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A Heartfelt Thank You on the Eve of Our 40th Anniversary

Dear Valued Customers & Beloved Community,

Tomorrow, Tuesday, July 25th, our hearts will be filled with gratitude as we celebrate the 40th anniversary of Zachary’s Chicago Pizza. This milestone marks not just four decades in business, but a journey that has been woven with love, dedication, and the unwavering support of our cherished customers and the entire community. With 20 years as an employee-owned company (100% since 2010), we have much to be grateful for.

As we look back on the incredible memories that have been shared within the walls of Zachary’s, we are reminded that this is not just a celebration of a company; it is a celebration of a family and a community. For 40 years, Zachary’s has been more than just a place to enjoy delicious pizza; it has been a second home for many. It is a place where friendships were formed, relationships blossomed, and life’s joys and important moments have been shared and celebrated together – by both the Zachary’s crew and you, our loyal customers.

Our crew and managers are the heart and soul of Zachary’s, and their dedication is unparalleled. With over 1000 collective years of pizza-making experience and over 650 collective years of service experience, their hard work and commitment have allowed us to craft the perfect pizzas that have become a hallmark of Zachary’s. Their level of teamwork and camaraderie is nothing short of awe-inspiring, and we are grateful for their unwavering dedication.

To our customers, community, and neighbors, we extend our deepest thanks for your years of unwavering support and love. Your patronage has been the driving force behind our success, and it is because of you that Zachary’s has become a beloved institution in the Bay Area.

Our journey began with the visionary founders, Zach and Barbara – lovingly known as “B and Z.” Their passion, determination, and commitment laid the foundation for the Zachary’s Pizza you know and love today. They have been happily retired since 2007, and the values and standard of excellence they set continue to guide and inspire us each day.

To all the former managers and crew members who have contributed to Zachary’s success over the years, we offer a heartfelt nod of appreciation. Each one of you played a crucial role in shaping the legacy of Zachary’s, and we are forever grateful to you.

As we raise our glasses to toast this special occasion, let us not only celebrate the past but also look to the future with excitement and hope. Zachary’s will continue to be a place where memories are created, friendships are nurtured, and the love for pizza is shared.

Join us on July 25th as we commemorate four incredible decades. To show our appreciation and mark this momentous milestone and our birth year, our ready-to-go, small, stuffed Spinach & Mushroom half-baked pizzas will sell for just $19.83! Stop by and pick one up to finish cooking at home for dinner. Or better yet, stock up for the week and (pizza) party like it’s 1983! 

Here’s to 40 years of unforgettable moments and to many more to come. Thank you all for being an integral part of this extraordinary journey!

Cheers!Β πŸ’«πŸŽˆπŸŽ‰

Leandra Schuler
COO/Employee-Owner (Hired 1999 as a host/server)

Kevin Suto
President/CFO/Employee-Owner (Hired 1984 as a dishwasher/pizza maker)

Zachary’s Celebrates 40 Years of Deliciousness!

The year is 1983. The scene. College Avenue, Oakland California. The players. A young couple from Wisconsin. The dream. To open a Chicago-style stuffed pizza restaurant with a California twist. Enter- Zachary’s Chicago Pizza.

Four decades, innumerable hours, thousands of pizzas, and a whole lot of hard work, and here we are celebrating our 40th Anniversary! From that first Zachary’s, a tiny little restaurant on College Ave in Oakland, to today with five East Bay locations, over 225 ‘Best Pizza’ Awards, and 100% employee-ownership, we couldn’t be more grateful for the love and support from our amazing communities and customers.

Join us on July 25th as we commemorate 40 amazing years! To show our appreciation and mark this momentous milestone and our birth year, our ready-to-go, small, stuffed Spinach & Mushroom half-baked pizzas will sell for just $19.83! Stop by and pick one up to finish cooking at home for dinner. Or better yet, stock up for the week or weekend and (pizza) party like it’s 1983! πŸ˜œ

All five Zachary’s locations will be participating from 11am to closing on July 25th. Limit of 3 pizzas per person. Small, ready-to-go, Spinach & Mushroom half-baked pizzas only. No preorders or holds. Third-party delivery and online orders are excluded. First come, first served and while supplies last. 

