IT IS a known fact that a usual serving of pizza should have cheese with pepperoni, ham, bacon or any kinds of meat. But what if the customer is someone who can't eat pork like Muslims, Seventh-Day Adventists or vegetarians?
Well, a recently opened pizza house in uptown Cagayan de Oro might just be the answer as it is the only pizza establishment with no pork dishes in their menu.
Dexter's Pizza's branch in Cagayan de Oro, located in Cahulogan Square, Masterson Avenue, is perhaps the only branch that has pork-free menu as its franchisees are Muslim entrepreneurs Sitty Ommohanie Mangotara and her sisters.
"Originally yung menu nito meron talagang ham or bacon, dahil sa religion namin bawal sa amin yung ham or kahit anong pork. Nagpapasalamat kami sa diyos kasi pumayag yung owner mismo ng Dexter's Pizza na tanggalin namin yung lahat ng may mga pork or ham," Sitty said.
(Originally, the menu includes ham or bacon. But because of our religion, we are not allowed to eat ham or any pork. I am thankful to God because the owner of Dexter's Pizza agreed to eradicate pork or ham.)
According to Sitty, the concept of having a pork-free menu came to be when the Mangotara sisters saw the struggles of their fellow Muslims in searching for a place that doesn't serve pizzas with pork.
"Nag franchise kami kasi kami kasi ng kapatid ko mapili kami sa yung kinakainan namin ng pizza. So parang lagi kaming naghahanap ng pizza house na pwede sa amin. Struggle kasi namin yun na hindi kami pwedeng makakain ng pizza na iba kasi its either may pork or nahahaluan sya ng pork. Para at least makatulong kami sa community namin, nag franchise na lang kami," Sitty said.
(My sibling and I thought of having a franchise because we are very picky when it comes to the pizza we eat. So we always look for a pizza house that fits for us. It’s a struggle because we cannot eat pizza because there’s meat. We want to help our community that’s why we franchise.)
Established on June 22, this branch of Dexter's Pizza assures its Muslim and Seventh-Day Adventist customers that no pork will be mixed in their food.
"Makakasigurado po ako na wala po talagang pork dito, safe po kayo na kumain dito. Tangkilikin natin yung mga Muslim entrepreneurs (I make it sure that theres no pork and it’s safe to eat here. I hope we will patronize Muslim entrepreneurs.)," Sitty said.
She also shared that their Muslims customer were grateful that there's finally a place where they can order without feeling cautious that pork might be added in their food.
"Yung mga ibang Muslim na malalayo, talagang pumupunta sila dito kasi parang thankful sila kasi meron nang pizza house na sure sila na wala talagang pork kasi syempre everyday nandito talaga ako. Talagang 100 percent wala kaming pork (Those Muslims who live in far flung areas, visit here to try the pizza without the pork. It’s 100 percent pork free.)," Sitty said.
Apart from being a Muslim-friendly pizza house, Dester's Pizza is also known for its Shawarma pizza (the Chicken Shawarma and Beef Shawarma), and the affordability of its products, especially since they are selling buy one take one pizzas.
"Nagustuhan naman nila [the customers] kasi first time nila makatikim ng pizza na may shawarma at tsaka pasok sya sa bulsa. Kung baga sulit sya (They like it because it’s their first time to try pizza with shawarma and it’s very affordable.)," Sitty said.
Dexter's Pizza's 9-inches Chicken Shawarma costs P179 and P275 for the buy one take one purchase.
"Yan yung madalas orderin ng customers namin mapa Muslim man or hindi Muslim, yan talaga yung binabalikan nila (That’s what our customers order, may it be Muslims or not.)," Sitty said.
"Nakakatuwa nga kasi akala namin yung Muslims lang yung magugutuhan tong pizza namin. Pero meron kaming mga regular customers na sa Velez pa, umaakyat sila dito talaga. So after office hours pumupunta sila dito or weekends talagang bumabalik sila dito (It’s overwhelming because we thought only Muslims will like the pizza but we have regular customers from Velez and visit here after office hours or weekends.)," she added.
Dexter's Pizza also offers delivery so that those who are living in the downtown area of Cagayan de Oro will have the opportunity to taste their shawarma pizza without going uptown.