By Andy Furman
NKyTribune reporter
Cindy Hahn says it was, “A match made in Heaven.”
Her business partner, Steve Glacken says, “It was the perfect fit.”
Hahn and Glacken are owners of Strong’s Brick-Oven Pizza, located at 336 Monmouth Street in Newport — and their “match” and “perfect fit” — Chandler Anderson.
The 25-year-old Anderson has been working at Strong’s for some eight months, and the owners couldn’t be happier.
Neither could Anderson. “I always wanted to work at Strong’s,” he said, “I love pizza.”
Chandler Anderson has Down syndrome, a condition in which a person has an extra copy of chromosome 21. Chromosomes are small “packages” of genes in the body’s cells, which determine how the body forms and functions.
When babies are growing, the extra chromosome changes how their body and brain develop. This can cause both physical and mental challenges.
People with Down syndrome often have developmental challenges, such as being slower to learn to speak than other children. Each year, about 5,700 babies born in the United States have Down syndrome.
Chandler lives with his two brothers — Austin (28) and Brandon (26) – in Florence. “I serve as Chandler’s primary care giver,” said Austin, “I’ve been doing so for two years.”
Austin Chandler got his training while serving as a Direct Support Professional (DSP) at The Point/Arc from 2020 to 2022. “I was a Lead DSP,” he said, “And The Point/Arc helped me – and showed me – how to provide the necessary services for Chandler.”
But the Chandler-Strong’s Brick-Oven Pizzeria marriage was laid-in-stone years ago. It seems (Steve) Glacken and Chandler’s dad – Mark Anderson were friends for years.
“I’ve known Chandler since he was a child,” Glacken said.
But it was Brittney Burkholder who made the connection.
“Chandler was one of the names on my caseload,” said Burkholder, who is Support Employment Coordinator at The Point/Arc.
“Last August,” Burkholder explained, “Strong’s Brick-Oven Pizza invited The Point/Arc for lunch, and Cindy (Hahn) told me they were looking for help. I said, ‘We have the perfect fit.’”
The fit – Chandler Anderson.
And he has been just that – a perfect fit.
The Supported Employment program at The Point/Arc’s Zembrodt Education Center offers a range of strategies and techniques used to facilitate effective matching, onboarding, and job performance.
Burkholder says, “Our Employment Specialists get to know jobseekers and their unique skillsets and interests so that they can customize employment and match a job-seekers skills, with a company’s unmet needs.”
Cindy claims Chandler is just a jack-of-all trades for Strong’s.
“He folds pizza boxes, greets patrons at the front door, sets up our outdoor patio, uses the leaf blower to clean outdoors, hands-out menus to customers, and helps clean the glasses at the bar area,” she said. “We couldn’t be happier.”
Chandler works two-to-three days a-week, Hahn says, from about 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
“I’ll drop him off and sometimes his buddies come and pick him up,” brother Austin said.
And Chandler’s popularity has grown.
“Holmes High School is bringing their Special Education Class to Strong’s to speak with Chandler in the near future,” Hahn said. “The class is excited to meet him and tour our 1833 building.”
And eat the Brick-Oven Pizza. It is believed that the ancient Romans and people in all of its territories including Naples and the modern-day Campanian region ate pizza as an everyday food. The ruins of Pompeii reveal that pizza was made in brick ovens with various tools and many different toppings and was sold at street stands and in bakeries.
Last year, Hahn noted, her Strong’s Brick-Oven Pizza catered the Cincinnati Bengals’ Draft Party. “We were told owner Mike Brown loves our pizza.”
So does Chandler Anderson.
In 1972, three parent groups united to form an advocacy group to assist their loved ones diagnosed with intellectual/developmental disabilities (I/DD). Today, that group has evolved into a holistic agency with a wide-range of around-the-clock programs.
“Our history of falling in the gaps by creating integrated programs gives individuals with I/DD the opportunity to become contributing and inclusive members of our community and provides the self-esteem and pride that we all seek,” said President and Founder, Judi Gerding.