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 sold the company to the employees via an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). In 2010, Zachary’s became 100% employee owned.

Our employee owners are the mojo behind the madness. They make each of our restaurants unique, fun, and delicious. In honor of Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day (March 8th!) we are turning our employee owner spotlight on TSERING SANGMO, the first woman to work in a Zachary’s kitchen!

Snapshot

Photo Cred: Regional Manager Kate Erickson

Name: Tsering Sangmo

Hire Date: 11/29/93

Fave Pizza: Spinach and Mushroom with chicken

Current Location: El Cerrito

Favorite Hiking Spot: Wildcat Canyon – It’s in her backyard!

Zachary’s Claim to Fame: Tsering is the first woman to work in a Zachary’s kitchen and was the ONLY woman to work in a Zachary’s kitchen for 6 and half years!

Interview**

**Tsering was interviewed on March, 5th 2018 by Zachary’s Project Manager, Christina Souza.

Christina: How did you discover Zachary’s?

Tsering: One of my friends was helping me.  I came here as a part of a resettlement project (Tibetan Resettlement Project of 1993). There was a guy who was helping us to find a job… He gave me the phone number of Zachary’s and I called. And I got the interview.

Christina: Who did you interview with?

Osvi and Tsering in the mid 1990’s

Tsering: The General Manager. He interviewed me at Solano. He asked me a couple of questions. He said, “Have you ever worked in a restaurant?” and I said “No” and then he said, “Have you ever done dishes?” and I said “No” [Laughs]. And he said, “Do you think you can work in a kitchen with all those guys?” and I said “Yeah, I can work. I can try. I’ll do my best.” He said, “Okay, you can come work tomorrow.”

Christina: Tomorrow???

Tsering: Yeah. So, that’s how I started at Zachary’s. [Laughter]

Christina: What was the resettlement project?

Tsering: The USA brought 1,000 Tibetan people over. They did it as a lottery, so I was one of the 1,000.

Christina: Did that happen every year?

Tsering: No, that happened one time.

Christina: Were there a lot of more than 1,000 people who wanted to be in the lottery?

Tsering: Yeah, a lot of people applied, but they used a lottery. Thinley and Lodoy (two other current Zachary’s employee owners) were both in the lottery too.

Christina: Did a lot of people come to the Bay Area from Tibet or did they go all over the United States?

Tsering: All over the United States

Christina: So, we just got lucky that you landed here?

Tsering: [Laughs] Yeah.

Christina: When your interviewer asked if you thought you could work in the kitchen with “all those guys” how did that feel?

Photo Cred: Regional Manager Kate Erickson

Tsering: I felt nervous. I’m the only woman with all guys! And my English was not that good. I understood (what people were saying), but speaking was a problem because we don’t speak English in India. We went to school, but it was not that good, so my English is not that good. And I was nervous! But I heard that there were two other Tibetans working, Thinley and Lodoy, so I said, okay, I’ll try. If I cannot do it, I’ll just quit. And it worked out. I’m still here.

Christina: What was it like on your first day?

Tsering: I was confident. It was okay. I thought I was going to be so nervous, but it was okay. It was not that bad. It was like housework, like dishes.

Christina: What did you think about Zachary’s when you first started?

Tsering: I liked it. The first thing I did, I came in and I was like, “This is my right place.” I felt so comfortable. I don’t know. Sometimes it just happens, right? Where you feel very easy going and comfortable? Some places you don’t like, but at Zachary’s, I felt like this was the right place to work. People were so nice. Everybody was nice to me.

Christina: How has your experience changed since you started?

Tsering: I don’t think there is a lot that is different. For me, it’s really the same. I mean, I was doing dishes for six or seven years. At that time, we didn’t hire that much so we stayed on the dishes for a long time. And I wanted to stay on the dishes because it was easier than the kitchen. I am so nervous when I do new stuff! I get nervous, so I just didn’t want to go in the kitchen. I wanted to stay on the dishes. And then they hired new people and they took me to the kitchen and I was a little nervous, but it went well. [Laughs] I was like, “Why did I get nervous? This is easy.”

Christina: How long did it take you to feel comfortable in the kitchen?

