When Jody and Mark “Zzeek” Pectol opened their first Zzeeks Pizza location in 2013, they wanted the Ahwatukee restaurant to be known for more than serving up delicious house-made pizza, wings, sandwiches and salads.
The couple also had three specific missions in mind for Zzeeks Pizza: to create a warm and welcoming place where people can gather for meals, to work alongside their two sons, and to use their restaurant as a catalyst for positive changes in the local community.
Today, it is safe to say that the Pectols have definitely achieved all of their goals – and then some. The couple, who share a lifelong love of pizza and owned a pizza franchise in Oregon with 12 locations prior to opening Zzeeks Pizza, now have a total of five locations throughout the valley, including one franchise.
“When we opened Zzeeks in Ahwatukee, we wanted it to be a place that was something like the television program ‘Cheers,’” Jody says.
“If you were to come and spend an hour here, you would quickly see that we know our customers very well, and we usually say something like ‘I’ll get your beer started. Is it going to be your normal order tonight?’”
Jody’s and Zzeek’s sons are also regular fixtures at the Ahwatukee location. Boston, who recently graduated from Arizona State University with a dual major in business and finance, is the general manager, while younger brother Jaxson works as a shift runner.
“Jaxson is in his last semester at ASU and will graduate with a dual major, in business and supply chain. He’s learning about the business from Boston,” Zzeek says, adding that he and Jody split the various roles among all of their Zzeeks Pizza locations.
“We love working the business together with our children. We all have different strengths and weaknesses, and we seem to complement each other.”
In addition to their sons, several long-time employees at the Ahwatukee restaurant are now considered to be honorary members of the Pectol family.
“One has been with us from day one in Ahwatukee, and several have been with us close to a decade,” Jody says. “The average tenure of our employees is over four years.”
Jody and Zzeek are also proud of the way they’ve been able to successfully use Zzeeks Pizza as a springboard to make a positive impact in the Ahwatukee community and beyond.
“From the beginning, it was hyper important that we became a positive community member that could fill in the gaps of things that were needed, whether this was financially, emotionally or just from a leadership position,” Jody says. “We’ve been very blessed in our lives and want to give back.”
While the Pectols are particularly passionate about supporting first responders, including the local police and fire departments, they are happy to host fundraisers and other ways to assist a variety of charities, programs and organizations.
“We do a lot of fundraising with the local schools, Little League programs, Girl Scouts, dog shelters across Arizona, anti-bullying programs, supporting teachers in celebrating accomplishments, and helping with feeding the homeless and homeless shelters,” Jody says.
“We believe that all of these good deeds make our little village better and inspire others to do the same. We just want to help wherever we feel there’s a need.”
While Jody admits that the last couple of years have been a bit challenging in the restaurant industry, she and Zzeek are thrilled with the way Ahwatukee residents have welcomed them from day one, and the enthusiastic support they get for their charitable causes.
“In the pizza business, there are good years and there are lean years,” she says. “With that said, we still love what we do. We wouldn’t change anything.”
Zzeeks.com
We believe that all of these good deeds make our little village better and inspire others to do the same. We just want to help wherever we feel there’s a need.