Fast Casual Executive Summit
From classroom to crust: Former teachers build Much Ado About Pizza in California
Two former teachers take a Shakespearean approach to their carryout pizza shop in Pleasanton, California.
September 6, 2024 by Mandy Wolf Detwiler — Editor, Networld Media Group
What do you get when a theater and English teacher opens a pizzeria? You get Much Ado About Pizza in Pleasanton, California. The brainchild of two teachers who, simply put, had had enough of teaching throughout the pandemic, wanted to go into business for themselves.
The vision came about in 2020, and Kira and Mark Zabrowski opened the doors to their carryout pizzeria two years later. They had been working together in a private school in Dublin, California, which "took the shelter in place very seriously," Kira said in a phone interview with Pizza Marketplace. "We had to shut our school down and work online, and I'm just really miserable teaching theater and English online."
In between classes, she snuck down to her kitchen and made bread, specifically sourdough, which she loved. She'd always been the baker in the family, while husband Mark was the chef. A month in, Kira wanted to launch a bakery, but Mark thought that was a bad idea.
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Kira and Mark Zabrowski own Much Abo About Pizza in California. Former teachers, the husband-and-wife team use a sourdough crust and premium toppings to make their pizzas. Photo: Much Ado About Pizza |
"I started fiddling around with pizza," Kira said. "I love pizza. I eat a lot of pizza." But, as luck would have it, pizza did not agree with Kira. The dough had a lot of sugar in it, the cheese was greasy and as a vegetarian, she couldn't do pepperoni anymore.
She learned about fermentation and created a dough recipe for sourdough. She dove into the world of pizza, reading books about pizza and business, attending trade shows and competing with others for best pizza.
Mark eventually agreed to a pizzeria and learned how to write a business plan. They were still teaching at this point, and they worked pop-ups at wineries for a while testing out their recipes.
Although the pizza industry is competitive, Mark said he was surprised at how many people were willing to open their doors or take a phone call to help the Zabrowskis get on their feet.
Originally wanting to call the pizzeria "Pizza Love," the name was taken. Kira said she woke up one morning with "Much Ado About Pizza" stuck in her head. "Shakespearean pizza is the most hilarious thing I can see in my head right now," Kira said, "and how awesome that I'm creating a space where I can still do my theater, and I can still do Shakespeare, and I can still love my pizza."
In the pizzeria
The pizzas all have Shakespearean names, and the logo is a cartoon rendition of the Bard himself enjoying a slice of pizza. There's the Ham-let, the Fowl-staff, the Henry the 8 and more — if you're a fan of Mr. Shakespeare, you'll get it.
The Zabrowkis credit many pizzeria owners and operators for their introduction to the pizza world, including Barnstormer's Pizza & More owner Don Damron and New York City pizza tour owner and pizza expert Scott Wiener. They also connected with Lars Smith of State of Mind in Los Altos, California.
"That support — I was surprised and happy," Mark said. "One of the things that helps you succeed in business is mentorship, and it felt like the industry as a whole is focused on mentoring each other so that we can all be better."
The opening of the pizzeria was slow at first. "It was crickets," Kira said, until Much Ado About Pizza was also named a Top 100 Restaurant in the U.S. listing by Yelp, giving the brand acclaim and making it hard to keep up with demand. Kira's sourdough pizza also helped her land a place on the U.S. Pizza Team.
The dough is made in house and is a sourdough crust. There's a sourdough starter and they do a pre-ferment on the dough for 18 to 20 hours and then there's a cold ferment for 72 hours. There's no sugar or preservatives in the dough. It's flour, salt, yeast and water.
"We try to keep that purity, and also its better for digestion. It's better to eat," Mark said.
For Kira, it's the flavor. "People love sourdough bread in the Bay area. I don't know if it's the air or the water," she said. They offer lots of dips to try to encourage customers to eat the crust.
"'No crust left behind' is our motto," Kira laughed. "We're always working on it. It's ever evolving."
She added that they try to use local ingredients as much as possible, but sourcing ingredients is difficult when farms want them to spend $1,000 a week in fresh produce. Wisconsin's Grande is the cheese of choice, and Much Ado About Pizza uses Stanislaus for the sauce and tomatoes. Part of the flour is Tony Gemiginani's 00 flour blend.
Since Kira is vegetarian, there are a lot of vegetarian offerings on the menu. Kira uses Point Reyes TomaTruffle cheese for some of the pizzas, and goat cheese is popular as well. Mark said they're not brave enough to do a true seasonal menu because it can become hard to find some ingredients, like sunchokes which they used one year and couldn't find again. The Zabrowksis will sometimes bring in specialty items like Point Reyes bleu cheese.
As much is done in house as possible to allow the Zabrowskis to control the finished product.
Pizzas are round, but they have a few rectangular as well. They bake in a conveyor oven.
Pizza is competitive, and Much Ado About Pizza sets itself apart by its branding and the community service it does. "We do a lot of work with our community," Kira said. "And we're niche. We're a little shop, a small mom-and-pop, and people like to support local. You come in, and we treat you like our family. We know our customers for the most part by name and by order. … We really put ourselves out there."
The Yelp 100 list was the tipping point, Kira said, and what pushed the brand over in terms of popularity. The brand had to hired help, as it had just been Kira and Mark up to that point.
"And we're still going," Mark added. "It's not as much as the original hit, but we're at probably double last year's sales."
They had to educate their customers that Much Ado About Pizza was never going to be as fast as the big chains and make sure they were still getting quality ingredients as the brand's biggest challenges. Now, hiring and growth, as well as scaling, are their biggest challenges.
Much Ado About Pizza was selected as a finalist for The Perfect Pitch at the Fast Casual Executive Summit in October, and they're happy to be able share their story. Five fledgling brands will go head-to-head in a "Shark Tank"-style competition to see who has the best concept. Concepts must be under five years old to compete.
"We think we have a good product and business," Mark said.
"We don't know what growth 100% looks like, but we have a clear idea that we want growth," Kira said.
About Mandy Wolf Detwiler
Mandy Wolf Detwiler is the managing editor at Networld Media Group and the site editor for PizzaMarketplace.com and QSRweb.com. She has more than 20 years’ experience covering food, people and places.
An award-winning print journalist, Mandy brings more than 20 years’ experience to Networld Media Group. She has spent nearly two decades covering the pizza industry, from independent pizzerias to multi-unit chains and every size business in between. Mandy has been featured on the Food Network and has won numerous awards for her coverage of the restaurant industry. She has an insatiable appetite for learning, and can tell you where to find the best slices in the country after spending 15 years traveling and eating pizza for a living.