Tsering: Five or six months. You have to learn every single thing. We don’t use all of those ingredients in India. I had to learn everything from studying.

Christina: What are the ingredients here that you wouldn’t have seen in India?

Tsering: Um, most of the meats. For me, I don’t eat pork, so I didn’t know any of the pork meats – salami, pepperoni and stuff.

Christina: When you were working in 1993, did you think about being the only woman in the kitchen? Did it feel different to you?

Tsering: I didn’t even think about it. I just thought, I can do it like the guys.

Christina: Did you get any grief from people? Did people treat you differently?

Tsering: No. Because I worked hard. [Laughs]

Photo Cred: Kate Erickson

Christina: So, you don’t think Zachary’s has changed in the last 25 years?

Tsering: No, it’s not much different. Some of the menu items have changed. The people have changed, especially the dining room. The kitchen is most of the same people. Maybe that’s why I don’t feel change. I worked with the same people for 25 years.

Christina: What’s that like?

Tsering: It feels like family now. I see my coworkers more than my family. Because they go to work and school, I see them for two or three hours, but here I see people for seven or eight hours, five days a week. They feel more like family than coworkers. [Laughs]

Christina: What do you like the most about your job?

Photo Cred: Kate Erickson

Tsering: I like to train people. If they listen, I train them. If they are showing me some attitude, I say, “Okay, if you don’t like it, then I’m not gonna bother you.” If they listen, I give them 100%. I show them how to make the pizza, the right way, and how to put the right amount of ingredients on the pizza. All the stuff. I give 100% to Zachary’s. I do my best. Before, it was Zach and Barbara. Now it’s our company. For me, it’s the same. Before it was Zach and Barbara; I had to work and they paid me. Now it’s for me. It’s like the same. So, I give 100% to Zachary’s… as much as I can.

The walls of our restaurants are filled with one-of-a-kind Zachary’s Pizza Art. We held our first art contest in the late 1980′s and the tradition has continued every couple of years since. We love our art and the artists. We are excited to be able to use our blog as a medium for our community to get to know our artists better.

Meet Sophia Maria Brown!

My name is Sophia Brown. Zachary’s is by far my favorite restaurant. I remember the first time I walked into Zachary’s at the Solano location and loved the art on the walls. It brought such happiness to my six year old face.

For my first painting, which was called Cat Zachary’s, we took a poster home and picked up some paints at Blick’s art store. I started thinking about ideas, and thought about my favorite animal, cats. I started sketching in pencil and all of the ideas came together, with the banner, Zachary’s two miles away, and a cardboard cat on a leash being walked by a cat that had a Zachary’s dress on. And then, while painting, my cat walked all over it, and he shed a lot, so some of his hair ended up in the final painting.

Two years later, I entered again with two paintings because I had remembered that someone else had entered and won twice. We went again to Blick’s art store and bought lots of paints. The first one that year was titled Deep Dish.  I had a small meme going through my head that I could make a pun with the deep dish pizza. This became, “We deliver the deep dish deep!” I started sketching and drew a beautiful sign that said, “Not all cats hate water”, and a cat in SCUBA gear that came out a lot better than I had imagined it. There is also a turtle delivering pizza, having come out of a yellow submarine.

For my third poster, Pizza-Crazy Cats, which was the same year as SCUBA cat, I started off with a sketch of  cat standing on a table eating pizza. It’s supposed to represent my orange and white cat, Lazer. My other cat, Milo, is sitting down very properly. There are a series of signs over them that say: “Cats rule, dogs drool!”; “Cats live longer if they eat pizza”; “One cannot live well if one has not loved cats and eaten pizza”; “The first cat in space ate pizza”; “Cheese is Life!”

I’ve lived in the Bay Area since 2012, and was born in 2006. I used to live in Amsterdam, The Netherlands for several years, but I was born in New Hampshire in 2006. I love animals. I have eight pets including cats, fish, a snail, a bearded dragon, and mice. I’m planning to get more if my parents allow it. I’ve played the piano since I was six, and am in an advanced piano program. I’m into theater as well, and am currently performing in The Sound of Music.

