Zachary's Chicago Pizza is one of the East Bay's best-known pizza places, famous for its Chicago-style stuffed pies. It's also owned by its workers, and this month the company is celebrating Employee Ownership Month by featuring employee-owners who hit milestones in September.
From Rockridge to six locations
According to Wikipedia, Zach Zachowski and Barbara Gabel founded Zachary's on July 25, 1983, in Oakland's Rockridge neighborhood. A Berkeley location on Solano Avenue followed in 1984.
- 2006: San Ramon, its first in Contra Costa County. Wikipedia says it moved to Pleasanton in 2021 after lease talks fell through.
- 2013: Pleasant Hill
- 2019: Oakland's Grand Avenue
- Feb. 2, 2026: Livermore, its sixth location
How employees took over
Zachary's says its employee-ownership journey began in 2003. That's when the founders retired and began moving ownership to employees through an employee stock ownership plan, according to Wikipedia. The company became 100% employee-owned in 2011.
Fun extras
- Zachary's started an art contest in the mid-1980s and holds it about every two years. It now has more than 300 pieces of pizza art.
- Pizza Mind Trivia is now a monthly event at the Livermore location, every second Tuesday.
- The company says it has won more than 225 "Best Pizza" awards.