FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Jordan Thomas never planned to open a pizza place.
“I never was going to open a pizza place. I was a firefighter,” he said.
Growing up in Old Forge, Pennsylvania, Thomas spent most of his time around his family and the Excelsior Fire Department. His father, father-in-law, and brother-in-law were all firefighters, and his mom ran the Ladies Auxiliary at the firehouse.
“So, from the time I was probably 13, up until I lost my sight in 2013, I was a firefighter,” he recalled.
But life took an unexpected turn in 2013, just months after his wedding.
“Me and my wife went on our honeymoon, and I started to get, like, the vision started to flicker. It was going in and out,” Thomas shared.
At first, they didn’t think much of it. But after returning home, doctors discovered large non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
“I had a tumor that actually crushed my optic nerve in both eyes, and that’s how I lost my sight,” he explained.
Losing his sight was devastating for Thomas.
“I just, what am I going to do? Can’t do nothing,” he said.
Once a firefighter rescuing people from burning buildings, he suddenly found himself feeling powerless, unable to even walk to the grocery store without help.
“You feel useless,” he admitted.
For a long time, Thomas withdrew, sleeping a lot and avoiding people. But then, an unexpected opportunity reignited his passion.
A family friend, while hanging out at his restaurant, asked Thomas to make a pizza. Thomas had grown up making Old Forge-style pizza — a square pizza baked in a cast iron pan — while working in local pizza shops as a teenager.
“We used to make a joke that we could make that pizza blind,” he said.
Now, after losing his sight, he was about to find out just how true that joke was.
“I went home, and I was telling my wife, I said, ‘I can do this.’ And she’s like, ‘Well, let’s do it,’” Thomas remembered.
He helped open a restaurant in Pennsylvania but eventually moved to Florida, wanting to start fresh in a place where no one knew his story. That’s how Dino’s Twisted Tomato, located at 6057 NW 31st Ave. in Fort Lauderdale, was born. Specializing in Old Forge-style pizza, Jordan has brought a slice of his hometown’s unique pizza culture to South Florida.
“I remember being so young, when they teach you how to make the pizza, they’re like, ‘Oh, well, it’s a square pan. You know, you have to guide your hand down the pan,’” he explained. “Believe it or not, I just remember making those pizzas.”
Using the skills he learned as a kid, Thomas now makes pizzas with his eyes closed — literally.
“If I touch it once, I know where it is. So when I set up the pizza prep table, I know where the cheese is, and the tomatoes, and the broccoli,” he said.
While Thomas lost his sight, he never lost his sense of purpose.
“It took me a while to figure out that no matter what’s wrong with you, you can always figure it out,” he said. “Whether you’re blind, whether you’re deaf, whether you’re disabled, if you want it bad enough, you can do anything. And I prove it every day. I sit here and I make pizza every day with my eyes closed.”
The impact of Dino’s Twisted Tomato goes beyond just pizza. Thomas donates 50 cents from every tray of pizza sold to both the American Foundation for the Blind and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
“I had a gentleman come in (who) makes pizza boxes for me. He’s blind, and I do that just so he has something to do,” Thomas shared.
It’s not just about making pizza -- it’s about creating a community where people feel empowered.
Thomas’s story continues to inspire his customers, who are often shocked when they learn about the man behind the pizza.
“When the customer comes back in, and they’re like, ‘Oh my God, this pizza is amazing. I’ve never had pizza like this,’ and then they hear my story, they’re like, ‘Whoa,’” Thomas said.
At 38 years old, Thomas has transformed what could have been a tragic story into one of resilience and second chances.
“I feel like it’s a second opportunity,” he said. “You get to come to work every day. You get to do what you love. And you’re a role model.”
Despite the odds, Thomas proves every day that you can find your way, even when you can’t see.