Two local entrepreneurs want to bring a new, unconventional business venture to Baton Rouge next year that meshes beer and pizza with community investment.

Karl Schultz and Riley Vannoy are co-founders of Noble Wave, a pizzeria and brewpub concept that brews and sells its own beers, and is built on the idea of purpose-driven capitalism.

“I hope it has a big impact, bringing in dollars that we can give to those causes that we care about,” Schultz says.

Unlike most pubs, Noble Wave employees would be paid salaries, and half of all tips would be placed into a foundation that invests in local events, education, infrastructure and community beautification projects, Schultz says.

“That’s a pretty popular model all over the country,” Schultz says. “We’re just kind of slow to bring it here.”

Schultz and Vannoy are currently pitching the concept to investors, and today they’ll present the idea as part of a special 1 Million Cups event taking place as part of Baton Rouge Entrepreneurship Week.

Though he’s expecting some pushback from skeptics, Schultz says he and Vannoy intend to ramp up fundraising efforts in coming weeks. He says they need to raise about $700,000 to open as planned next year. They are currently scouting potential locations for the brewpub.

Schultz and Vannoy have been discussing their idea with the entrepreneurs behind Bar Marco in Pittsburgh. Last year, the upscale bar made national headlines for implementing a no-tipping policy and instead opted to pay its roughly 26 employees a base salary of $35,000, plus benefits and bonuses based on profits, as well as paid vacation and shares in the company.

Schultz says he’d like to pay Noble Wave employees a similar salary, plus benefits. He and Vannoy envision hiring at least 10 people.

Schultz is confident the model can be successfully replicated and financially sustainable in Baton Rouge. He and Vannoy can cut overhead costs by brewing and directly selling beers to customers, effectively eliminating the “middle man,” and they also anticipate a high profit margin for pizza sales.

BREW continues today with events including the She Geauxs women leadership conference and Junior Achievement’s Big Pitch. The week-long celebration of entrepreneurship kicked off Monday. On Tuesday, Schultz and Vannoy attended the Baton Rouge Area Chamber’s Big Think event, where Conscious Venture Lab’s Jeff Cherry was the guest speaker. See the full BREW lineup.

—Alexandria Burris