Zachary’s celebrated the holidays at Lake Chalet in Oakland! We ate, we laughed, we took too many photo booth pics and we danced the night away! It’s always a blast to see everyone gussied up for a special event. We are truly lucky to work with so many AMAZING employee owners!

Happy National Employee Ownership Month!

Zachary’s is an ESOP. What is an ESOP, you ask? ESOP stands for Employee Stock Ownership Plan. All of Zachary’s stock is owned by the employees. ESOPs are federally governed, defined contribution plans. More info here: National Center for Employee Ownership.

When Zachary’s founders, Zach Zachowski and Barbara Gabel, decided it was time to retire, instead of selling to a third party buyer or (gasp!) dissolving our beloved restaurants, they sold the company to the employees. Little by little, the Zachary’s crew bought more and more of the company until we became officially 100% employee owned in 2010.

To kick off employee ownership month, we hosted our Annual ESOP Meetings. This is a chance for our whole crew to get together to learn about our business and learn about the ESOP. In the photo on the left, employee owners eagerly await the start of the meeting… and the unveiling of Zachary’s 2016 share value!

One of the many things that makes Zachary’s a special place to work is that we are an ESOP. This means that all of the employees at Zachary’s own all of the stock in the company. See more information about Zachary’s here and ESOPs in general here.

This year, the ESOP Committee has a theme – Fit and Clean 2017! Our first event was a yoga class at Zachary’s (check it out!). Our second event was a hike at Redwood Regional!

Regional Manager and ESOP Committee member Kate Erickson bravely and excitedly choose the path (East Ridge Trail!) and led a group employee owners. Fun! We will have many more Fit and Clean adventures to share in 2017, so stay tuned!

Big news! The first ever Zachary’s yoga class took place on Thursday, January 5th and it was AMAZING!

Zachary’s is an employee owned company (read more here: https://zacharys.com/about-us/our-people/) via our ESOP. We have a committee of dedicated employee owners who work to educate the crew about the ESOP itself and the benefits and responsibilities of being an employee owner. This year, the ESOP Committee decided to focus their efforts on a theme: Fit and Clean 2017. To kick off the year, Zachary’s hosted a yoga class, right here at our College Avenue location in Oakland, CA.

The fantastic and fun, Molly Pearson, agreed to lead the way. Amidst the cacophony that is an early morning at Zachary’s (think drilling, hammering, an industrial grater slicing major amounts of mozzarella, trucks delivering loads of produce, flour, pizza boxes and more, the whirring of the Hobart, the playful banter of the morning crew… you get the picture), a brave bunch of employee owners donned their yoga gear and stretched and twisted and Warriored together.

Though peaceful it was not, the morning was certainly full of beauty and joy. Yoga, pizza and some pretty fabulous employee owners made for a special start to another day at Zachary’s.

October is National Employee Owner month! Woo-hoo! We kicked off the month by sending two of our fantastic employee owners, Katie Leary and Tabitha King to the ESOP Association Conference in Tahoe.

Tabitha and Katie came back from the conference filled with ideas and employee-owner enthusiasm. Here are some of their highlights from the conference:

• Being around people who were super enthusiastic about engaging their employees and fostering the ownership mindset
• Learning more about how an ESOP can benefit the company and individual employees
• Getting lots of ideas for fun ESOP events and ways to engage employees in what it means to be an employee owner
• Seeing other companies’ displays of how they celebrate their employees
• Nerding out with fellow SF bay area ESOP members like Recology
• Playing beginner’s poker and not knowing how to bluff
• Getting a glowing review of Zachary’s pizza from Jackson Hardware CEO and ESOP Conference president Matthew Olson

As you can see, Tabitha and Katie stayed busy, learned a lot and had some fun. We are so excited that they were able to attend the conference and come back with so much to share!

TUES 9/13 WE CELEBRATE 10 YEARS IN SAN RAMON! Please join us!

$1 PINTS (ONE DOLLAR = BEER!)
$20.06 AWARD-WINNING LARGE STUFFED SPINACH & MUSHROOM PIZZA
$10.00 LARGE THIN CHEESE PIZZA
FREE LIMITED EDITION TSHIRT WITH PURCHASE OVER $50 OR MORE
LIVE MUSIC AT NIGHT The Lost Weekend
FUN FOR FAMILIES AND KIDS!

