Seeks to enhance dorm community, reach out to university and South Bend
Siggy Pizza, the project of Siegfried Hall resident Jakub Drwal, was launched on January 15. Like many other food services in dorms, Siggy Pizza offers freshly prepared food items for the enjoyment of dorm residents and guests. What sets Siggy Pizza apart, however, from most other in-dorm dining establishments, is that it is student-run and student-owned.
Drwal, a freshman, told the Rover that he manages and runs the business himself: “It’s a student-run enterprise, owned by students. I provided all the capital, and the credit agreements with lenders and the bank are all through my name.”
Drwal conveyed the sense of pride with which he operates the pizza shop: “When I’m looking at my pizza, that’s my pizza. My name and my reputation are on that pizza. Every pizza is made with love.”
Although Drwal heads up the effort by himself and not through official dorm channels, he insisted that Siggy Pizza exists to serve the Siegfried community. To this end, he employs six other Siegfried men. This is possible because of Siggy Pizza’s business model, which, Drwal told the Rover, enabled the shop to break even in its first week of operations.
“Our business model, I would say, does turn a profit,” said Drwal.
Drwal said that since breaking even in their first week, they have been “working toward providing different services to the dorm, like deals for the guys and giving to charities.” They also donated pizzas for Siegfried’s annual charity Day of Man, which took place on Wednesday, February 16.
Service to Siegfried has been at the heart of Drwal’s vision since the beginning; he started thinking through the project in late October 2021, hoping to foster a sense of community in the dorm.
Drwal shared that after conversations with his rector, he came to believe the purpose of Siggy Pizza—and of hall food services in general—to be to “advance the hall’s community spirit, help the hall have closer community, have food after the dining hall closes, [and] have the guys bond over pizza.”
Drwal indicated that this endeavor has been successful so far, telling the Rover: “The main difference between the first semester and the second semester is the sense of dorm community. It’s more of a lively atmosphere, with people just talking and hanging out with pizza.” Drwal continued: “I supply pizzas for hall council every week. So now there are higher numbers of guys showing up for hall council.”
Siggy Pizza seeks to serve more than just Siegfried men; Drwal shared that there are also “a few girls from PDub and a couple guys from Knott and Keenan” who have discovered the shop.
Additionally, people who work in the dorms enjoy the pizza. “We provide the housekeepers with food and we don’t charge them for it,” Drwal said. He told the Rover, “I’m looking forward to doing other stuff, possibly work[ing] with the South Bend Center for the Homeless,” with which Siegfried has a pre-existing relationship.
When asked if he had a final message for potential patrons of Siggy Pizza, the Rover community, or the university community as a whole, Drwal emphasized Siggy Pizza’s moral commitments: “We uphold the Catholic morals of not being greedy.” He concluded by reiterating his focus on “serving our community of Siegfried and Mod Quad with cheap, quality food.”
Siggy Pizza is located in Siegfried Hall and open Sunday to Thursday 9 pm-12 am and Friday to Saturday 10 pm-2 am.
Other student-run food operations include Keough Kitchen and Cinderblock Coffee in Stanford, but the vast majority of in-hall food services are funded by either the university or dorm. Some of these include Zaland in Keenan, Ellie’s Deli in Fisher, and Dawg Pizza in Alumni.
Joshua Gilchrist is a junior in the Program of Liberal Studies with a supplementary major in theology. When he’s not in the library or the PLS lounge, you can find him running around the lakes, mixing drinks, or enjoying a good conversation over a cigar. You can reach him at jgilchri@nd.edu.
Photo credit: University of Notre Dame Residential Life
