Two hours before Mozzeria opened for dinner in San Francisco’s Mission District, owners Melody and Russell Stein sat in the pizza shop’s dining room. They were discussing, through American Sign Language, how many days it takes a dollar to cycle out of the local Deaf community.

“I read an article recently that shows how in Asian communities, a dollar circulates for 28 days. In the Jewish community, it’s 19 days. In the black community, it’s 6 hours,” Russell Stein signed through an interpreter.

“In the Deaf community, that dollar is gone out of the community in just seconds. That’s because at any business, a Deaf person’s dollar is handed to a person that can hear.” (Ed. note: Many people affiliated with Deaf communities and culture use “Deaf,” while “deaf” may refer to the audiological condition as well as people who do not identify as culturally Deaf.)

The Stein’s 8-year-old business is the only one of its kind in San Francisco and also arguably one of the most unique Neapolitan pizzerias in the country: Mozzeria’s entire staff, just like its owners, are deaf.

“I would just want it to stay in our community for five minutes, maybe an hour,” Stein continued.

With a forthcoming expansion to Washington, D.C., and renewed national attention, the Steins see Mozzeria as an example of how marginalized groups, such as the country’s Deaf populace, can push to establish their own economic power in a country where they’re often excluded from mainstream economic, political, cultural and social activities.

“We want to create a safe place where Deaf people feel welcome,” Melody Stein said. “Success as a business is different to everyone. We just want to build a community.”

Mozzeria’s Washington, D.C., outpost will be next to Gallaudet University, the world-renowned school for the Deaf and hard of hearing. The growing company was given a notable boost by the Communication Service for the Deaf Social Venture Fund, in the form of several million dollars of funding for national expansion.

By hiring Deaf workers, the Steins hope to chip away at national data showing roughly 40 percent of deaf people in the country are unemployed or underemployed. “If we don’t hire Deaf employees then who will? That’s why we committed to having a 100 percent Deaf staff,” Melody said. “Successfully empowering others means creating jobs for them, showing them they can accomplish the things that we’ve done.”

Melody grew up around restaurants, as her family ran several restaurants in San Francisco; her dream was to one day run her own food business. But the process was rocky. In the early days, Melody said she was often denied financing and struggled to find assistance from possible business partners for the pizza spot because of barriers in communication. Sometimes, she said, it felt like Mozzeria was destined to remain a dream.

“If this was a competition, other people would reach the finish line before people like me all the time because I would keep getting pushed to the back of the line,” Melody said.

When Mozzeria opened, it was just Russell and Melody working the kitchen and dining room, hoping to make things work; today, they still own the business but have a board helping with business decisions. The Steins also coordinate online training for businesses interested in implementing American Sign Language into their operations.

In other words, the Steins are in the business of creating communities.

But they know two locations won’t be enough so they’re also in the process of franchising.

The Steins have various markets in mind, including Austin, Texas, which is similar to San Francisco in terms of having a robust Deaf community and a thriving technology business environment.

Beyond the restaurant’s activism, though, is a successful restaurant led by Neapolitan pizza. The dough is a compilation of flavors and textures — soft and sour in spots, crisp and sweet in others where flames from the 900-degree wood-fired oven licked the edges of a 12-inch pie.

Fresh mozzarella and basil top the shop’s popular margherita pies. Another customer favorite is the Chinese-inspired Peking duck pies with hoisin, spring onion and sesame seed. The menu includes small plates like house-made burrata and a baby spinach salad.

Dining in Mozzeria is unique. Where many San Francisco restaurants are raucous during dinner service with music blaring from overhead speakers and conversations at tables happening at an elevated pitch, Mozzeria is quiet. The noise in the dining room is little more than a low hum against the clatter of plates and cups.

The ordering process is simple. Customers can pick their dishes using sign language or they can simply point to what they want to eat. Each table has paper and writing utensils when further dialogue is needed during dinner service. It’s a place that is inclusive and built to create awareness.

“Mozzeria expanding to Washington, D.C., is just the beginning for us,” Russell said. “There are many iterations to come and opportunities to provide to the Deaf community. Hopefully, we can continue creating that wherever we go from here.”

Justin Phillips is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jphillips@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @JustPhillips

Mozzeria Dinner Tuesday-Sunday, 3228 16th St., San Francisco. 415-489-0963 or www.mozzeria.com/