HEIRLOOM’S PIZZERIA
Speaking Everyone’s Language, One Slice at a Time
story by CAROLINE GANT photo by SUSAN DELOACH
What is one meal that is always a crowd favorite? If pizza is the first thing to come to your mind, you have come to the right place. Pizza is one of those easy meals; it’s a crowd pleaser, and it feeds many people. Pizza is also a meal that can bring a group together. Have you ever noticed that when enjoying pizza with your friends or family? There’s a natural family-style element to this dish.
Julia and John Price opened Heirloom’s Pizzeria in March 2023. Both hailing from Charleston, they have been in Beaufort for a while: Julia for about 26 years and John for about 11 years. However, another pizzeria was here before Heirloom’s came into being. Heirloom’s Pizzeria was once called 3 Sisters Pizzeria. Having become friends with the owners, one of Julia’s daughters, who was 14 at the time, was hired as one of their first employees as a dishwasher.
Julia and John watched how this job brought so much growth to their daughter. They saw the positive changes that 3 Sisters Pizzeria provided, and how it improved her work ethic and wonderfully impacted her personality. She moved from a dishwasher to a server and then had the privilege of moving on to work at the other restaurants in Habersham, also owned by the same people. Julia and John have another daughter who is deaf, and they have found that not many places will hire someone with a hearing impairment. However, 3 Sisters Pizzeria did, and they saw the same positive changes in her as well. They loved what this job was doing for their kids.
When they found out their friends were going to sell the Pizzeria, the Prices looked at buying it as an opportunity to continue the established legacy. Julia had grown up in the restaurant world, working in the industry through college. She understood how the restaurant business worked. She’s also helped start a few food establishments as well. On the other hand, her husband has a lot of business experience. With their combined experience, operations and business, they could make the restaurant their own. They decided to keep it a pizza-focused spot because pizza is one of those meals that will always be affordable. Julia said it best: “In good times and bad times, everyone enjoys a slice of pizza.” Pizza is a meal that reaches everyone, no matter the demographic. It’s the common language between all.
Since opening, they have hired teens who also start in the dish pit and work up to serving, just like their daughters. They want to encourage other kids and teens to grow in the same positive ways they saw in their girls. They can guide them through having a first job, responsibility, and being invested in their workplace. They also continue to hire deaf individuals as well. It has been a desire that Heirloom Pizzeria be a place where deaf people could come and feel comfortable in a friendly environment.
Starting off, they kept their menu very small. They started with some customers’ bestsellers and included their favorite items. Having already worked there for so long, their daughter, Carolina, played an instrumental role in what went on the menu as well — since she saw daily what the crowd consensus was each shift she worked. This also gave room to play around with the ingredients to see what worked and what needed improvement. They knew that to make them stand out as a different establishment, they needed to make the menu personal. For example, one of their items is called “Rue’s Hot Chick.” It’s a buffalo chicken pizza named after their daughter, Rue. Another classic item is their Margherita Pizza called “Queen Lina,” named after their other daughter, Carolina. Then there’s the old faithful Supreme Pizza, called “The Artrageous,” named after Julia’s horse, an “all-in-one package” companion, just like the Supreme-style Pizza. Many other items on the menu have a meaning behind them as well.
The personal touches also went into the styling of the logo — the Heirloom Tomato. Heirloom means family and reminds Julia of her time with her dad, picking buckets and buckets of heirloom tomatoes every summer, something they still do today.If you look closer at the heirloom logo, the tomato stem displays the deaf sign for “I love you.” Heirloom’s Pizzeria is intended to be a place of gatherings and to let everyone know that they are family, whether they work there or walk through the door for a slice of pizza. Many people have come in and made connections with those details, whether remembering some sign language or having a friend or family member who is deaf or struggling with hearing loss. They come into Heirloom’s Pizzeria inquiring about those familiar details, and the next thing you know, they have found their new pizza spot.
Outside of the Pizzeria, Julia works for the South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind Outreach Program in early intervention and as a teacher for the deaf. She goes into rural counties and sets up programs for kids with hearing loss and works with families by educating them on what their journey of hearing loss may look like. Since she was already affiliated with that community through her job and family, Julia has found that more and more people in the deaf community are finding her and spending time at Heirloom’s Pizzeria. Being a deaf-friendly restaurant, there’s always someone on shift who can communicate in American Sign Language. Julia is also one of the founders of the Lowcountry Chapter of Hands and Voices, and has been able to hold mingles for the organization at the Pizzeria. Through this, she’s found that those with hearing loss can find a place where they feel welcome.
In the new year, they will have sign language classes open to the public and make some updates to their menu. These updates will include the alphabet in sign language, which is a tremendous opportunity for those interested in learning sign language to try and order their meal in sign language themselves.
Since opening Heirloom’s Pizzeria, Julia and John have learned that pizza is a universal language. People from all walks of life can unite over a meal like this. Everyone always wants pizza. They’ve found that it has been gratifying to cater to people with their food. It also allows customers to come in for other reasons and experience the inclusivity of a deaf-friendly environment. Julia has also learned that those with hearing loss can do anything but hear. She’s watched some of her staff grow and progress in the environment she has created, just like what she saw in her daughters as they learned the ins and outs of the business. She’s found that people are so gracious and kind in today’s busy world, and, most importantly, they are keeping things like pizza simple and enjoyable for everyone.
