Pizza Art

We started an art contest in the mid-1980s and have continued the tradition every few years or so since then. We now have over 300 pieces of Zachary’s pizza art from the past three decades! The winning artwork decorates the walls in all five of our restaurants. We love the art and the artists and are excited and honored to be able to share some of the art on our website!

Poster for Zacharys: The Rise of the Dough! features a pizza slice above a city skyline with text: Wind-Altering!, Mouth-Watering!, Conquering the World! A person holds a Zacharys pizza box at the bottom.

Ian Ransley

2009

Ian Ransley is a single father of two Zachary’s-loving boys. Ian is a Berkeley native and a professional graphic designer. He splits his time designing Zachary’s posters and designing for professional sports teams and events including the NHL Winter Classic and the NFL Super Bowl among many other events. He is a dual-citizen of the U.S. And Great Britain. Growing up in a British home he never had pizza so Ian can’t get enough of it now. Ian annoys his two sons using them time and again in many of his art projects.

A colorful poster for Zacharys Deep Dish Pizza features a muscular, cartoonish character lifting two steaming pizzas like weights. The words Amazing, Stupendous, World Famous are above Deep Dish Pizza. The character wears a Pizza Champ belt.

Chuck Waite

2005

Colorful circles with different patterns are arranged in a grid. Each circle has a unique design, including dots and lines, on a white background filled with the repeated text Zacharys in black.

Katie Jang

2011

Illustration of a cartoon character holding a slice of pepperoni pizza. The background is blue, with the text ENJOY at the top and ZACHARYS PIZZA at the bottom in stylized letters. The character appears joyful and anticipatory.

Pete Docter
I like to draw and paint yet don’t do it often enough. The allure of winning free pizza was strong and I made a few posters.
Influences: 1950’s poster design, especially Paul Rand, Cassandre, and Raymond Savignac. Also children’s book illustrator Roy McKee (he illustrated the Dr. Seuss books “Ten Apples Up on Top” and “Snow”).
My whole family loves Zachary’s Pizza, though we’re divided over which is best: stuffed pesto mushroom or stuffed pepperoni. Actually thin crust sausage onion is pretty good too. When both of our kids were born, we smuggled Zachary’s into the maternity ward.

A colorful illustration featuring red heart-shaped slices of pizza against a purple background. Theres a white text box in the lower right with the words Zacharys Pizza in bold black letters.

Wesley Jensen

2009

A colorful painting of a butterfly with yellow and red wings. Above it is a sun with Zacharys written inside. Below, flowers in red, white, and blue, a bee hovering, and a brown rabbit are set against a blue sky background.

Pizza Butterfly

Emma Ruth, age 6

2012

“When I first mentioned the art contest to Emma (she was six at the time) her immediate response was “C’mon, let’s get started!” She then began producing sketches. One of these had a couple of butterfly’s, but originally with more normal butterfly wings with pizza slices as the wing pattern. I made the suggestion the design could be strengthened by having the wings BE pizza slices, and the final composition was arrived at!”

A colorful artwork featuring a green scooter with a pepperoni pizza slice as a wheel. The background is yellow with vertical stripes in red and blue. Text reads, Not just a pizza... A lifestyle. A circled arrow points upwards.

Stew Ellington

2017

My painting was inspired by a dual love for Zachary’s deep-dish spinach-and-mushroom pizza and vintage Italian Vespa scooters. I thought it would be a good idea to connect the two by making the front wheel of the scooter a deep-dish pizza. I had a lot of fun using bright, primary colors to imitate the style of Italian Vespa ads from the 50s and 60s. It’s so awesome to take part in this community tradition! Thanks, Zachary’s!

Mary Youm

2011

Cartoon of a person with exaggerated, large hair and blue glasses holding a big pizza. Text reads Big hair! and BIG pizza! at the sides. The name Zacharys is written at the bottom.

Craig Mcintire

1999

Cartoon of a person in blue overalls and a cap walking with a large pizza on their head. They are next to a brick wall with a Zacharys Chicago Pizza sign, and the text Keep on Cookin is above. A yellow fence and houses are in the background.

