Stay fresh, stay square. That’s the motto of Zza Factory in Elgin, where the pizzas are square, the “PI” is missing from pizza and the “s” is replaced with “z.” So zzausage, burgerz, fryz, wingz, dogz, beveragez, stickz, cheezy … you get the picture.
Owner Phil Caruso said he wrote down the abbreviated name in a book and knew someday he would own a restaurant with that name. “My friends and I, we would order a ‘zza.”
Pizza at Zza Factory is square, 8-inches by 8-inches for a personal pizza. And it is sold at the drive-thru.
Caruso said that’s what sets his place apart from the rest. “Nobody sells pizza through a drive-thru. We have personal and large square pizzas. Because of our large pizza oven, we can get a pizza out in five minutes.
“Some people do slices. I’ve been in a million pizza places, from mom and pop places on the corner to strip malls to large places and corporate places like Pizza Hut. And you see a million things sent through the drive-thru. But not pizza,” said Caruso, who used to work in food distribution as a sales manager.
“I was sick of working for somebody and I wanted to own my own place,” he said. He bought One for the Road, a hot dog joint — “I never understood the name. Sound like you’re talking about drinks, not hot dogs” — and renamed it Zza Factory.
It had a small kitchen and a giant menu, which Caruso trimmed down. “I got rid of gyros and I caught flack for it. I had to bring back the chicken pita.”
Caruso said his favorite meal is the pizza but he also is fond of the Chicago Philly with diced Italian beef, seasoned mushrooms, sweet peppers, grilled onions, and mozzarella served on a French bread roll and lightly dipped in au jus. “It’s basically something I used to make for myself and I put it on the menu.”
About the owner: Phil Caruso worked in food distribution in Arizona and Chicago before buying One for the Road in Elgin and created a pizza kitchen and renamed it Zza Factory. The restaurant celebrated its one-year anniversary this past April.
Philosophy: “Stay fresh, stay square” is a nod to the fresh ingredients and square pizzas. “When I worked in food distribution you’d see guys would want the cheapest this and that,” Caruso said. “I want the best of everything. I’d pay a dollar more for a product that would be good and consistent.”
Decor: Exposed brick and red and dark yellow walls.
Price range: Bread stickz from $3.99-$6.99. Fresh-cut fryz from $2.99-$8.49. Side orderz from $2.99-$7.25. Saladz from $7.49-$7.99. Wingz and tenders from $7.99-$15.98. Dogz from $2.99-$3.59. Beef and Zzausages from $6.49-$7.99. Burgerz and zzandwiches from $5.75-$11.99. Chicken from $5.99-$7.49. Pizza from $5-$30.99. Kidz meals for $4.49.
Logistics: Zza Factory, 751 N. State St., Elgin. Hours are 10:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 10:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday. Contact 847-488-9988 or go to www.zzafactory.com.
Shonda Talerico Dudlicek is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
