 It was 1983 when Zach and Barbara, a couple from the Mid-West, drove to California looking for the perfect location to pursue their dream of owning their own restaurant. Call it business genius, divine intervention, or just plain luck; they wound up in Rockridge.
At the time, the Rockridge district of Oakland was just entering a sort of "pre-revitalization" period. College Avenue which is now considered the hottest shopping, dining, and "place to be" in Oakland, consisted mostly of older knick-knack shops, very few restaurants, and several vacant lots. Over the years, College Avenue and the entire Rockridge area have experienced steady growth and great prosperity and Zachary's has been fortunate enough to prosper with it.
It's hard to believe that almost 25 years have passed since the humble opening of the original 990 sqft restaurant on College Avenue. Since then, we have expanded our College location twice. We opened Solano Ave in 1984, and we opened our San Ramon location in Sept of 2006. We are so thankful to all of our loyal customers, to the very special communities we serve, and for our families and friends who have supported us through the years.
In 2003, the founders of Zachary's decided it was time for them to pursue other interests and to leave the restaurant business. They considered many options as to how to best "exit" the business. What they ultimately decided was that they would "give" the business to the employees by way of an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). ESOPs are a complicated but innovative way of transferring ownership of a business, of motivating employees to think and work like owners, and of giving long term employees the opportunity for financial security. As of year-end 2007, employees own 43.1% of Zachary's stock, and that number climbs up each year.
We are so excited and humbled to be approaching our 25th anniversary. This is a milestone that we cherish and that we take great pride in achieving. Few restaurants in the highly competitive Bay Area get this honor.
As Employee Owners we look to the future with a great sense of obligation to maintain the standard of excellence Zachary's has become known for and we are really excited about all the opportunity and potential the future holds.
THANK-YOU BAY AREA FOR 25 TERRIFIC YEARS!!!
WE LOOK FORWARD TO MANY, MANY, MANY MORE!!!
JP La Russa
Executive Vice President
Chief Operating Officer
Zachary's Chicago Pizza, Inc.
An Employee Owned Company |
