Domino’s pizza owner sees man begging and gives him a job

Afternoons with Jesse Mulligan at RNZ

The owner of the Domino’s pizza franchise, Rishi Sharma, was on his way to work one morning in Lower Hutt when he saw a man using a pizza box to ask passersby for change.

One thing led to another, and instead of giving him a few coins, he ended up giving him a job at one of his outlets.

Sharma told Jesse Mulligan how she got to chat with Brian “Sooty” Wallace.

“I saw my brand’s pizza box so I parked my car and walked up to this awesome guy Soot and said ‘hi buddy how are you?’ and I wanted to see what was written on the box on the other side, I was asking for a change.

“As soon as I spoke to him, the manners were very nice,” says Sharma.

Sharam noticed that Wallace was shaking, so she offered him a coffee and the couple headed to a nearby cafe.

“It was a great conversation, he was very humble, and I just decided I had to give this guy a chance.”

After coffee, Sharma offered to make Wallace a pizza at his Lower Hutt store.

“We had coffee and I asked him if you had something to eat and he didn’t say anything today … can I make you a pizza?

“I invited him to the store, ‘what pizza would you like to eat?’ He asked for a ham and cheese and I said ‘friend, can I make you a meat lover? And he said no, I like ham and cheese, it’s my favorite’.

While the pizza was cooking, they chatted and Sharam discovered that Wallace was homeless.

“I read somewhere where the world is full of nice people, if you can’t find one, be one and I said ‘Soot, would you like to work for me?’ And he said yes. “

Three weeks have passed and Wallace is learning to drive and directing his life, Sharam says.

“The trip is great, he is very happy to learn a lot of new things.”

Sharma says companies have an obligation to help where they can. He has three stores in the Hutt Valley that employ 80-90 employees, and he says Wallace is happy in his new role.

“He is very happy, he now has a house in Taita and Work and Income has been incredible. I spoke to them last Monday and a lot has been fixed.

“He’s in the store today. He’s working right now and I’m looking forward to working with him again.”

– RNZ