‘zaw artisan pizza in the raw

In any great caper, planning is essential. Unwittingly, Greg Scott and Greg Waring have been planning ‘zaw for years. Both come from food-loving families who love to eat well and share time and food with each other. When the "grand idea" came, it was all about eating something great at home, leaving the smallest carbon footprint possible and offering real convenience. In 2006 while still working corporate jobs, the planning began in earnest. In 2007, they were ready to make ‘zaw a reality.

Photo: Greg Scott (left) and Greg Waring (right)

The Gregs met at the University of British Columbia (UBC) when both were working on their MBAs. They kept in touch although they went in different directions. Greg S. had been involved in the food industry before getting his MBA and owned a successful pizza restaurant which he has since sold. After UBC, he went into the ski industry, working with the Canadian ski team on business development and marketing.

Greg Waring eventually went into the food industry, working with leading national and international food industry players, including an international group with McDonald's that studied eating trends and developed new concepts (think Chipotle). Trends showed that people wanted to eat healthier, but what did they really mean? Bottom line, fresh, local and natural—less processed food—and real flavor.

"We wanted to offer a fine dining experience at home. From day 1, the concept was all about freshness," says Greg S. "None of our locations have a freezer. Once you go down that road, the concept has changed. We wanted the most direct path from the garden to our pizza. When it’s that fresh, the taste is dramatically different."

Their S.O.U.L. (seasonal, organic, unique, local) concept is that "if it doesn’t have a bit of soul, it doesn’t go into a bite of ‘zaw." "S.O.U.L. is our driving force," explains Greg W. "We get products from companies as close to us as possible. The idea of "a bit of soul" means that everything we use has at least one of those attributes. If we find a local, sustainable producer who isn’t organic, we’ll use them instead of bringing in something organic from further away. We make these decisions very consciously, but we continually challenge ourselves to be open to new suggestions that fall even closer in line." Take the olive oil they use as an example. "We found organic olive oil from the Mediterranean," says Greg S. "With research, we found sustainably grown olives in California. We think the oil tastes better than anything from the Mediterranean. We’re happy we can support the olive industry on the West Coast, ship 1,000 miles instead of 8,000 and not compromise taste." Olive oil is prominent on their menu—it’s the base for many appetizers and the Marg & Rita pizza. "We have to get that right. So far we’ve gotten great feedback from customers," says Greg W.

Bacon comes from Hempler’s in Mount Vernon, sausage from Isernio’s in Georgetown (click here to see the Seattle DINING! story on Isernio’s), mushrooms from Ostrom’s in Olympia and herbs from Herbco in Duvall. "We do our homework," says Greg W. "We meet people, look at their operation and ensure they share our values." According to Greg S., Bob’s Red Mill in Oregon exemplifies what they look for. "They hit every part of S.O.U.L. and their philosophy lines up closely with ours. They offer all organic and whole grain flours and also certified gluten-free flour."

S.O.U.L. applies to everything, including salads, desserts and beverages. They are a licensed wine and beer specialty shop offering local products at grocery store (or less) prices. "When it comes to beverages, we wanted to do a couple of things. ‘zaw should be a one-stop trip and convenient. We’ve worked with chefs, sommeliers and brewers to pair local beverages with our pizza. On the menu, each item will say ‘pairs with…’ and gives you a wine, beer and soda choice," explains Greg W. They chose Jones Soda because it’s local and uses cane sugar. "We’re very conscious about sweeteners. We sweeten the pizza dough with Northwest honey." Everything is made in-house, including sauces and desserts.

Deliveries are made by bicycle within a mile of each location. "We wanted to leave less of a carbon footprint," says Greg W. "You don’t have traffic and parking issues with a bike. We use no carbon in delivery except for the CO2 the drivers exhale!" And since the pizzas are raw, i.e., unbaked, they don’t have to stay hot while being delivered. Their liquor license allows them to deliver beverages. They train employees to check and match ID and credit cards to ensure they’re not selling to minors.

Photo: hook it to a bike and it's ready to go!

Response to their first location (Capitol Hill) has been great since the late September opening, with many return walk-in and delivery customers. And although they haven’t promoted it, people have found the way to order online. "The very first day we were open, an order suddenly popped up online. This area’s very web-savvy, but we were still surprised it happened that quickly," they laugh. The South Lake Union store opened late in the week of October 20 and Ballard is set for December.

"We love that Seattle has communities with strong personalities," says Greg S. "There are very defined neighborhoods here." Greg W. agrees. "We looked for areas with a sense of community, places that have strong farmers markets. We looked to see if people ride bikes in the area—all these lifestyle components equate to how they eat." Each location has similar components like the green wall, a wall of herbs that is a natural purification system. "We think we have the first locations of interior green walls in commercial spaces in Seattle." While working on the South Lake Union space, they uncovered 80-year-old wood beams throughout that they have refinished. They even use staff lockers reclaimed from Hamilton Middle School and customer benches rescued from the Kingdome.

Photo above: the Capitol Hill green wall

For now, the Gregs are focused on creating great places that offer a fantastic experience to their neighborhoods. They both make and deliver pizzas, ensuring the S.O.U.L. philosophy is followed. How it works in these three neighborhoods will dictate where they go from here. Early indicators say we could be seeing more ‘zaw in the ‘hoods.

Connie Adams/December 2008

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