We have new pizza specials available at all locations! Oakland and Berkeley are now offering the Italian Chicken Sausage pizza. Sliced Italian chicken sausage, onions, red and green peppers, roasted garlic cloves and mozzarella cheese. Equally delicious stuffed or thin and available as both for a limited time!   San Ramon and Pleasant Hill are offering our Zachary’s Western pizza! This rootin-tootin, buckeroo is Italian sausage, crumbled bacon, onions, sweet-smoky barbecue sauce and mozzarella cheese.  Available stuffed and thin for a limited time.

The State of California, Alameda and Contra Costa County  require face coverings to be worn by all individuals when at, within or in line for businesses. All customers and employees are required to abide by these requirements. One-way valve masks are not permissible for use under these ordinances. 

 

Our hearts are with our Bay Area communities, customers and crew. These are truly trying times we are navigating. As we all come together as a community, let’s not forget to check in and support each other in whatever ways we can.

The below changes take effect immediately at all locations. We will continue to update you and our crew as we receive new information from the CDC, WHO and our local governments and health agencies.

• Limited indoor dining at all locations, limited patio and indoor dining at Pleasant Hill and San Ramon.
• Slices available only at Rockridge and Solano Ave.
• Location hours can be found below and are subject to change. We appreciate and thank you for your flexibility.
• We encourage payment via credit or debit cards to minimize cash handling as much as possible.
• Our crew is practicing regular and frequent disinfecting procedures, and continues to avoid hand to hand contact between fellow crew members, and crew members and customers.
• When picking up- we ask that you please practice social distancing as much as possible with other customers, and maintain personal space and boundaries.
• For those wishing to remain home, delivery is available via our website and third party delivery partners- DoorDash, Uber Eats and Caviar.

 

Location Hours:

*Subject to change*

Oakland and Berkeley (Rockridge, Grand Lake, Solano Ave): 11am to 8:30pm.

Pleasant Hill : Sunday – Thursday 11-8:30pm. Friday – Saturday, 11-9pm.

San Ramon: Sunday-Thursday, 11-8pm. Friday-Saturday 11-9pm.

 

To order online please click here

Rockridge, Oakland: (510) 655-6385

Solano Ave, North Berkeley: (510) 525-5950

Grand Lake, Oakland: (510) 658-3226

San Ramon: (925) 244-1222

Pleasant Hill: (925) 602-7000

 

We thank you for your patience and understanding as we all navigate our way through this.

To Our Customers and Communities,

We are here for you, and we care about you. As an employee-owned company, our communities and staff are always at the forefront of our minds, and now is no different.

As we all continue to monitor the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) situation closely, we want to communicate the steps we are taking to respond. Our objective is to keep our restaurants safe and clean for you, our crew, and our communities. Cleanliness and hygiene have been, and will always be, a priority for us.

 

• We are increasing how frequently we disinfect high-touch areas in our restaurants including but not limited to doors, countertops, displays, cash registers, prep/work spaces, tables, chairs, and restrooms throughout operating hours.
• Our crew members follow CDC and health agency guidelines on handwashing and other workplace hygiene protocols.
• We will avoid direct hand to hand contact between crew members and between crew members and customers. (We’ll take an elbow bump, a wave, or a smile!)
• Employees are mandated to stay home if they are experiencing cold or flu symptoms. 
• We are staying posted to the evolving recommendations from the CDC, WHO, local government, and health agencies. We are informing the staff on a regular basis on these guidelines, including those involving travel and quarantine.

 

We will continue to do what we can to keep Zachary’s safe for you, our crew, and communities. As of now, we remain open for take-out and third-party delivery. You can place take-out orders over the phone or online via our website. Third-party delivery is available for all locations via DoorDash, Uber Eats and Caviar. We truly believe in the resilience of the Bay Area and our ability to overcome any obstacle together.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email hello@zacharys.com.

 

Thank you,

Zachary’s Employee-Owners

Due to dramatic increases in operational costs and continued technical challenges with the program itself, Zachary’s will be sunsetting our rewards program starting June 1, 2023. Rewards points will continue to be earned until that date, but no new members will be able to join the program. Starting June 1st, points will no longer accrue. All accrued rewards points will be fully redeemable through December 31, 2023.