Thank you so much, Zachary’s! You’ve been a big part of my life and I will always love your pizza and visit you, especially on my birthday.

Zachary’s ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) Committee is always looking for ways that it can foster community and bring employee owners together.

Inspired by all of the amazing talents of the Zachary’s crew, the committee decided to sponsor a series of classes and workshops dubbed Teachin’ Tuesdays. Topics range from wine and beer tastings to pizza making (for our front-of-house crew) to financial literacy and planning for retirement. The ESOP Committee is also planning some fun field trips to our various vendors so that our employee owners can learn a little bit more about what it takes to make Zachary’s tick!

This week, employee owners Alicia Theodos and Darren McCann led a pizza making workshop for our San Ramon crew. Everyone had a blast! Several folks who normally work in the front of the house were surprised at how labor intensive each pie can be. It takes a lot of work to make pizza perfection; this was an awesome opportunity to show off the impressive skills of our kitchen crew!

Naji Accepting the Award from TONA

Since 2002, the Thousand Oaks Neighborhood Association (TONA) has been awarding the “Golden Acorn” to local businesses that make the Thousand Oaks Neighborhood an interesting and wonderful place to live (and shop). This year, TONA bestowed the Golden Acorn on Zachary’s!

Our Solano Avenue location has been open since 1984. We regularly hold fundraisers for various community organizations such as Rosa Parks Elementary School, Albany High School Biology Club, Children’s Community Center, Berkeley High School Band and Orchestra, the Rotary Interact Club at El Cerrito High School, and many more! In the last year, we also co-sponsored a parklet with support and enthusiasm from Pegasus Books, The City of Berkeley, The UC Chancellor’s Community Partnership Fund, and Flowerland. We are very proud to be a part of the Solano Avenue/Thousand Oaks Community. We look forward to many more years here!

Frankie, Pancho, and Naji with Golden Acorn

Solano Avenue Parklet

The walls of our restaurants are filled with one-of-a-kind Zachary’s Pizza Art. We held our first art contest in the late 1980′s and the tradition has continued every couple of years since. We love our art and the artists. We are excited to be able to use our blog as a medium for our community to get to know our artists better. Meet Ryan Pera!

My name is Ryan Pera and I was born and raised here in the Bay Area. I can say that I have been making art since a very young age, because that’s all that I remember doing growing up. I can honestly say that my first real toy was a pencil and the fat stack of white paper that my dad would bring home from work. Since my dad was an artist, I was always watching him either paint or draw. With time and practice, I got better. I was never a left-brained type of guy. No matter what it was that I did in life, I knew it had to be in the arts.

Today, I am finishing up my last year at California College of the Arts/CCA to get my bachelor’s degree in Illustration. To be able to create art through imagery, on a flat surface, and have someone asking questions and commenting on it, is what I live for. I love making art that can translate to the viewer even if it is as simple as this piece.

Ryan’s Piece, “Phases of Pizza”

It’s cool to know that I was able to enter a contest against someone I knew personally. Being much younger than I am, my nephew, Jalen, who is eight years old, was excited throughout the whole process of this contest. He focused more on sketching on pieces of napkin and paper at the restaurant rather than finishing his pizza.

For illustrations, making small thumbnail sketches is a quick and effective way to test out ideas for images, as well as ideas for the composition of the final piece, all of which my nephew was doing without me prompting him. He stayed up until 2 AM to work on the poster. He woke up early and continued to work until he got it done. I originally wanted him to enter the competition, because he was so excited. I didn’t care to enter with the little bit of time I had. With less than eight hours until the deadline, I decided to give it a shot, paint something and submit.

Jalen’s (Ryan’s nephew) Piece – “Golden Warriors”

To know that he (Jalen) was proud to enter his first art contest and get a feel for it was one thing, but to know how he felt when finding out he was a winner was another. It was most rewarding to know that I have a piece hanging next to my nephew’s piece in the same exact restaurant location in Pleasant Hill along with other great artists of all ages. Thank you Zachary’s!