Larry Holstrom

2007

An abstract poster for Zacharys Chicago Pizza featuring a colorful depiction of a pizza slice topped with various ingredients and symbols such as a tomato, pickle, pepperoni, and a clover. The number 30 is at the bottom right corner.

Pizza Operation

2012

Jason Tracy

Pop art style image of a woman and man about to kiss. Speech bubble from the man reads, I think Im falling in love! Zacharys Chicago Pizza is written in the top left corner.

ZAK WILSON

1992
I’m a big fan of pop art and wanted to create something in that style. The Roy Lichtenstein look fit the vibe of the idea. That and I wanted to win some free pizza. (The first time I ate Zachary’s) had to be in the mid 80’s sometime. A good friend worked at the Solano store so I was turned on to Zachary’s Pizza early in the game. That same friend is now one of the owners.

I’m a native of Berkeley and have been in the Bay Area my whole life. Aside from the cost of living what’s not to like about the Bay Area? All my immediate family is here. Good weather, culture, sports, food (hint, hint…). It’s one of many amazing places in the country…but this one happens to be home.

A colorful illustration of a green alien with large yellow eyes standing in front of a spaceship. Text reads Take me to your pizza. A crescent moon and stars are in the sky. Artwork by Nadira, age 9. At the bottom, it says Zacharys is out of this world!.

Nadira Berman, age 9

2005

Colorful underwater scene with a dolphin, pufferfish, purple fish, and pink seahorse surrounding a large clam with a pearl inside. Text reads Precious as a Pearl and Zacharys with bubbles and seaweed accents.

Naumi Emoto, 13 years old

2012

Poster of a stylized illustration featuring a person holding a pizza above their head, with text Zacharys Chicago Pizza Inc. The background is divided into yellow and red.

Kevin Brown

2003

Illustrated image of four circular pizza diagrams against an orange gradient background, each showing a different portion of a pizza missing. Text reads, Zacharys Chicago Pizza. The progression suggests the stages of eating a pizza.

Ryan Pera

2017

Besides my everyday fascination with the universe, galaxy, the solar system, the moon, and the sun, my piece, titled “Phases of Pizza”, was inspired from watching my nephew put in work, like a real artist, when push comes to shove, with two days to work before the deadline of this contest. While waiting to be seated at the College Ave location, my nephew eagerly asked me if I had a piece of paper and a pen. I did, since I never leave home without my small sketchbook and pen. His ideas were flowing. Everyone loves pizza, I mean everyone… but to witness a kid, at the age of eight, not wanting to finish his pizza, only because he wanted to win his first art contest (with the prize of more pizza and having his artwork hang on the walls), was honestly my true inspiration through making this piece.

Editor’s note: Ryan’s nephew, Jalen, was also one of our winners! See our blog about Ryan and Jalen for more information.

Illustration of a bride and groom smiling and feeding each other pizza from a three-tiered stand labeled Zacharys. Text reads, Love is...3 tiers of Zacharys deep dish. A pizza slicer and roses are on the table.

Lori and William Wallace

2015

My son, William (13 yrs old) and I are deeply grateful to Zachary’s for the joy it brings our lives. Not only the DELICIOUS gluten free pizza (thank you, thank you!), but also the connection it weaves through community. We have monitored the art contest for years and have waited for the opening where time and creative spark would coincide and bring us to this moment of participation. And here we are! The inspiration behind this piece was to weave in the theme of “shared love”. What better depiction of shared love than a wedding day and the site of a loving groom feeding his delighted bride a slice of Zachary’s deep dish?! Love IS Zachary’s Pizza xo

A surreal painting of a pizza slice with a human face, featuring blue eyes and a red mouth. It wears a blue hat and suit, holding a movie camera. The background has Zacharys Chicago Pizza written in red.

Chris Papa

2001

Illustration of a person with exaggerated features eating a slice of cheesy pizza. The background features the text Zacharys Chicago Pizza. The person wears a green shirt and holds a pizza slice and a deep-dish pizza.

David Seiler

2001

A retro-style poster featuring a person in a futuristic suit looking at a round pie on a yellow surface, with text reading Zacharys 81¢ and In The Oven. The background is a blend of green and yellow hues.

Lois Rosson

2015