I am happy to announce that moving forward we will be offering more perks and discounts throughout the year via our newsletter. We encourage everyone to sign up to receive our newsletter to take advantage of these offerings. Thanks to all members for your continued support over the past few years.

Feel free to email me (kevin@zacharys.com) with any questions or concerns. I am happy to hear from you.

Sincerely,

Kevin Suto, President
Zachary’s Chicago Pizza

ZACHARY’S NEWSLETTER– Click to learn more and to join.

Did you know we have gift cards available? Well we do! We offer both digital and physical gift cards. Zachary’s gift cards can be used at any of our five locations. Digital and physical gift cards are available for purchase online, or physical gift cards can be purchased at any of our locations.

Digital gift cards will be sent directly to the chosen recipient via email or text, whichever method is chosen. You are also given the option to include a message for the recipient at the time of purchase. Physical gift cards bought online will be shipped in 2-3 business days. If you are shipping a gift card to someone other than yourself, please be sure to change the address in PayPal so it’s sent to the correct location. If you would like to include a message with your physical gift card, please email office@zacharys.com. The gift card minimum purchase is $20 for physical cards being mailed out.

Gift cards can be used for any dine-in, or take-out order. At this time they cannot be used for any online orders. Have further questions? Just email us! office@zacharys.com

Click Here to Purchase a Digital Gift Card

To purchase a gift card to be mailed visit our Gifts and Swag page, or click here.

 

Oakland and Berkeley, we have a new special coming your way- and just in time for the rainy cold snap later this week 😉

The Roasted Potato Pizza is a deliciously comforting pizza made with oven roasted red potatoes, chopped onion, garlic, fresh rosemary and Monterey Jack cheese. It is yummy personified. Available stuffed or thin for a limited time, so get it while you can!

 

Since 1983, Zachary’s has been making award-winning pizza in the San Francisco Bay Area. When Zachary’s founders, Zach Zachowski and Barbara Gabel decided to retire, they handed the company over to the employees via an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). In 2010, Zachary’s became 100% employee owned.

This month’s spotlight, Emily Cernusak, went from Zachary’s customer to Employee Owner after deciding she liked the energy and teamwork of the crew. Though she’s only been here for a little over a year, Emily lights up the dining room with her enthusiasm and exuberance. Though she loves many aspects of Zachary’s (such as the food and being an owner), it’s the people who make her look forward to coming to work every day.

 

Spotlight

Name: Emily Cernusak

Hire Date: November 2018

Fave Pizza: Spinach and Mushroom with pesto

Fave Food (Other than pizza): A really good taco

Home Restaurant: Oakland, College Avenue

Favorite Activities: Travelling, hiking, backpacking, spending time with friends and family

Favorite Travel Location: Alaska

 

Interview

*Emily was interviewed by Zachary’s Marketing Manager, Robin Smith on February 2, 2020

Robin (R): Hello, Emily! Thanks for sitting down with me!

Emily (E): Hi, Robin! You’re welcome [Both laugh]

R: Let’s go ahead and get started super easy. When did you start at Zachary’s?

E: I started a little over a year ago, in November 2018

R: What brought you to Zachary’s?

E: You know, I had been a customer here for many, many years and when I decided I wanted to have a serving job it was the very first place that popped into my mind. I feel like the energy was just always really positive and upbeat whenever I was [here] as a customer and employees always looked like they were having fun. I loved how I saw them work together as a team and I really wanted to be a part of that, so it was really, you know, my only top choice. I did interview at one other place, but it didn’t hold a candle.

R: Awesome, I like to hear that! What is a favorite aspect of yours of working at Zachary’s and what keeps you engaged in the day-to-day?

E: A favorite aspect of working at Zachary’s, it has to be the people. People are always happy to be here. They know they’re going to get something amazing, you know, a lot of them have been looking forward to it, maybe traveled to get here, and especially if they’re first time Zachary’s customers, it’s so fun to see how excited they are to try it. It’s like, people are generally in a good mood and I love that. And I love helping people have an even better time than they’re already having, so yeah, that’s what I love about it. There was a second part to the question?

R: What keeps you engaged in the day-to-day? Like engaged and interested in the job?

