'Freelance pizza' maker in South Philly finds success serving up pies during pandemic

SOUTH PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A South Philadelphia man passed the time during the pandemic by making pizza right in his kitchen. His pies became so popular, he opened up a temporary business to the delight of his many customers.

When the COVID-19 pandemic began and things were temporarily shut down, Dave Quaile started making pizza for friends in his South Philly home as a way to pass the time.

That's how Freelance Pizza was born.

"It was a hobby that I used to have. I was a culinary school drop-out," said Quaile. "I started out of my house pre-pandemic and it just kind of snowballed. I exchanged pizza for canned goods and clothing donations and stuff like that."

His pies became so popular, he had to pivot to doing pop ups in unused commercial spaces to keep up with demand so that he wasn't working out of his kitchen.

The pizza has since developed a cult following and slices are hard to come by. Customers even line up early to score themselves a slice of the popular pies.

"There's a limited quantity, so you've got to get there early to get a fresh slice," said customer, Allie Jmeniak.

Freelance Pizza even won Best of Philly in 2020.

"It's been fun. I'm not really doing this for anybody else but me, so it's easier in that sense to be able to mess around and try different things," said Quaile. "I'll just keep doing it until it's not fun anymore and then one day it'll just be gone."

Quaile says he has no plans to expand in order to keep up with demand at this time, but he will continue to donate all proceeds to local charities.

For more information, follow Freelance Pizza on Instagram.