Note: Our dining room at Zachary’s Rockridge will be closing at 4:30pm that afternoon for a private event; that location will still be open for takeout (and those $19.83 half-baked pizzas!) all day. All other locations will be open for both dine-in and takeout during normal hours. If you were planning to dine at Zachary’s Rockridge on July 25th after 4:30pm, we recommend visiting Zachary’s Grand Lake instead!Β 

Additional Special Events on July 25th!

Dine-in at Zachary’s Grand Lake, Pleasanton, and North Berkeley Tuesday evening and enjoy live music from three Bay Area high schools!
Jazz ensembles from Amador Valley, Berkeley, and Oakland High Schools will be performing Tuesday evening. All three groups are incredibly talented and we are so excited to have them performing for our anniversary! All performances are slated to start around 6pm. 
Zachary’s Grand Lake is featuring a jazz duo from Oakland High Jazz BandZachary’s North Berkeley is featuring a jazz trio curtesy of Berkeley High Jazz, and Zachary’s Pleasanton is welcoming Amador Jazz Collective from Amador Valley High Jazz on the patio! Come for the pizza, stay for the ambiance 

Dine-in for dinner at Zachary’s Pleasant Hill for the chance to win a free pizza!
That’s all you need to do!Β We’ll be drawing a random dine-in table number at 6pm, 7pm, and 8pm on Tuesday, July 25th and the winning table receives a free pizza! You must be dining in with us at the time of the raffle for your table to be included.Β Β 

Thank you for your unwavering support, and here’s to another four decades of serving the best customers and communities ever. We can’t wait to celebrate with you on July 25th!Β πŸŽ‰πŸ€—πŸ•

Thank You for Voting Us ‘Best Pizza!’

This is a pure, genuine, heartfelt, customer appreciation post to say THANK YOU for voting us ‘Best Pizza’ in Diablo Magazine and the East Bay Express’ annual Best of the East Bay polls!

We are so honored and humbled by your love and support and so incredibly appreciative of both. We love doing what we do, but being able to share it with all of you is what makes it special ❀️ We say it all the time, but it can never be said enough, we truly have the best community around!

We also want to take a minute to thank our incredible and hard working team. They’re the foundation that allows us to do what we do, and do it with such a commitment to excellence.

Now back to work making those delicious pizzas for you, cuz it’s the weekend, it’s going to be beautiful out, and y’all need some pizza to enjoy with it! πŸ€—πŸ•πŸ˜‹

Closed on the 4th of July

All five Zachary’s locations will be closed on July 4th in observance of the holiday. If pizza and fireworks are on your mind, we recommend picking half-bakes up on Monday to finish off on Tuesday.

We’ll be open at our usual time of 11am on July 5th at all locations! We hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday!

Pizza Mind Trivia- The Drag Edition with Phoebe Cakes!

Mark. Your. Calendars. Phoebe Cakes is coming to Zachary’s Grand Lake to host a special night of Drag Trivia!

June 28th we’re bringing the lovely and talented Phoebe Cakes for a special night of Pizza Mind Trivia- the Drag Edition at Zachary’s Grand Lake! It’s going to be a night not to be missed. Special performances will take place between rounds. Drink specials will be flowing. Minds will be thinking. Pizzas will be cooking. And the first place winner will take home a $50 Zachary’s Gift Certificate.

Event starts at 6:30pm at Zachary’s Grand Lake. You’re encouraged to come in attire should you so desire! We’d love to see it πŸ˜‰ Be sure to get there early to secure your spot!

This is a special added event and not one of our normal trivia nights. Be sure to add it to your calendar so you don’t miss out! See you June 28th at Zachary’s Grand Lake.

Zachary’s Art Contest Updates!

The Zachary’s Art Contest may be officially closed, but the fun has just begun for us πŸ™‚

We spent a fun (albeit very challenging) week voting on all of the amazing and creative artwork we received, both in person and online, for this year’s art contest! We were blown away by your creativity, humor, and skill, and had such a hard time narrowing down the submissions. Narrow them down we had to though, and the winning pieces have finally been chosen and their artists contacted as of last Friday!

