Trahan, Houk build biz in Bayview

Matt Trahan and Kristen Houk
shortly after opening All Good Pizza
 in Bayview

Matt Trahan and Kristen Houk are roll-up-your-sleeves-and-get-busy types. Most people would have looked at the empty lot on Jerrold Avenue at 3rd Street and run in the other direction. Matt and Kristen rallied their friends, cleared out 11,000 pounds of trash from the empty lot, and set up a mobile restaurant.

 

Beginning with a small white travel trailer cleverly tricked out with a fully functional kitchen and service counter, the scrappy duo officially opened All Good Pizza in the heart of Bayview in April 2012.

 

The mobile restaurant has brought a more healthy yet affordable food alternative to the neighborhood. Matt and Kristen utilize organic produce and locally-raised meats to create a unique assortment of Neapolitan-style pizzas, salads, and paninis for their customers.

 

Kristen, originally from Iowa, spent several months living in Italy with the owners of a Tuscan restaurant where she acquired her current set of skills in the culinary arts. She doubles as the CEO and president of a non-profit organization named Namaste Direct that specializes in helping impoverished women in other countries enter the business world.

 

Matt is originally from Louisiana, and adds a distinctly Southern flair to the menu and the business culture. He is also an electrician, and gets the lion share of credit for new additions to the All Good Pizza site which now boasts a covered area and festive lighting.

 

The couple has collaborated with Quesada Gardens Initiative to hold several events that have drawn hundreds of people to the restaurant for a fun experience.

 

More

 

This profile is part of a series done by University of San Francisco McCarthy Center service-learning students with residents at the Quesada Gardens Initiative. The student team included profiles project group leader Andrew Kentopp, Calvin Tanod, Yichao (Cherry) Chen, Gaowei (Eric) Ma, Noell Niro, Matt Sattler, Nicole Lee, Patrick Lee, Minyi Huang, Shengcheng (Roy) Zhang, Shawn Yang, Christina Nguyen, Bernadette de Mesa, Nick Carignani, Sarah Claytor, Melissa de los Reyes, Hanna Lafranconi, Elizabeth Cochran, Emily Fredrickson, and Yvette Cervantes.