Operations
How Willow Street Pizza focuses on freshness, passion
California-based Willow Street Pizza has two locations. The brand thrives on fresh ingredients, and it has several long-term employees who bring passion to the industry.
November 30, 2023 by Mandy Wolf Detwiler — Editor, Networld Media Group
There are a lot of pizzerias in California, where competition is fierce. But one pizzeria has made a name for itself by focusing on passion and fresh ingredients made in-house.
Willow Street Pizza was founded by Ed Rathmann, whose Italian heritage led him to create an American-Italian concept. Rathmann, who comes from a fine dining background, wanted to establish a restaurant where he could offer fresh product at a lower price in a family friendly atmosphere.
"He wanted to find that middle ground and have something for everyone," Executive Chef and Partner Hisham Abdelfattah told Pizza Marketplace in a phone interview. "He targeted heavily fresh pizzas. Wood-fired pizza in 1993 was kind of unheard of unless you went to Italy."
Today, the brand has two locations — one in Los Gatos, California, and one in downtown Willow Glen inside San Jose. Abdelfattah calls the brand "American-Italian with an Italian flair."
The brand celebrated its 30th anniversary in November. At its Los Gatos, California location, it took 30% off the entire menu, including alcohol.
 |
Photo: Willow Street Pizza |
On the Menu
The menu is an eclectic range of American and Italian cuisine and the brand uses almond wood in its wood-burning oven.
On the 12-inch pizza menu, The Italian is the top seller with tomato sauce, mozzarella, fontina cheese, local Italian sausage, pepperoni, garlic, mixed mushrooms, spicy Calabrian peppers and basil. There's also a Mixed Mushrooms & Pistachio pizza with mozzarella, smoked gouda, red onions, mixed mushrooms and toasted pistachios and a combination with a tomato sauce, mozzarella, local Italian sausage, soppressata salami, pepperoni, mixed mushrooms and herbs.
"All of our pizzas sell really well because we put so much emphasis on our dough, and we put it in a wood-fired oven," Abdelfattah said. The ingredients are organic, a move Rathmann and Abdelfattah made after traveling to Italy and seeing all the fresh products used.
"It tastes so good because it's so fresh," Abdelfattah added, "and that's exactly what we try to do at Willow Street. We try to give our customers the freshest products anyone can find around here, and we put it at a value. With us, you get a value at these great prices."
Abdelfattah crafts the dough between a thin and thick crust, leaning more toward thin like those made in Italy. Dough is made in-house using a high-quality flour and it rests for two days. Burrata is cut in the restaurants, the garlic cream sauce and bacon are made fresh for the Garlic Chicken pizza, and other sauces, including the marinara and a fresh Thai peanut sauce for the Thai Chicken pizza, are made from scratch.
Gluten-free crust is available, as is vegan mozzarella, appealing to those growing niche markets.
"We do not limit ourselves to our guests," Abdelfattah said. "We try to do something for everyone, but we also want it to taste good."
Why do so much in house?
"You're going to get the freshest product, and people can tell the difference," Abdelfattah said. "When you get something that has been mass produced, you're not going to get that intense flavor that you would and people can tell, especially in this communities."
There's a farmers market right outside the restaurant on Sundays, and Abdelfattah pulls from it as needed.
Abdelfattah said they don't put a high emphasis on profit margins, instead creating a value proposition to help retain business and get people to dine at the restaurant repeatedly.
"We're not really in the business of trying to steal money from people," he said. "What we want is to be a home away from home. When you come and eat with us, you're getting some real home cooking."
He added that the brand is not going to cut corners as the restaurants have been successful for 30 years and have weathered at least four recessions. The key has been sticking to the quality and the value for the customer.
Aside from pizza, which accounts for 30% of sales, Willow Street Pizza also serves fresh pastas and entrees like fiery prawns and fresh corn salsa and wood-fired artichoke dip. The menu also offers braised boneless short ribs, a burger, a pesto chicken sandwich and more. Abdelfattah said he is surprised the scratch-made bread pudding isn't world-renowned, as it sells out every night at both locations. He's offering lasagna on Sundays only at both locations.
Abdelfattah doesn't worry about having too large a menu, as many of the ingredients are cross utilized so Willow Street isn't wasting food. Food costs are kept low despite so much being made in-house.
 |
Photo: Willow Street Pizza |
Operations
The brand opened its second location in Los Gatos two years after the first, which simply couldn't handle the volume of customers coming into the restaurant. Abdelfattah said there were people interested in investing, and a big space in Los Gatos came available. At one time, the brand was up to five locations but downsized to its two highest-grossing units.
Abdelfattah also owns a popular Mexican restaurant in Willow Glen, giving him ample restaurant opportunity as he takes on his new role as executive chef and partner at the restaurant. Abdelfattah said he'd like to open a third restaurant. He said he brings a fresh look to the brand and is getting into marketing.
"My goal for Willow Street, without breaking the wheel because the wheel was not broken, is to essentially put rims on it," Abdelfattah said, "and make sure it goes another 30 years without losing its value."
The restaurant competes with others in the area by being inclusive.
"We are a place where you can come and eat in a tuxedo or in your pajamas," Abdelfattah added. "Either way, it's a place for you."
That exceptional dining experience comes from within, Abdelfattah said. Several employees have been with the company since day one, including two kitchen managers and a general manager. Both locations also have tenured staff with 10, 15, even 20 years under their belts.
"When you have people like that in your company, they work with their hearts," Abdelfattah said. "What we try to do is create an environment for our staff. When you're here, you're not really working. You're with family. And people are going to feel that synergy and that energy. We put our attention right on our staff because we know it's a ripple effect."
Abdelfattah said Willow Street Pizza's biggest challenge has been putting systems in place to ensure the brand runs for another 30 years. Abdelfattah wants to keep the restaurant's legacy while bringing it into the future. It's a big responsibility, but one he's willing to take on.
"The hardest challenge is that kind of responsibility," he said. "What direction does this company need to go in? … Right now, the consuming mind is really different from where it was 30 years ago."
The brand has begun utilizing tech, including Toast for its POS system and launching delivery on third-party companies. The brand has a successful catering program as well.
"We're all over social media," Abdelfattah said. "We have a great marketing director that I work with closely and we make some really great social media that's entertaining to the young mind."
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.
Related Media
Subscribe
Get the latest news and resources from Pizza Marketplace.
Recent Posts
