Pizza Today - September 2016 - 65

ZITO'S LARGE MENU, LONGEVITY MAKE IT A CALIFORNIA STAND-OUT

L

ongevity in the restaurant
business is a dream for many
operators. For Zito's Pizza
owner Steve Silverstein,
opening a pizzeria in
1988 was a career change but not
entirely out of his comfort zone.
After years in food sales, Silverstein
had tired of working for others and
wanted to own his own business like
his uncle, a New Yorker with
12 restaurants of his own.
"I never related to any other type
of work besides being around food,"
Silverstein says. "My mom became
a vegetarian at a very young age, my
dad wasn't a very creative cook, so I
had to learn how to cook for myself
very young."

LEFT, OPPOSITE PAGE: Zito's Pizza Owner Steve
Silverstein has had 28 years to perfect his dine-in
and delivery concept in California.

By Mandy Wolf Detwiler Photos by Rick Daugherty
He enjoyed eating at a local
Italian restaurant and when it closed,
Silverstein took over the lease, learned
how to make pizza from the existing
owner and changed the name to
Zito's.
Silverstein first retained his day job,
opening the restaurant at 4 p.m. After
a year, he went into the restaurant
business full-time.
Initially, going from serving
restaurants to owning one presented
some growing pains. "I had the only
keys to open and lock the doors, so
it was just me. I had two employees,"
Silverstein recalls. Hard work
eventually paid off, Zito's business
grew and he realized he needed to
expand.
The company eventually grew to six
stores, two of which his sons, Zachary
and Spencer, now manage. One
closed last year due to excessively

high rent, but with five stores sales
total an impressive $8 million.
"Every one of our stores we opened
within a distance that we can double
our deliveries on, six miles top. We'll
deliver I'll say around three miles
away. We can hit that median delivery
zone with two different stores,"
Silverstein says. Delivery accounts for
35 percent of business.
One of the biggest keys to
Zito's success is a surprisingly large
menu. "When I first started out, I
realized I didn't have to compete"
by creating a bigger menu than his
competitors, Silverstein says. After
28 years in the industry, he's seen
multiple generations of customers
visit his stores, and as the industry
has changed, so too has his menu. He
keeps the staples around for longtime
customers but understands a larger

S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 6 / P I Z Z AT O D AY. C O M / 6 5



http://www.PIZZATODAY.COM

Pizza Today - September 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pizza Today - September 2016

Pizza Today - September 2016
Commentary
Contents
Contributors
Expo Spotlight
Interact
Conversation
Man on the Street
Respecting the Craft
Trending Recipes
Destinations
Dough Doctor
Changing Face of Social Media
Maximize Slow Periods
The Brand
The Pizza Press, Anaheim, CA
Zito’s Pizza, Orange, CA
Product Showcase
Pizza Today Yellow Pages
The Marketplace
Reader’s Resource
Snapped
Pizza Today - September 2016 - CT1
Pizza Today - September 2016 - CT2
Pizza Today - September 2016 - Pizza Today - September 2016
Pizza Today - September 2016 - Cover2
Pizza Today - September 2016 - Commentary
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 4
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 5
Pizza Today - September 2016 - Contents
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 7
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 8
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 9
Pizza Today - September 2016 - Contributors
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 11
Pizza Today - September 2016 - Expo Spotlight
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 13
Pizza Today - September 2016 - Interact
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 15
Pizza Today - September 2016 - Conversation
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 17
Pizza Today - September 2016 - Man on the Street
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 19
Pizza Today - September 2016 - Respecting the Craft
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 21
Pizza Today - September 2016 - Trending Recipes
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 23
Pizza Today - September 2016 - Destinations
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 25
Pizza Today - September 2016 - Dough Doctor
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 27
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 28
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 29
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 30
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 31
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 32
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 33
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 34
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 35
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 36
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 37
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 38
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 39
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 40
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 41
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 42
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 43
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 44
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 45
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 46
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 47
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 48
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 49
Pizza Today - September 2016 - Changing Face of Social Media
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 51
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 52
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 53
Pizza Today - September 2016 - Maximize Slow Periods
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 55
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 56
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 57
Pizza Today - September 2016 - The Brand
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 59
Pizza Today - September 2016 - The Pizza Press, Anaheim, CA
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 61
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 62
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 63
Pizza Today - September 2016 - Zito’s Pizza, Orange, CA
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 65
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 66
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 67
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 68
Pizza Today - September 2016 - Product Showcase
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 70
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 71
Pizza Today - September 2016 - Pizza Today Yellow Pages
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 73
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 74
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 75
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 76
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 77
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 78
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 79
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 80
Pizza Today - September 2016 - The Marketplace
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 82
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 83
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 84
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 85
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 86
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 87
Pizza Today - September 2016 - 88
Pizza Today - September 2016 - Reader’s Resource
Pizza Today - September 2016 - Snapped
Pizza Today - September 2016 - Cover3
Pizza Today - September 2016 - Cover4
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