We wanted to take a moment to thank each and every one of you who participated in this year’s contest. The Zachary’s Art Contest is one of our most cherished traditions and we love the ability to connect with you in such a fun and engaging way. Pieces not chosen as a winner can be picked up at the location it was submitted to until June 3, 2023. We plan on getting all the new art up over the course of June!

Art Contest Extended to May 3rd!

Big news, big news!! We’re extending the Zachary’s Art Contest until May 3rd! That’s an extra week and a half to get your artwork in! Didn’t start a piece and think you didn’t you had time, well, now you do! Especially if you’re one of those that do great under pressure ????

Good news is we still have limited amounts at ALL locations! Sizes do varying by location though- so if you have your heart set on a specific size feel free to use your own paper! Graphic designs can be submitted to artcontest@zacharys.com. For full details on submission rules and guidelines click HERE!

Limited-Edition Community Designed Shirts are Here!

Our first winning design from the Zachary’s T-Shirt Contest is now available online and at all locations! This is the first of four designs created and chosen by our community (that’s you!) as the winners of our first ever t-shirt contest. Rob Corder’s design was the Grand Prize winner overall- which is why it’s first up! Rob is no stranger to Zachary’s. He’s a long time fan and patron, who has also been a past winner in our bi-annual Art Contest (happening now until May 3rd)!

All four shirts will be limited-edition, single runs – meaning once they’re gone, they’re gone for good. So if you like one, or think a Zachary’s fan in your life might, be sure to snatch one up before they sell out.

These shirts don’t just look great, part of their sales is also being donated to two great organizations! To help celebrate our 40th Anniversary this year, we’re donating 50% of the profits from these limited-edition shirts to the Alameda County Community Food Bank and the Monument Crisis Center in Concord. Click the link below to purchase, or visit any Zachary’s location.

$25+ tax

Adult Unisex: S, M, L, XL, 2XL
Children Sizes: S, M, L
Shipping & handling not included in price.

CLICK TO PURCHASE

Thank You for Voting Us ‘Best Pizza’!

This is an appreciation post for you, our amazing, wonderful, supportive community! We want to give a huge, heartfelt THANK YOU for choosing us as ‘Best Pizza’ in the East Bay Times, ‘Best of the East Bay’ poll. Your patronage is not taken for granted and we are overflowing with gratitude and love. It’s been an honor to supply you with delicious, award-winning pizza these last 40 years and we aspire to continue doing so another 40 years!

Humbly yours,
Zachary’s Employee Owners.

The Zachary’s Art Contest Is Here!

The Zachary’s Art Contest 40th Anniversary Edition is HERE! After a 3 year hiatus, we’re bringing the contest back to help celebrate our 40th anniversary this year. Now through Wednesday, May 3rd submit your best, most creative, fun, and unique Zachary’s inspired artwork for the chance to be featured on the walls of our restaurants!

The Zachary’s Art Contest is open to all ages, and can be individual work or group collaborations- including school classrooms! Artwork should be inspired by Zachary’s and include our name and/or logo. We encourage you to incorporate our 40th anniversary into your creative vision, but it’s not mandatory. Artwork can be turned in at any Zachary’s location.

Submissions must be in one of the following sizes*:
36″x48″
32″x32″
26″x26″
24″x36″

Artwork submissions must also include a completed Art Contest Rules & Entry form. Forms are available at all locations, or you can download one HERE. Paper must be heavy enough for matting, but please do not mat artwork yourself. Zachary’s will mount and frame all winning entries.

Submissions must be received by May 3rd to be included in the contest. Graphic designs can be submitted to artcontest@zacharys.com. If chosen as a winner, the artist will be responsible for printing their artwork.

Winning artists receive a $100 Zachary’s Gift Certificate and two Zachary’s T-Shirts, plus bragging rights ???? For complete rules please refer to the Art Contest Rules & Entry form. To view examples of past winning artwork, you can visit our Pizza Art section under the About Us tab. Please contact artcontest@zacharys.com if you have any questions.  

View or Download Art Contest Rules & Entry Form

*Due to supply chain issues we’ve been unable to source art paper. Our apologies to anyone who’s been waiting. There is still a limited amount at all locations, but size availability varies by location. We’ve tried to spread what remaining paper we have out as best as possible. You can also submit artwork on your own paper, or email your graphic designs to artcontest@zacharys.com.

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