Cape Cod Pizza Man To Be On TV Special Alongside Jennifer Hudson

Buzzards Bay business owner Josh Lowden took a leap of faith in 2020 and decided to follow his heart by leaving his 9-to-5 job and opening a mobile pizza shop. Two years later, he will be featured alongside singer and actress Jennifer Hudson in a special on WCVB to talk about drastic career changes, and his story is sure to inspire.

Jennifer Hudson Visits Massachusetts

Jennifer Hudson is scheduled to replace the time slot that Ellen Degeneres held for so many years with her very first talk show, a drastic change from the music and movie industry she knows so well. Hudson was recently in Massachusetts to discuss this drastic career change for a special episode of Chronicle.

“They decided to pull together some local businesses that tried to make similar transitions,” said Lowden about his involvement.

Josh Lowden's Story

Lowden was born and raised in New Jersey. He dropped out of school at 16 and began working in the restaurant industry.

“I absolutely fell in love with the restaurant world,” he said.

His father and stepmother ran nursing homes, and when Lowden got older, he found instant success in the field and loved it.

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“I climbed the ladder to become vice president of sales and marketing and I did that for about 22 years,” he said. But in truth, Lowden’s heart was still pulling him toward the food business.

His wife is from Massachusetts, and when her father fell ill, they decided to pack up and move to the SouthCoast.

Lowden Is Thrown a Curveball

In 2020, the healthcare world took a drastic hit and so did Lowden’s career.

“Unfortunately, I had to furlough my entire sales team,” he shared. “They kept me on, but it was taxing."

That’s when his wife suggested pizza.

In 2016, Lowden and a friend tried out a side gig of making wood-fired pizza, but when their full-time jobs offered them promotions, it became too much and their venture ended.

“(My wife) said, ‘Why not go back to the pizza thing full time?’ She said, ‘Live your dream. You’ve supported us all these years, live your life and at least give it a try.'”

Wicked Fire Is Born

Like the smart husband he is, Lowden listened to his wife, and in 2020, he partnered with another friend to open up Wicked Fire, a mobile wood fire pizza oven.

“I had never owned a business before, but I thought I had a good product and I was working towards a good thing,” he said. He took a leap of faith, and the Cape welcomed him with open arms.

“Do the work to live your dream and make things happen for you instead of putting your forty hours toward someone else’s dream,” he said.

Life is too short to live life pleasing others. Catch Lowden’s story, Hudson’s story, and several other local business owners the first week of September on WCVB'S Chronicle.

The Best of South Shore Bar Pizza

There's pizza, and then there's South Shore Bar Pizza. Birthed in Brockton (and to this writer, perfected in Randolph – Lynwood Café is the true G.O.A.T.), it must meet certain qualifications to be considered "SSBP," which include: it's a 10-inch pie; it has a thin, cracker-like crust with minimal "flop;" the cheese is a blend that features more cheddar than mozzarella; and bonus points if you take it home between two carboard-type plates wrapped in flat brown paper bag. They also usually come with "laced" or "burnt" edges (terminology depends on where you are ordering), which is when the sauce and cheese are extended all the way to the edge of the pan, creating a crispy, flavorful coating to the crust. We reached out to the hugely popular South Shore Bar Pizza Social Club Facebook group to ask the experts to share the best of the best (in no particular order).