Zachary's Chicago Pizza

"Typically a Chicago specialty, deep-dish pizza hit the Bay Area in 1983 via midwestern transplants Zach Zachowski and Barbara Gabel who opened Zachary’s on Oakland’s College Avenue. Now employee-owned, the company has grown to five locations throughout the East Bay, and the pizza is as good as ever. Super chunky tomato sauce crowns traditional and seasonal toppings. Many kids opt for thin-crust, also worthy, and salads that satisfy the parental desire for nutritional balance on pizza night. Winners of the house-hosted, decades-long art contest adorn the walls of all restaurants and make for a fun visual scavenger-hunt distraction for little eyes while the pizza cooks." - Justine Jones, Laura Smith Borrman

"You don’t have to be a Chicago-style pizza expert to know that Zachary’s is great. This East Bay institution has been making Chicago-inspired pies (it’s actually stuffed, not deep dish) with a golden, buttery crust, and perfectly chunky tomato sauce since 1983. We get the Zachary’s Special with Italian sausage, green peppers, onion, and mozzarella, or the spinach and mushroom with a side of caesar. And if you’re averse to waiting, or are somehow immune to the charm of all the pizza-inspired artwork that fills nearly every inch of the walls, you can order your deep dish, thin-crust, or half-baked pizza to go." - Lani Conway

"The secret to Zachary’s success could be its unique, two-dough layer system or the zesty, chunk tomato sauce. If you’re just not into deep dish, you should try it anyway, but they also offer delicious thin-style pizza with a crispy, cornmeal crust. Bonus: the restaurant has been completely employee-owned since 2003. Currently only available for takeout and delivery." - Clara Hogan, Eater Staff

"Zachary's Pizza is a local, employee-owned chain that will replace Camino in its space. Known for its thin crust and deep dish pizzas, Zachary's plans to make some design modifications to honor both Camino and their own style, including pizza-themed art on the walls. They have applied for a liquor license, which would allow them to serve liquor, a first for the restaurant. Zachary’s operates under a traditional tipping model but has been 100 percent employee-owned through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan since 2010." - Ellen Fort