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!

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

A whimsical painting of a blue anthropomorphic cat wearing a pink apron, holding a pizza, and standing near an oven. A purple cat and a green cat watch. A retro clock and the word Purrrfecto!!! are on the wall.

Marko Yamagata

2015

Rianne Myers

2015

Illustrated poster titled Zacharys Deep Dish Pizza features a muscular man holding two steaming pizzas with World Famous and Champion on his belt. The background is red and orange with cartoon style typography.

Weightlifter

2005

Chuck Waite

A mermaid with flowing blond hair reaches up toward a floating slice of pizza, with the words Hooked on Zacharys? above. She has a shimmering blue tail and is set against a dark, underwater background.

Katia Novak

2011

I grew up at Zachary’s Pizza. It was the first solid food I ever had as a baby, and it is an unspoken tradition in my family to go at least once a month. Since Zachary’s always had a special place in my heart, I thought I’d endear myself in return by contributing some of what I’m best at—art. I drew inspiration for my poster from my love of the sea and my childhood obsession with mermaids and magical things. I still respect my painting for what it taught me in terms of shadow and scale, but since its creation I’ve evolved. I’d like to showcase my new skills in another painting for Zach’s sometime in the near future.

See more of Katia’s talents here: https://katianovak.tumblr.com/

Silhouette of a howling wolf in front of a red crescent moon with the word Zacharys in red across the wolf. Perko is signed in the bottom right corner. Background is white surrounded by black.

Eric Perko

2015

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.

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

Illustrated poster of Zacharys Pizza with two pizzas on motorcycles racing along a desert highway. The pizzas have sunglasses and wheels made of pepperoni slices. There are cacti and hills in the background.

Lynn Smull

2005

The Capone of Pizza

2007

David Loya

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

Vintage-style poster for Zacharys Pizza, featuring a woman in a dynamic pose holding a pizza slice and a pie. She wears a green-striped dress and hat, with the text Le meilleure Pizza en ville below.

Robin Gilas

2005

Cartoon cat wearing sunglasses, sitting with a pizza slice as a bow tie. Speech bubble above says: Pizza on my mind, pizza on my face, Zacharys... always my favorite place! Background is a colorful abstract pattern.

Stephanie Kwan

2007

Slice

2012

Guillaume Ollivier

A blue background with the name Zacharys in large white letters at the top. A cartoon character on a ladder reaches for a pizza slice among many red and orange pizza slices and circles hanging down.

Nikola Bachman

2012

Hi my name is Nikola. I just graduated from high school this past June. While attending high school, I was also taking art classes at Berkeley City College. I’m currently enrolled in my fourth art class at BCC. I’m drawn to Japanese animation and graphic novels. Someday I’d love to visit Japan. Drawing older architectural buildings using a realistic cartoon flare, is one of my styles as small details are important to me. I’m a cat lover at heart therefore the kitty in the painting that I drew for Zachary’s was inspired by my own cat Jackson, even though they look nothing alike. It was the first time that I’ve entered one of my art pieces into a contest. I was happily surprised to have won! This was the third time however, that I’ve had my art up for public display. Another important project of mine is writing a graphic novel. The title, story line and illustrations are all my own and I hope to be published someday. I like going out to eat with my family. Our favorite spot for pizza is Zachary’s. We always order the Chicago deep dish, with mushrooms and spinach. Yummy!

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

A painting of a black and white dog sitting on a pink armchair, holding a slice of pizza in its mouth. The background is green with the text: Harrys a lucky dog he gets Zacharys!.

Lisa Hayle

2005

“I heard about Zachary’s Pizza through friends who also mentioned the awesome annual poster contest, which they had won in the past with an entry featuring their two adorable poodles. Soon after, I tasted the deep-dish yumminess for the first time…. I first saw Harry in 2002, while working briefly at the East Bay SPCA in Oakland. It was love at first sight.” – Lisa Hayle

Colorful mural featuring a stylized figure in traditional attire pointing toward a vibrant circular design with a sun face. The text Zacharys is above and In Any Age is below the circle. Brown background enhances the designs vivid colors.

Mayan Calendar

1990’s

Artist Unknown

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 drawing of a leprechaun holding a pepperoni pizza under a vibrant rainbow. The text reads, Lucky to have Zacharys delicious pizza! Grass and a blue sky complete the background. The artwork is signed Katie Jones.

Katie Jones, age 8