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    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!

    Get in Touch

    408-247-5423
    info@aSliceOfNY.com

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