The restaurant industry has suffered greatly due to the spread of COVID-19, or the novel coronavirus, pandemic. While the niche field has been labeled an “essential” business to remain open for take-out and delivery amid the health crisis, many have still been forced to use other strategies to stay afloat during the viral outbreak. One entrepreneur in Indianapolis was able to help other Black businesses as she makes her signature pizzas.
Que Wimberly is the owner of The Missing Brick
pizzeria, where she makes what she describes as “Indy”-style pizza that differs from the traditional and popular like Chicago or New York. She opened her eatery because of the lack of Black ownership surrounding a food many in her community enjoyed and because she wanted to make it with her own unique style.“One of the things that Indianapolis didn’t have was a craft pizza place that was Black-owned and family run. So, that was a hole
that The Missing Brick filled,” said Wimberly to CBS4 Indy. “My goal was instead of going the traditional pepperoni, sausage, green pepper pizza … I wanted to create urban dishes on top of pizzas, which would give you a more familiar style.”Wimberly is known for collaborating with Black-owned businesses when it comes to sourcing fresh ingredients and creating new menu items. She sources her brisket for her toppings from Hank’s Smoked Briskets and worked with The Trap for a new signature seafood pizza item.
“It’s got eight jumbo shrimp, lump crab, and then we use the ‘OG Trap Buttah’ sauce that is manufactured by Chef Oya all over the pizza so what you get is a seafood boil on the pizza,” Wimberly explains. The item has now become her most popular order.