E: Engaged and interested…it’s just finding how I can connect to people– the people that I work with, and how we can support each other. It feels like there’s a bond that grows naturally out of working together as a team, especially if it’s really busy and we’re all, you know, bustling and looking to help all the gears move smoothly so that things get taken care of. I feel that there’s sort of an awareness in me that grows in my capacity to notice what coworkers need in terms of support and what customers need and anticipating needs. And so I think that, that I love the fact that’s growing. In the beginning all I knew how to do was help people at the counter, you know, so that was my awareness, there were like these other things happening, but as I’ve been here longer and my awareness grows, I can be more aware of what’s happening in the whole restaurant and also notice, “oh, hey, they need some help on the floor, I can pop out there, I have a minute,” and support somebody, and that feels really good.

R: I like that. That’s also important, I agree. That’s something that keeps me engaged. So, you just passed a year, which means you’re officially eligible for the ESOP, correct?

E: Correct.

R: So, as a new ESOP member, what does being an Employee Owner mean for you?

E: I think it brings a different level of consideration to so many things about the job, recognizing that the people you work with, you know, we’re all invested in the company doing well and it’s, it’s for the business, but it’s also for us and for each other. And so, I think it carries, you know, just a little more weight in terms of wanting to know things are done right and that we’re conserving where we can and that we’re making the most out of every salad ingredient we have, all the way around.

R: Zero waste.

E: Exactly, zero waste. And, you know, all the different community outreach and recognizing the way word is spreading about Zachary’s as we open new locations. I’ve always felt a part of the team here, but knowing that I am already on my way to being even more invested in the financial success is really exciting.

R: It’s like “how am I going to help this company succeed so I can succeed.” Ok, fun questions, what is a favorite memory you have of Zachary’s/at Zachary’s/about Zachary’s?

E: Let’s see…oh my gosh, there are so many fun memories. This is a fun slash funny memory. I happened to be one of the servers here when there was a rolling power outage and so, it was, you know, in the evening, and all of a sudden the lights went out, the power went out and we had two tables here eating their pizza and one of the tables said, “well we’re here because the power is out at home, so we don’t really mind!” So helping them, in candle light, will always stand out to me.

R: That’s awesome.

E: And they finished eating. And, for a moment it was really overwhelming, to like write down the price of every ingredient they had and add it all up and bring them their check, but also it was really satisfying, like the sense that we’re all a part of this community.

R: I love that. We’re all a part of a community and no one has power.

E: Right, that’s right. [Both laugh]

R: So what are your hobbies or interests or things you like to do when you’re not at Zachary’s?

E: I love to travel. I love road trips. I love hiking and backpacking. Any time I can be out in nature and around trees or the water or the ocean. Spending time with family and friends and all that.

R: What’s one of your favorite places you’ve taken a road trip to or traveled to? Or both?

E: Oh, road trip or travel…well I recently went to Alaska for the first time and that was amazing. I went to see a friend up there and I was just….it was so unexpected in so many ways, the way the mountains just jut right up out of the ocean. Where we are in California, you have to go inland a little to get to the mountains, and there, they just come straight up out of the water. It was just breathtakingly beautiful. And the way the trees…there was just such a different mix of forest, you know, when I’m here and I go up in the mountains, it’s mostly evergreens and there it was all this mix of ferns and deciduous trees and really lush, all along with evergreens that I wasn’t expecting. And seeing moose in the neighbor’s yard was, like, so incredible. And fun. And I just had a feeling of I really know I’m alive here. I feel so energized and awake. It felt great.

R: Connected to the world.

E: Yeah, and just seeing things that are different. The other thing that was amazing was, I was there at the end of August, so there was still a ton of daylight and the flowers were gigantic. In people’s yards, the gardens in downtown Anchorage were these huge overflowing baskets of flowers everywhere…they grow so big because there’s so much daylight! And I never thought about that but it was really, really fun and beautiful.

R: Yeah, I never would have thought about that either…the amount of daylight they get, they have more growth time. Alright, last question that I have for you is, what do you love about the Bay Area?

