In Kaizen, a restaurant in the underground shopping center of Metrograd, a sturdy dark-haired man with a tattoo sleeve and a motley apron works as a pizzaiolo. He gives instructions to bustling waiters, who rush through the café that is a mash-up of a sushi bar and a pizzeria.
The man resembles a warrior more than pizzaiolo, with good reason. He is Leonid Ostaltsev, a Ukrainian army veteran who fought in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas. He left the military in June. On Dec. 4, he opened Pizza Veterano, a pizzeria within the Kaizen café.
The veteran concept turned out to be a trump card. In just a week since opening, Pizza Veterano created a buzz with more than 6,000 Facebook likes and dozens of reviews.
Ostaltsev was called to the army in 2014. He served for a year.
“After demobilization, I wanted to start my own business,” Ostaltsev says as he chops mushrooms in the restaurant’s kitchen. “Before being called up to the army, I worked as a pizzaiolo in Kyiv, so the decision was obvious – to open my own pizzeria.”
After returning to Kyiv in June, Ostaltsev started the Union of Veterans of Desnianskyi District in Kyiv, a coordinating center that helps veterans.
“Ultimately I understood that I can combine business and social component into one thing,” he said.
The pizzeria employs war veterans. Also, 10 percent of the pizzeria’s income will be donated to a charity that takes care of children whose fathers were killed in the war zone.
Many soldiers face employment problems after being discharged. Sometimes it is hard for them to work for someone who never served in the military and they find comfort working with other veterans.
“After I wrote a business plan, I contacted about 15 potential investors, each of whom rejected my idea, because it wouldn’t bring in much income,” says Ostaltsev. “I have very affordable prices compared to other pizzerias in Kyiv, because I aim to help people rather than just earn money.”
Ostaltsev sells pizza for Hr 22-119, depending on the size and the topping.
Finally, Ostaltsev made a deal with Kaizen restaurant, where the owner agreed to lend space to the pizzeria. Ostaltsev hired his friend and fellow war veteran Rafail Agayev to be the second pizzaiolo.
A few days before opening Pizza Veterano, he wrote about it on his Facebook page, creating a buzz. Many people wrote him and offered their ideas, including tips on where to buy ingredients and how to develop the pizzeria.
They also came up with the idea of having customers buy an extra pizza and designating the purchase for a veteran or a member of the Ukrainian military. The idea quickly became popular.
Visitors paid Hr 16,000 for “pending” pizzas within four days. Two people donated $100 each without ordering a pizza. Now it is possible to pay for the “pending” pizzas online via the Pizza Veterano page on Facebook.
Pizza Veterano delivers the pizzas to a volunteer center, and military hospitals in Kyiv and Irpin.
“My experience shows that it is possible not only to live after demobilization, but also to help others and earn money for yourself,” Ostaltsev says.
Pizza Veterano (Block 13 of Metrograd underground shopping center, inside Kaizen Cafe).
Enter Metrograd through the entrance in the back of the Bessarabsky Market, near Basseyna Street.
Open: Tue – Sun, 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Tel. 38096-725-0202
Website: www.facebook.com/Pizza.Veterano.