Dine-in or take-out ($1 beer not available for take-out)
Come for lunch or dinner – MAKE YOUR RESERVATION NOW – SPACE IS LIMITED 925.244.1222

3110 Crow Canyon Place, San Ramon

We’re super pumped about being featured in this video from Visit California (California Travel & Tourism Commission) and California Dream Eater! CHECK IT OUT – click on image or HERE!

Guess what? It’s National Employee Ownership Month AND National Pizza Month! Since these are OBVIOUSLY two of our very favorite things, we thought we should share the love with you, our awesome customers.

We are hosting a photo contest for the rest of the month! The winner gets free Zachary’s (duh) pizza, a T-shirt and our endless adoration! You can enter on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. It’s easy to participate; post your favorite/funniest/cheesiest (hehe) picture and use the hashtag #zacharysphotocontest2015.

At the end of the month, we will choose one winner each from Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, celebrate you on social media and send you some pizza love! You can enter as many times as you’d like on any and all sites!

Rules:

1. You must use #zacharysphotocontest2015 when posting your pic. We won’t be able to see your picture if you don’t include the hashtag! If you want to keep your profile private, direct message us your submission.
2. You must include pizza in the picture (people, our storefronts, restaurant interiors, animals, etc. are optional)!
3. You must post by midnight on 10/31/15!

Message us if you have any questions. We will notify winners by 11/7/15. We can’t wait to see your pictures!

The results of the Zachary’s Employee Owner Pizza Contest are in! And lucky for you, we will be featuring several winning pizzas on our menu so you can try all of the delicious results!

First up… Aria’s Enchi-Holla Enchilada Pizza! Aria won in both the “Best Pizza” and the “Most Creative Pizza” categories (HOLLA!). Aria has worked with Zachary’s for 15 years and has been a part of the management team for most of that time. She got her inspiration for this tasty pizza from her love for enchiladas (specifically she really loves green enchilada sauce) and pizza. Why not put the two together? You will certainly be glad that she did when you try the Enchi-Holla pizza.

The pizza has our free range chicken breast marinated in a green enchilada sauce, corn, black olives, cilantro, and jack and cheddar cheese. When the thin version comes out of the oven, we put some crunchy corn tortilla chips right on top. The stuffed pizza has a layer of corn tortillas inside. Both pizzas are topped off with a cool swirl of sour cream. Yum! Try the Enchi-Holla pizza on your next visit to Zachary’s!

This October, Zachary’s is supporting Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Cancer has touched the lives of many of our crew members, one of whom is Quia White. Quia has been a dedicated Zachary’s employee-owner for over 10 years. She is a true inspiration.

Hello my name is Quia White, I fought Breast Cancer, and won. Here’s my story:

At age 24 I discovered a lump on my breast. I was scared beyond belief and immediately called the 24hr nurse hotline. The nurse calmly told me to relax, to check my breast two weeks later, and if the lump was still there to contact my doctor. I desperately wanted the lump to disappear, and for some reason it never occurred to me that this could be breast cancer. So I contacted my doctor and we were all in agreement, there was a lump, and something should be done. My first ultra sound shockingly came back negative for any abnormal growth, and I remember being happy in an uncomfortable way.

I thought to myself, the lump is there, this doesn’t make sense. I wasn’t quite sure what action to take next. My family was happy and content with the negative results, I however still had the burden of this lump on my body, and was not content with the results. So I waited as long as I could. Eight months later I went back to my doctor,  went through the same exact process as before, except this time I received a diagnosis of Ductal Carcinoma In Situ—noninvasive breast cancer. I went from scared beyond belief into complete melt down mode, I was in utter disbelief. After the smoke cleared and the dust settled, I came to terms with my reality: 1) mastectomy, and 2) four months of chemotherapy! Life has been forever altered by my scrimmage with breast cancer. The one thing I learned is you have to fight for yourself, because no one else can or will.  I am happy to be 5 years cancer free, and look forward to another 5 years!

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month which reminds me that having breast cancer does not have to be a solo endeavor. With the support of family, friends, doctors, and various other groups the plight of having breast cancer can be alleviated drastically.  Many organizations are dedicated to research and finding the underlying root cause of breast cancer, which is no small task. There are some major strides being made in breast cancer research that should be acknowledged and applauded. However, let us not forget the many women who have lost their fight against this disease, and who did not reap the rewards of modern day advances. As a society we can continue this scientific progressiveness, which could one day cure all cancers!

Please help Zachary’s support breast cancer research and awareness. During October, we are selling pink Zachary’s t-shirts and baseball caps. These item are available at all four locations and on our website: https://zacharys.com/gifts-swag/

All profits from the sales will go to the American Cancer Society.