CARNE PIZZA ALL DAY. BACON IS LIFE!

https://www.instagram.com/peranoid/

We are bringing back a crew and customer favorite in Oakland and Berkeley! Our Roasted Pepper pizza is a dream pie for veggie lovers! It’s filled with red, green, and yellow bell peppers, Anaheim chiles, Pasilla peppers, and onion. We finish it off with lots of Monterey Jack and cheddar cheese. It’s available stuffed or thin crust for a limited time only.

Ask one of our veteran employee owners about the best way to order the Roasted Pepper pizza and they will certainly suggest that you add pepperoni to the top. Putting pepperoni on top gives this pie a crunchy pop that perfectly compliments the smokiness of the roasted peppers. Yes please!

Our San Ramon and Pleasant Hill locations are keeping the Butternut Squash pizza around for a few more weeks. This popular pie has roasted butternut squash, goat cheese, spinach, red onion, fresh parsley and mozzarella. It’s also available stuffed or thin crust. This pizza is the brainchild of employee owner Justin Lassen. He credits the pizza creation to “the healthy appetites of the San Ramon employee owners” who helped sample lots of trial runs (poor little dears!).

Sign Placement: 2012!

We are over-the-moon to be celebrating our fifth anniversary in Pleasant Hill on Wednesday, February 7th 2018! We can’t believe it was five short years ago that we opened our doors to the fantastically welcoming Pleasant Hill community.

In the last five years, we’ve developed a tight-knit crew of employee owners, participated in loads of community events like Art, Jazz, and Wine and Blues and Brews, hosted a holiday food drive, organized employee-owner volunteer days at the Contra Costa County food bank, hosted more than 30 community fundraisers, and sponsored two different art contests (2017 saw 27 art contest winners from Pleasant Hill!!!). Basically, the Pleasant Hill community has totally embraced us and we are hugging back hard!!

We love it here and we are super excited to be turning 5!

We are trying out a brand new pizza at all four of our locations! Our Butternut Squash pizza is a completely and totally delish combination of roasted butternut squash, goat cheese, spinach, red onion, fresh parsley, and mozzarella cheese. It’s available stuffed or thin crust for a limited time only.

This pizza is the brainchild of employee owner Justin Lassen. He credits the pizza to “the healthy appetites of the San Ramon employee owners” who helped sample lots of trial runs (poor babies!). We are super excited about this new pie (goat cheese in the stuffed pizza is out-of-control!).

The walls of our restaurants are filled with one-of-a-kind Zachary’s Pizza Art. We held our first art contest in the late 1980′s and the tradition has continued every couple of years since. We love our art and the artists. We are excited to be able to use our blog as a medium for our community to get to know our artists better. Meet Stew Ellington!

For the first 30 years of my life, art was hugely important to me. At one time I had wanted to be an artist for a living. I made art in all sorts of media and in 2001 earned a master of fine arts degree in painting. After earning my degree, however, I completely lost interest in painting and avoided it for about 15 years. In fact, the poster I made for the Zachary’s contest is the first painting I’ve done since grad school! In the meantime, I’ve filled in the creative gaps of my life with photography and writing; I’ve designed and published two cocktail recipe books, among other creative projects.

I had wanted to enter the Zachary’s poster contest for years but could never think of an image I wanted to use. Plus, I was loath to pick up a paintbrush again for fear I would have lost my skills! Finally, it occurred to me I should just paint something I’m passionate about and make it work for the contest, and I happen to love vintage Italian Vespa scooters. The idea to create the front wheel out of a Zachary’s deep-dish pizza popped into my head and, eureka! I was on my way. I crossed my fingers and hoped I could still pull off a reasonably convincing painting after a 15-year hiatus.

I love how the Italian-ness of the scooter reflects the Italian(ish)-ness of pizza. I had a great time creating my poster in the style of vintage Vespa ads from Italy, with lots of bright, primary colors and cartoonish renderings. The official slogan of Vespa, “Not just a scooter… a lifestyle,” lent itself well to referencing Zachary’s pizza and providing a title for my piece. I’m really glad I was able to break my painting dry-spell with one that was so purely fun to do. Thanks, Zachary’s, for the opportunity and for years of awesome pizza! I’m so glad to finally be a part of this community event.