The Sun
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Photograph by Robert Scheer

James Gerrior, manager of J.T. McHart's, forms the crust of a pizza by twirling the dough on his fingers. 'It's a hearty American-style pizza,' owner Robert Booth said of his restaurant's specialty.

McHart's outlasts its franchised competitors

By Justin Berton

Robert Booth wanted to buy a sandwich shop.

He figured he could afford $85,000 down as long as the place was in Cupertino.

One night 10 years ago, he ate dinner with his family at J.T. McHart's Pizza in the Marketplace shopping center and took a good look around.

The place was just about the right size, it had a so-so location and the food was great.

It just wasn't a sandwich shop.

Two days later his broker told him no sandwich places in Cupertino were looking to sell, but a pizza restaurant was on the block.

They wanted $85,000 down.

"You're kidding me," Booth said. It sent chills down his spine.

A few months later Booth owned J.T. McHart's.

In October Booth will celebrate his 10-year anniversary as owner, outlasting a handful of national franchises that have come and gone in the Marketplace center.

"It hasn't been easy here. People who come in here feel like they have a corner on a great secret," he said of his regulars, who are mostly families.

It is a family pizza joint, for sure.

There is no big-screen TV, no "bar for hard-core drinkers to belly up to," as Booth put it, and the music played is oldies rock & roll.

To keep the family atmosphere youthful, Booth only hires high school kids and college students. "We're moving kids through this place and into adulthood."

To work at McHart's, employees hardly need a Ph.D. to figure out how to pile on the toppings.

"The only scale we own," Booth said, "is to weigh the pizza dough."

In other words, the only complaints Booth has received were from customers who thought too much was too much.

The pies at McHart's are made with a thick sourdough crust, baked in a four-level rotating oven. They also serve calzone (including vegetarian) and salads. Beer and wine are also served.

"It's a hearty American-style pizza," Booth said.

Even though Booth didn't end up with the sandwich shop he was looking for, he still found something with his pizza place.

"It was one of my dreams to own my own business and become a part of the community," he said.

J.T. McHart's Pizza Restaurant is located at 19732 Stevens Creek Blvd. in the Marketplace shopping center in Cupertino. Open Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Friday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m., and Sunday, 4-9 p.m. 255-0500.

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, April 8, 1998.
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