On the Bright Side: Teen Son Continues Dad’s Popular Pizza Business
Tonight on the Bright Side, I bring you the story of a young man who is inspiring to anyone whose family has experienced loss brought about through violent crime. High school student Jaheem Velasquez is not only juggling his school responsibilities but also spending his nights carrying on the family business, a popular pizza place in Ladyville – ‘Bredda O’s’. I had the pleasure of meeting Jaheem this week, and he even let me help him make one of the family’s famous pizzas. Here is his story.
File: July 28, 2020
Shockwaves ran throughout Ladyville on Monday night as 38-year-old Orin Velasquez was shot dead during a robbery at his business in Bredda O’s Pizza on Perez Road.
File: July 30, 2020
And hundreds of residents gathered in Ladyville to also offer comfort through kind words and gestures to the family of Orin Velasquez.
Orin Velasquez
Sabreena Daly reporting.
In July 2020, a hardworking Ladyville man and provider would be taken away, leaving them to circumstances unknown—a wife without a husband and children without a father.
Jaheem Velasquez
Jaheem Velasquez, Bredda O’s Pizza
“He was, he was just amazing; he was an amazing man. I never imagined my life without a dad. My dad has always been there for me. He was like my personal best friend. We did everything together. We would go and play basketball. We basically did everything together. I didn’t really need friends.”
Jaheem was 14 years old when his world changed forever. But now, less than two years later, he leads his family’s business alongside his mother. Both parents raised him to be self-reliant.
Jaheem Velasquez
“My dad, he taught me how to be independent, how to be strong. Sometimes we would sit out on our balcony outside and my mom and dad would sit and he said, Son, one day me and mom won’t be here. You got to be strong, you got to be prepared.”
In his last year of high school, Jaheem is a driven teen guided by the dream of expanding the family business. He is a student by day and business manager by night.
Jaheem Velasquez
“I go to S.J.C. in the morning and after school I would come straight from school to the shop and put in some work. I’m usually here from 5pm until 9pm and then we would go home. From there, we would go home around 9:30/10 and that time I use to do my assessments and study for quizzes, test and what’s not.”
Sabreena Daly
“So what’s the most pizza’s you’ve made in a night?”
Jaheem Velasquez
“In a night? Um, I would say… I don’t have a count of it, but I would say at least 25 to 30.”
Jaheem relies on a few things as motivation, mostly his younger siblings.
Jaheem Velasquez
“I have my sister, which her birthday is today. And I have my two twin siblings, Nile and Yazeed. They just recently turned one, last month, January 22nd. It’s amazing waking up to see their beautiful faces every day smiling. It motivates me in a way and brings me joy.”
Sabreena Daly
“He still misses his dad…”
Jaheem Velasquez
“I hope he thinks that… I hope he thinks that he brought me up good. Um, I hope he is proud. Um, you know I miss him, I miss him every day. I would just love…I feel more safer when he’s around. I would love for him to be proud of me. I’m doing it for him, my family because I love them. I love them unconditionally.”
Looking on the Bright Side, I am Sabreena Daly.
