About Us
About ASONY
Our Mission: Create A New York Experience in the Bay Area
I grew up in NYC. Pizza to me is a comfort food and something that is more
than just something to eat. It is not a fancy food. It is a delicate balance
of crust, sauce, and cheese. Without this foundation in place, you can't make
great pizza. Many places pile on ingredients and toppings that tend to confuse
the palate -- we do not do that.
A Slice of New York is now a worker cooperative!
ASONY has transitioned to a worker cooperative (co-op)! This will help us achieve
our goal of being a progressive Bay Area business, one that supports its
employees, the community, and provides great food and service. Membership is
open to all employees and is completely optional.
What is a co-op?
A
worker cooperative is a form of employee ownership. What makes co-ops
unique is they are businesses both owned and governed by their workers.
Strategic decision making is democratic, adhering to the
principle of one member, one vote. Profits are earned based on hours worked.
Worker co-ops create long-term stable jobs, have sustainable business
practices, and are connected and accountable to their community.
What does our cooperative look like?
Our daily operations remain the same. Our original owners and founders,
Kirk and Marguerite, continue their key roles within the company, but ASONY
is now governed by its staff. This means that co-op members make decisions
about things like workplace governance, annual budget, company direction,
and strategy. They also share in the profits and risks of the company on
an equal basis. Not all our staff are members of the cooperative, and we
may always be a mix of members and non-members, but we strive for an
ownership culture and a democratically governed workplace.
Why?
As a company, we believe in the
democratic process (see video) and our goal is to provide
stability and growth opportunity. We believe in a just economy. Our purpose
in becoming a cooperative is to make, and keep, ASONY an enduring company
that offers members job stability and career opportunities in the local
community and in the local food industry. We believe that the best way for
ASONY to continue to grow and prosper is to make sure the focus of our
business is on both the quality of our product and the people who make, serve, and sell it.
To learn more about our process and co-ops in general (huge thanks to
Project {EQUITY} for all their help!), please have a look
at the following articles...
[VIDEO] CBS Evening News with Norah O'Donnell (national) shares KPIX story: How
a South Bay pizza shop owner transformed his business into a worker-owned co-op
(Jun 2023)
[VIDEO] KPIX | CBS NEWS BAY AREA, Len Ramirez: How a South Bay pizza shop
owner transformed his business into a worker-owned co-op (Jun 2023)
The 650 - Slice of the pie: How this South Bay pizza shop successfully became a worker-owned
cooperative (Jan 2021)
Eater - The Restaurant of the Future Puts Workers First (Sept 2020)
SF Chronicle article on Employee Ownershhip featuring ASONY (Feb 2017)
Metro Silicon Valley/San Jose Inside taking a deep dive into the
ASONY conversion (Aug 2017)
[VIDEO] KPIX | CBS NEWS BAY AREA, Wilson Walker: San Jose Pizza Shop Deals Employees a Slice of
the Action (Aug 2017)
[AUDIO] 30-min webinar on Selling your
Business with Employee Ownership (Jun 2019)
Mercury News article on Worker Cooperatives featuring ASONY (Jun 2019)
OpEd in The Mercury News by Davis Smathers Moore, Kirk Vartan,
and Hilary Abell (Jul 2019)
[VIDEO] Santa Clara City Council 1-hour study session, where local experts introduce
worker cooepratives, share what happening nationally and locally, and provide some
guidance on what Santa Clara might do....and the City Council supports it!
(Jul 2019)
Article from the Sustainable Economies Law Center about Santa Clara
successful workshop session (Jul 2019)
If you've never been here before, let me offer this suggestion – Try a plain
slice (just cheese). It will allow you to taste all the flavors in balance.
Then, once you know how the base pie tastes, feel free to add items. We offer
combination pies and slices, and we can always make something custom for you.
Strombolis and calzones are made to order. We also have garlic knots. Our
cannoli, tiramisu, and NY Cheesecake, come all the way from Wyandanch, Long Island.
We use only the best ingredients. Period. In NY, if your service or food
quality is less than exceptional, you'll be out of business in six months.
We live by that standard here at A Slice of New York.
The biggest thank you goes to my neighborhood pizza joint in Manhattan,
Ultimate Pizza, now closed. I grew up with these guys. Without them, A Slice
of New York never would have happened. They opened up their kitchen, their
crew, and their kindness to me so that we could make all this happen. All
they wanted in return is for me to be successful...true selfless NYC attitude.
Benny is a true leader and I miss him and his pizza.
A special thank you to Tony Gemignani of San Francisco's
Tony's Pizza
Napoletana, The International School of Pizza, and many other
outstanding pizza experiences in CA and in Las Vegas. As an expert in the
business and now a friend, we thank you. How about that four minute dough
mix!!!
If you liked our place, had a great experience that you would like to share,
would like to recognize one of the amazing crew members, ever feel you have
not been treated well, or you feel the food is anything but awesome, please
email us.
Kris Rodriguez, a film masters student at SJSU, did a brief
two minute video documentary
of this journey. Thanks Kris!