On July 8, a few new faces greeted guests as they dined at Nardi’s Tower of Pizza in Addison.
Fifteen students from Addison Trail’s LINK program “took over” Nardi’s, as they had the opportunity to partner with employees to learn about various aspects of the restaurant business. They were able to take down the chairs to open the restaurant; put on aprons and learn about kitchen hygiene; make a fresh batch of pizza dough and their own pizzas; and experience the safety required when working in a large kitchen.
Addison Trail special education teacher Jessica Sokolowski said the students learn similar skills during the school year, and it’s great to have them reinforced in a hands-on learning environment.
Sokolowski said Nardi’s even has an Addison Trail alumnus on staff – Joshua Hendricks from the class of 2012. She added the LINK program is thankful to Nardi’s owner Carol Bartucci for providing this opportunity for the last several years.