Family-owned New Jersey pizza shop honors grandmother with mural: "She sees us from heaven"
In the kitchen, Ali Doukali learned everything he knows from his late grandmother, Julia Brown.
Brown's famous recipes, from the homemade vodka sauce to the amount of garlic, have been the bedrock of Genova Pizza in Audubon.
"She did everything from scratch, and we are continuing to do that now," Doukali said.
The family-owned pizza shop has been open for over 70 years. Doukali and his brother recently took over the business, and they said their grandmom has always inspired them. Her face is the logo of the restaurant, which is nestled on Cuthbert Boulevard.
"I remember being a kid coming in here as a child, and my dad would take me and my brother, and we'd make cheesesteaks. We made pizzas, and she showed us how to do everything," Doukali said.
Last December, Brown died at the age of 93. As a way to honor her memory, Doukali designed a mural with her picture and life story on the wall outside the pizza shop.
The mural was unveiled Friday, and Doukali hopes people pause to learn more about her and then come inside to taste her recipes and famous Grandma Pizza.
"So, every day we come in here, and especially now since she's on the wall, it motivates us a little bit more, and we just want to make her proud and make it big enough that she sees us from heaven," Doukali said.
"So this is sort of an invitation her legacy lives on and her grandsons decided to do that for her, that's amazing," said Michelle Brown, Julia Brown's daughter.
A legacy based on love, food, tradition and a passion for cooking. Doukali said the mural is a small way to show Brown's large impact on her family and community.
"She was a humble woman, don't get me wrong, she would have been flattered. I think she's looking down on us now, and she's really proud of what we did here," Doukali said.
