Quick Facts
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Biography
Hakki Akdeniz (born February 5, 1980),is a Kurdish,professionally known as Hakki, is a philanthropist and restaurateur from New York City. He is best known for being the owner and founder of the pizzeria chain Champion Pizza in New York City.
Career
Hakki Akdeniz was born in Silvan, Turkey. At a young age, Akdeniz and his family worked in a pide store in town, where he learned how to make dough. In 1997, Akdeniz and his family moved to Canada and in 2001 Akdeniz moved to New York City where he worked at a pizzeria until 2005. In 2009 he founded and opened Hakki Pizza which was later renamed Champion Pizza in Manhattan.
In 2016, his pizzeria Champion Pizza received media attention by giving away free pizza in honor of the late Carrie Fisher. In 2017, Akdeniz received media attention by offering jobs to immigrants at his pizzeria. Later in 2017, he received national attention by selling a "Trump Pizza" with all proceeds going to a local homeless shelter. In 2018 and 2019, his local philanthropy was recognized by receiving several proclamations from the New York State Assembly.
In February of 2019, Akdeniz interviewed with Fox 5 New York, also known as WNYW. The interview documented Akdeniz's acts of philanthropy and the expansion of his pizza chain, Champion Pizza.In 2020, Akdeniz gained national attention by being featured in commercial ad for Super Bowl LIV.
Awards and honors
- In 2019, he received the Beacon Award from The American Immigrant Society.