E: What I love about the Bay Area is such a richness of experiences and people. I feel like there’s a friendliness and sense of community in being in this world altogether. I love meeting people from all over the world who live here or who are travelling here and the way that all those beautiful differences come together and yet there’s just an understanding that we’re all in this together; we’re all a part of this greater whole. And I don’t always get that feeling everywhere I travel, so I feel like it’s something really special about the Bay.

R: I completely agree.

E: There’s a vibrancy, too. I feel like an interest in being creative in different ways and, you know, helping share our music and art with each other, with anyone who wants to listen, basically.

R: I call it, like an openness to creativity. However you can find to be creative, the Bay is going to welcome that creativity, even if it’s some weird off-the-wall way, the Bay is going to be like, “oh, we’ll take it, bring it…”

E: “Show us! More! Bring it on!”

R: Do you have anything you’d like to add on?

E: Um, I really do just want to say, I have been a part of so many different organizations and companies, you know, through different school settings and work settings and I feel like there’s something really special about Zachary’s…about the way that things are run and, you know, maybe this just touches on the earlier question of being an Employee Owner as well, but there’s such a care and attention to helping everybody know that we’re all here to support you in succeeding. Like every new person gets that feeling. And it’s like, having, whether it’s two or five or 15 people who’ve got your back, whatever you’re doing, we all have each other’s back, like that just makes a really big difference in my day and there has literally not been a day when I’ve felt like “oh, I don’t want to go to work.”  I love coming here. All the time.

R: That makes me so happy! Awesome! Well thank you so much! I got a little warm spot in my heart.

E: Awwwww [Both laugh]

R: Thank you so much for chatting with me!

 

February was a big month for employee-owner anniversaries! We celebrated two milestones!

Employee-owner Pancho started with Zachary’s all the way back in 1990. Yes, that means Pancho is celebrating 30 YEARS with Zachary’s! ♥ Pancho is one of our foundation kitchen employees, helping train and develop our new employees at our Oakland and Berkeley locations. We were a young company (only 7 years old!), when he was hired. Pancho has been with us through many growing and transitional phases, including the opening of three new locations, and most excitingly, our transition to being an employee-owned company! Congrats on 30 years Pancho! ????

Arturo was hired in 2005 for our Oakland and Berkeley locations.  His hard work and team oriented attitude quickly established him as a standout employee. 15 years later, Arturo is still that same hard working and team oriented employee- with a great attitude and quick smile to boot! ????

 

Thank you to both Pancho and Arturo! We wouldn’t be the amazing, employee-owned company we are without phenomenal owners like them on our team!

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Zachary’s Love Stories: A Valentine’s Week Series

In our almost 37 years in the Bay we’ve had the joy of bringing people together and, on very special occasions, seeing love blossom within our walls.  This week we are sharing a story each day leading up to Valentine’s of employees (past and present) who came looking for a job, but found love as well ????

Monday, 2/10/20

Our first story is of Kaitlin and Neaj. Kaitlin and Neaj met at Zachary’s in March 2015 when Neaj joined the Zachary’s crew. Kaitlin was the one who made the first move by asking Neaj if he could give her guitar lessons. Once they began playing music together, their connection was sealed and they’ve been together ever since, still playing music together today! Besides a mutual love of music, they also enjoy travelling and exploring new places; so much so, they are taking scuba diving lessons so they can explore the ocean together! Thank you for sharing your story Kaitlin and Neaj, and here’s to many more adventures in your future! But don’t forget to refuel after with the pizza that brought you together 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday, 2/11/20

Our next couple found love in their appreciation of the great outdoors. Abby and Brittney were both hired in 2013, Abby in Pleasant Hill and Brittney in Oakland. They met when Abby transferred to our Oakland location that same year and quickly became friends, but kept it at that for a couple of years. When they took a weekend camping trip together and didn’t want to leave each other’s side once they returned, they knew it was more than friendship in their hearts. In 2017, they set off on a new adventure, leaving Zachary’s and moving to Oregon together. Still big lover’s of nature, they continue to go on camping trips accompanied by their adorable pupper Joey (aka, best girl ever!), making the adorable couple an even more adorable trio! ❤

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday, 2/12/20: Middle of the weeks are tough, so we’re sharing two stories today! 

