Mia Za’s
Mia Za's (at first Za's Italian Cafe) was a fast-casual Italian and pizza restaurant at 515 State St. from March 2007 to February 2017[1].
History
Bruce Hink, who had opened Za's in Champaign, Illinois, and Ann Arbor, Michigan, and whose grandparents ran a general store in Jump River, Wisconsin, opened Za's Italian Cafe on Friday, March 2, 2007, in the former Blockbuster Video at 515 State St. His idea was to turn "fast casual" on its head: 30 to 40 ingredients that worked across pizzas, panini, salads and pastas, chosen on an order form filled in like a test; 9-inch personal pizzas cooked in just over a minute in an infrared oven; real plates; everything about $5; 150 seats; and no listed phone number, so that nothing was made before the customer arrived[2]. The Capital Times' review that June gave it two and a half stars and found the pizzas like the John's frozen pizza of the reviewer's Chicago childhood, "only John's pizzas ... were unusually tasty"[3]. Hink closed it in February 2017, saying he could no longer afford the rent on the prime State Street corner — about $200,000 a year[1].
Former Locations
- 515 State St. (March 2, 2007, to February 2017)[2].
See also
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Kalk Derby, S. (2017, February 9). "State Street restaurant can no longer afford $200,000-a-year rent." madison.com.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Kalk Derby, S. (2007, March 1). "Za's aims to please with low-maintenance approach." madison.com.
- ↑ Kalk Derby, S. (2007, June 7). "Price is right, but Za's food leaves something to be desired." madison.com.
