family and said: "I see you."
With 270 stores across America, a Lori Greiner partnership, and job listings now live for deaf team members, pi00a is anything but invisible.
The most powerful thing a business can do is make someone who has always been unseen finally be seen.
Pi00a is doing exactly that. One pizza at a time.
Sources
Verdkin
PMQ Pizza
Primetimer
Cinema Holic
Shark Tank Blog
Shark Tank Companies
New Hope Network
Bristol Farms
Sound for Light
