Brighton’s Pizzeria and Trattoria Allegria serves up fresh attitude to Down syndrome

A Brighton restaurateur’s bold effort to integrate people with disabilities into the workforce is proving a roaring success, with her Italian eatery a big hit with customers. Here’s why.

Pizzeria and Trattoria Allegria owner Tiziana De Franceschi is training people with Down syndrome, including her daughter Crystal Pittas, Toby Frost and Sebastian Harris-Heart, to work in hospitality. Picture: Penny Stephens.

A Brighton eatery is dishing up traditional Italian cuisine — and a new way of looking at disabilities in the workplace.

Bay St’s Pizzeria and Trattoria Allegria has given six people with Down syndrome a leg up into the hospitality industry.

Tiziana De Franceschi, who took over the former 90 Secondi site in February, told the Leader training the employees as wait staff gave them “a chance to feel important and needed”.

Ms De Franceschi said her inspiration came from her daughter, Crystal, who has Down syndrome.

Sebastian Harris-Heart, Crystal Pittas and Toby Frost at work. Picture: Penny Stephens.

“I’ve worked in hospitality forever and my daughter said to me one day, ‘I want to work and do what you do’ and I thought, well I can teach her,” Ms De Franceschi said.

“And she’s really taken to it — she’s amazing at what she does.”

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Ms De Franceschi said the staff — aged between 21 and 45 — set up the restaurant, greeted diners and showed them to their tables and took their orders.

“I sit back and watch them do their thing — I’m their shadow — but it’s up to them to run the show,” she said.

“They love it and they all want to come to work.

“At the end of the day, they need to feel needed and like they’re contributing to society.”

Ms Franceschi said diners had embraced the initiative and were always ready to offer encouragement to the staff.

“I explain to them what I’m doing and they love it, they’ve been so welcoming and many tell me about their brothers or sisters or cousins or friends with Down syndrome and how they wish they’d had something like this,” she said.

Pizzeria and Trattoria Allegria, 284 Bay St, Brighton, open for dinner Tuesday to Sunday and for lunch on Friday.