Willow Glen Resident
Business
Photograph by Vicki Thompson
Slice of Pie: Straw Hat Pizza on Meridian Avenue has new owners, Rob Ezzell (pictured) and his wife Amy. The couple has added more choices to the salad bar and has a variety of specials and promotions to help support the Willow Glen community.
Straw Hat Pizza owner wants to offer residents pies to bake at home
By Lynn Crocker
Rob Ezzell understands the meaning of the phrase, "When one door closes, another opens."
After closing the doors on a 14-year career as sales director for Swanson Ford in Los Gatos, Ezzell opened the door at the Straw Hat Pizza restaurant at 1535 Meridian Ave.
He started playing on the professional poker circuit after Swanson Ford closed in March 2006, but the travel schedule got tedious so he began looking for something else.
When Ezzell learned that Straw Hat restaurant was for sale, he and his wife, Amy, decided to buy it.
The couple took ownership of the restaurant on March 1.
Although neither Ezzell nor his wife, who still works full time as a quality-control specialist for a pharmaceutical company, have ever owned a restaurant, they weren't deterred.
"Customer service is our No.1 focus," Ezzell says. "The previous owners had two employees. We kept them because they are great workers and added five more for a total of seven. We want to make sure people are taken care of."
In addition to pumping up his staff, Ezzell has upgraded the salad bar to include more items, remodeled the interior of the restaurant and added more video games. Plus, he says he had the space cleaned from top to bottom, which has earned the restaurant a certificate of 100 percent compliance from the health department.
Ezzell and his wife, who supports the business by doing all the bookkeeping, payroll and advertising, want the restaurant to become an integral part of the community.
"We are open at 11 a.m. every day, so this is a great place for working people to come by during lunch and grab a salad and some pizza," Ezzell says. "We have lunch specials that include an individual pizza, all you can eat from the salad bar and a drink. For every six lunch specials purchased, we give one free."
The Ezzells' support of the community stretches beyond adults; he is also a big supporter of local sport teams.
"Any team that comes by in uniform with adult supervision will get their choice of free pepperoni or cheese pizzas," Ezzell says. "Just last night a team of 12 youngsters came in, and I gave them three large pizzas."
The pizza parlor already sponsors the Willow Glen Little League. Ezzell says he is looking to get more involved in other neighborhood sports associations and schools.
The restaurant has ample room for large parties, but Ezzell strongly suggests making advance reservations so he has ample help available.
Ezzell also plans to provide faster delivery service and he says, "We can take any pizza on the menu and make it for people to pick up and take home to cook later."
Because Straw Hat restaurants are members of a co-op rather than a franchise, according to Ezzell, owners have more latitude and more freedom to do what they want.
"I can add and subtract menu items depending on the tastes of the neighborhood," he says.
For more information about Straw Hat, 1535 Meridian Ave., call 408.266.0216. The pizzeria is open Sunday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