Luke and Melissa met during the summer of 2015 at our San Ramon location. However, they didn’t start dating until 2018, preferring to keep things professional as co-workers. When Melissa decided to move on from Zachary’s to pursue a career in insurance, Luke saw his opportunity and made his move! They went on their first date on February 21st 2018, exactly one week after Valentine’s Day! They knew it was something special pretty quickly and moved in together at the beginning of 2019, along with their kitty Turtle, who Melissa appropriately spoils rotten. Most excitingly, Luke and Melissa just got engaged on December 21st, 2019! Cheers to your love and a future full of kittens and pizza 😉

 

Julia and Mateo met at our College Avenue location during the summer of 2012. There were many polite greetings near the time clock as they waited to punch in for work, but they never took it past that. Until! They tore it up on the dance floor together at our annual holiday party that same year! Mutually appreciative of each other’s moves, they’ve been together ever since. Mateo has been a Zachary’s fan since before birth, when his mother used to come in for slices while she was pregnant with him. It only seems right with that type of history, he would meet and fall in love with his future wife at Zachary’s.  Mateo and Julia got married on December 27th, 2019 in San Antonio Texas (Julia’s hometown). Pizza brought them together, but the joy of dance was the key that opened their hearts to each other. Here’s to your continued happiness Julia and Mateo- and to many pizza party anniversaries in your future! ❤

 

Thursday, 2/13/20 

Joel and Julia met in 2004 at our College Avenue location when Julia was hired.  Joel (a seasoned server by then) thought she was cute, even though she wasn’t the best server 😉 Julia also thought Joel was cute (despite his critic of her server skills), but they remained just friends. That is, until Julia left in 2005 for a full time job in Bolinas. As per Zachary’s tradition, Julia had a last night celebration on her final shift at Zachary’s (shout out to McNally’s). Joel knew he wanted to stay in touch with Julia. Before he left for the night, he asked how they were going to do just that.  Julia told him to call her before she moved in two weeks. Joel, of course, did and they went on their first date. That was all it took. Despite Joel living in Oakland and Julia living in Bolinas, their connection was strong and they made sure to see each other frequently.  Joel and Julia were married on October 6th, 2012 at the Brazilian Room in Berkeley, surrounded by their friends and family (including their Z family!). Joel had the ring for 6 months before he finally proposed at Carmel By The Sea on Valentine’s Day. Four years later, Julia went into labor on Valentine’s Day 2016, and two days after that they met their wonderful son Aron! Needless to say, Valentine’s Day holds a lot of extra special memories for these two. Thanks for sharing your story with us Joel and Julia, and wishing you a very special Valentine’s Day ????

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday, 2/14/20 Valentine’s Day ❤

Brian and Linda met in 1995 when then manager Frankie Pisciotta hired Linda for our Oakland and Berkeley locations. Brian gives a special thank you to Frankie for that ???? These two wasted no time and it took only a few short months before they went on their first date. Both being fans of the outdoors and hiking, one of their early dates was appropriately the Inspiration Point trail in Tilden Park. While the views were lovely, it proved to be the view of each other that caught their eyes and hearts. They knew right away they wanted to be together- always.  Shortly after they began dating, Brian and Linda moved in together for what they dubbed their “Summer of Love” in 1996. They were married the following year in 1997 and welcomed their two sons, Liam and Casey, a few years later.  Twenty three years after they first met at Zachary’s, their youngest son Casey was hired to work in our kitchen! Talk about a Zachary’s family! Brian and Linda are still lovers of hiking, as well as traveling and working out together. Their oldest son Liam is currently a sophomore in college and Casey is gearing up to start college in the fall! There was no denying their love from the moment they met, but that’s how it goes when a love is this meant to be. Happy Valentine’s Day Brian and Linda, we’re so thankful to have played a part in your love story! And come by for some pizza soon 😉

Our Pleasant Hill location is celebrating it’s golden birthday today! It’s turning 7 on the 7th! We cannot believe that 7 years have already gone by! It feels like just yesterday we opened our doors and welcomed the Pleasant Hill community in.  We guess what they say is true, time really flies when you’re making delicious stuffed pizzas 😉 Thank you Pleasant Hill for all your support these past 7 years! We’re looking forward to many more with you! And an extra special thanks to our wonderful crew and managers! It’s their hard work and dedication that make us the wonderful, employee-owned company we are!