Zalat Pizza – a game of Pizza Zealots – is a Dallas-based regional pizza chain with a penchant for quirky toppings like pickles and hoisin sauce (albeit not on the same cake) and maintains pizza quality even when they are Scales relatively quickly for a small brand.
Zalat has more than doubled to 13 locations in the last 18 months, with six or seven more planned by mid-August by the end of 2021, mostly in the Houston area. And the brand does all of this with no plans to sell or sell the company as a franchise.
“We can never forget that the first bite of your meal always counts,” said Zalat founder Khanh Nguyen. “If the quality of the food isn’t right, you just won’t be fine. … Our expansion limiter is not a schedule controlled by a private equity firm; it is just our own internal schedule tied to the limits of our ability to reproduce our food quality. We will run as fast as possible, but as soon as we think this is ever in danger, we will step on the brakes. “
The first Zalat Pizza opened in 2015 and quickly gained attention as a late night pizza place for young customers in college or in their twenties. When Zalat first opened, it started its own delivery – “As you should,” said Nguyen. But he quickly realized that he wanted to be in the unique pizza making business, not the delivery service. From then on, he relied entirely on third-party delivery services, leaving his “zealots” (employees) the freedom to focus on making quality pizza.
“If you’re trying to give your customers a good experience and it’s a delivery product, what happens when the 11th order comes in, even if you have 10 drivers for the night?” Said Nguyen. “It puts so much pressure and stress on the entire restaurant … so I’ve come to the conclusion that if we are concerned about the delivery, which should be our focus, we don’t worry about our pizza.”
This minimalist operating structure helped the concept flourish rather than suffer during the pandemic. Nguyen said he and his team “didn’t have to change much” when COVID-19 occurred because they were doing the same thing they had already done: field work.
“Our floor space is only 1,500 square meters,” he said. “We were built for the pandemic. The only thing that has changed for us last year is that we have accelerated expansion. “
Part of the company’s expansion strategy has been to capitalize on the popularity and flexibility of ghost kitchens as several of Zalat’s newest restaurants offer delivery-only services, which helps reduce operating costs.
Nguyen is also aware that pizza was one of the hottest categories during the pandemic, especially for the larger national chains. For Zalat to thrive, he knew the quality of the food had to be premium and unique enough to stand out from the hundreds of other pizzas in the greater Dallas area.
“When you look at the chains and multi-units, there are sacrifices that each makes for the sake of consistency,” said Nguyen. “The caveat you always have is, ‘It’s great food … for a chain.’ And in our model we are designed to be the exception to this rule. “
Nguyen is confident enough of the quality of the food to flex his creative muscles, offering patties like Nashville Hot Chicken Pie (you’ll find cucumber topping there) and Elote Pizza (topped with corn and inspired by Mexican street food). . Even the regular pepperoni cake is made with beef instead of pork.
“We tell our zealots to treat our pizzas like this is a five-star restaurant,” he added.
Nguyen said it is important that employees are proficient in making quality pizzas and not just stuffing the same cookie cutter into an oven. In return, Zalat offers competitive pay, a supportive culture, a 401k plan, stock options, and full health benefits. After a year with the company, employees are offered a free tattoo with a “Z” -style Superman logo – a bonus that many employees have accepted.
For the next year and a half, Zagat will grow primarily in the Texas area, with plans to expand into San Antonio and Austin. From there, it will be relocated to adjacent markets such as Oklahoma and Louisiana. Over the next three years, Nguyen plans to expand more nationally “just to prove that we are not regionally bound,” he said, although the heart of the brand will always be Texan. One day, Nguyen said, he hopes the company will go public.
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