Mozzeria opened its founding restaurant in San Francisco but soon sought to expand their horizons and did so when they reached out to the Communication Service for the Deaf (CSD). CSD is a global and social impact organization specifically focused on providing technology and resources to the deaf and hard of hearing community. They aim to support ideas that ultimately generate a measurable, beneficial, and sustainable social impact on behalf of the deaf community. Mozzeria began their journey looking for small business grant opportunities and in 2017 they were able to receive CSD’s first social venture fund. CSD chose to invest and partner with Mozzeria to establish the first deaf owned and deaf operated U.S. restaurant franchise. It will be the first of its kind in the United States.

Christopher Soukup, who is the executive officer for the Communication Service for the Deaf, echoed Jeff’s experience in an interview for the Washington Post.

“Deaf people confront damaging stereotypes in the workplace that can disrupt their careers or even prevent their hiring. People think because someone cannot hear, they are incapable of handling high-stakes jobs — which is false in most cases. That’s why Mozzeria is so important, the more we can put those success stories out there, brick by brick we can combat that perception.”

An analysis by the Gallaudet Research Institute of NHIS (the National Health Interview Survey) found that across all age groups, approximately 600,000 people in the United States (0.22% of the population) are "deaf”. Although in a study conducted by the National Deaf Center (NDC) at The University of Texas at Austin, less than half of deaf people were employed in 2014; in the same year, over 70% of the hearing population was employed. The NDC also noted that almost half of deaf people were not in the labor force at all in 2016.

The founding members of Mozzeria, Melody and Russell Stein, who are both deaf themselves, sought to create a space dedicated to serving and supporting the deaf community while combining their shared passion for great food. “Many deaf people have graduated from college or have advanced degrees, but they aren’t hired in their field — they have to get a job that’s completely unrelated to what they do. Russell and I believe that we have a social responsibility to the deaf community, no matter their background. We set ourselves apart by offering opportunities for them to work. It’s making an impact on the deaf community.” Melody said in an interview for Square.