Folks love the pizza at Gregg’s Gourmet. For Julia Whitley, however, it can be too much of a good thing.
So she wrote them a letter.
“Dear Gregg’s Gourmet,” she wrote. “My family and I always go to Gregg’s. I love your pizza and especially your breadsticks. But sometimes I get sick of pizza. I would like to have pasta, but I don’t eat a lot of food, and there is a bigger food portion. I am 10 years old, the youngest of five kids, and I just don’t eat as much as my brothers and sisters do. I wish there was a smaller portion of food for children, like a Kid’s Meal. I just get sick of pizza, so I want to have something new once in a while. I hope you consider my idea. Love, Julia Whitley, a kid who loves Gregg’s and who hopefully makes a difference at Gregg’s Gourmet and in the world.”
The pizzeria responded with a new Kid’s Menu, offering pasta alfredo or marinara, sub, or chicken, with three breadsticks.
“Julia is quite a little entrepreneur. She opens up little businesses at our house daily, charging just pennies or tickets for food service, counseling, gymnastics shows, ballet class, amusement games, massages, etc.,” said Chris Whitley, Julia’s mom. “So I wasn’t surprised when she showed me the letter she wrote to Gregg’s. She typed it, edited, revised, and added colors all by herself. She is so proud her letter made a difference.”
Her latest endeavor is a Lent activity in which she sells candy to earn money to send to Catholic Relief Services for children in need in Haiti, a location she chose because her cousin recently spent time volunteering there.
“She’s earned over $20 so far just from her family,” Chris said. “She cares about people and is always creating new services and products.”
Her school, Clarkston Elementary, is a Leader In Me school and Julia really embraces its values, her mom said.
“The school has emphasized each child has a voice, a story, that is important, and now Julia can see that is true. Share your ideas with others, take risks, learn from your mistakes,” she said. “She wants to invent something. So I keep telling her to look for problem and then find creative solutions for it. Her problem was her family getting pizza a lot and mom’s unwillingness to buy a huge portion of another food for a little girl who eats small amounts. So, the light bulb in her head went on and she devised a plan. I’m happy Gregg’s was receptive to her idea and hope other kids are inspired by her.”
– Phil Custodio