News

PLEASE READ

Thankfully, BOTH shops are OPEN for "carry out" service, phone orders only
SJ/SC - 408-247-5423. Sunnyvale - 650-938-6969. And a reminder that all orders include an 18% surcharge that covers tip and overhead (credit card tips eliminated for safety with touch-less payment).
Here is our Frozen Personal Pie Guide on cooking instructions.


8/13/2020
We know this pandemic is here for a while, and we will be here to serve. But right now, the crew needs a break. Next week, we are closing both shops for a mandatory paid week off. Our worker-owned coop board agreed that in order to best protect the team, they need to rest. And the only way they can rest is to close the shops. And we are paying the crew. This will cost us over $25,000, not including lost profits. If you would like to contribute to our team and help cover any of these expenses, we have setup a GoFundMe page.

8/6/2020
After five months, A Slice of New York is *finally* hiring again (thanks COVID)! Please click here to fill out an application online and become a part of our worker-owned cooperative.

8/4/2020
We brought back our lunch special! Effective immediately, any personal pie ordered before 2pm will get a free soda -- that includes frozen personal pies! So let's get back into the lunch spirit with free sodas!

7/21/2020
Update on the company 18% surcharge - At the last company meeting, the crew (both members and non-members of the co-op) decided to split the current surcharge with the business to help cover overhead and salaries. Half of the surcharge (9% is actually 6% since we have to deduct sales tax and payroll tax) goes directly to the team. Any cash tip is obviously 100% for the crew.

The remaining 9% (which is actually 8% after sales tax is deducted) covers payroll increases from Jan 2020. Our planned menu increase in March was supposed to cover this, but we held off due to the covid crisis. I know this is confusing and am happy to explain more if you want to reach out. We will be reviewing this on a monthly basis to direct as much as we can to the crew. Thank you for your support during this incredibly difficult time.

7/15/2020 On July 13, 2020, we implemented the County's latest Social Distancing Protocols. They will challenge us even more in our SJ/SC Stevens Creek location due to very limited staffing requirements. Please understand that specifically Friday and Saturday nights will be rough and wait times will be long. We encourage you to try both locations or call in your orders early. The pandemic is real. Wear your masks. Keep distance between yourself and others. Be kind and patient with each other. Thanks for your ongoing support and understanding.

6/27/2020
Friends - if you had any weird pie experience with smell or taste over the last week (6/18-6/26), please contact us, as our "waffle insert" vendor had a quality issue - info@aSliceOfNY.com

6/12/2020
Reminder, ALL orders need to be placed via phone (no window or counter ordering). We do this to minimize time in the shop to help prevent the spread of the virus. If you come by and forgot to order ahead of time, simply call us on the phone. We post our phone number in large numbers at both shops. Thanks for your understanding and support.

6/7/2020
Effective Mon, 6/8, Sunnyvale will open at 3pm everyday (except Sunday). We are responding to customer business patterns. The reality is, lunch is not profitable for our business right now, and we need to make sure we don't overwork our team. If you would like to see us open again for Sunnvyale Saturday lunch, please email us at- info@aSliceOfNY.com

Sunnyvale- Tues-Thurs 3-9pm; Fri-Sat 3-10pm; Sun 12:30-7:30pm
San Jose hours are normal- Tues-Thurs 11am-10pm; Fri-Sat 11am-10pm; Sun 12:30-10pm
Both shops are closed on Mondays (as normal).

6/2/2020
Today was a very rough day for our shop. After speaking with many of our crew, we identified a risk to our Social Distancing Protocols. Most current protests do not allow for proper social distancing, many participants and law enforcement not even wearing masks. To best ensure the safety of our team and our shops, we are requiring anyone who participates in large group activities (like protests) that can't adhere to Social Distancing Protocols the shops have committed to follow, will need to self quarantine and get free COVID test with negative results at least 48 hours after close contact. We respect and support everyone's 1st Amendment rights to protest and demonstrate free speech!

6/1/2020
Given the curfew in place in both Santa Clara and San Jose, we will be monitoring conditions closely to ensure our crew is safe. We may close both shops early. Please get your orders in before 7pm.

5/31/2020
We are not sure why people are showing up without face coverings to our San Jose/Santa Clara (Stevens Creek) location. The County Order requires it. Yes, it is outside our business in public space, and that is the only reason we have not been more assertive thus far. However, effective immediately, we will NOT serve anyone without a face covering or mask. Thank you for protecting our crew.

5/25/2020
Yesterday, we lost a friend, a kind soul, and a part of the ASONY family. Today, we started a GoFundMe page for Sahm. Please consider contributing if you can. Thank you.

5/24/2020
We lost one of our own today. Sahm joined our family over five years ago, was a founding member of our co-op, was the first Chair of our Board, and was the initial trainer of new-hires for a good portion of our team these past few years. Due to a non-virus related illness, he was abruptly taken away from us today. We closed our shops for the rest of the day to grieve for our co-worker, our friend, and our asonyfam - chosen family. Be free Sahm. We love you and will never forget your larger-than-life self.



5/22/2020
Santa Clara County updated their order to *require* BOTH customers and workers to wear face coverings while working. Our team has been wearing face coverings since March 31, and we have required our customers to wear face coverings since April 20.

5/4/2020
Santa Clara County extended the shelter in place order through May 31. The main difference from the prior order is the *recomendation* for customers and workers to wear face coverings. Our team has been wearing face coverings since March 31, and we have required our customers to wear face coverings since April 20.

5/2/2020
We want to thank all of our customers for the incredible support you have provided these past "few" weeks. During our busy times, the phones can ring like crazy, all four lines will ring, we put you on hold for long times, and it is hard on all of us. And we'd like to acknowledge and thank you for respecting the social distancing guidelines and mask requirements in place. You are doing great!

4/28/2020
Federal Loan update - Last week, we found out we were approved for the PPP loan in the amount of $245K, the initial $10K EIDL loan, and we got granted a $5K grant from the City of Santa Clara Small Business Grant program! Even though our business is down over 35% since this all started, we had a great week. The PPP loan covers the costs of our payroll, utilities, and rent for both shops for eight (8) weeks...yes, our expenses are that high! These loans will primarily be used to pay our team and the other fixed expenses. NBC Bay Area aired two segments on our shop. One on April 20 and the second just two days later on April 22.

4/21/2020
Today, we officially launched a program to help feed people, starting with ER hospital staff and families in need. We hope to expand this scope, and we are starting off small. Our basic mission is this-

Community Meal Initiative (CMI) is a grassroots collaboration of community organizers and small business leaders focused on providing nutritious meals for hospital ER teams and at-risk families. Packages range from $300-350 which create 20-25 meals, and will be delivered directly to those in need.

We hope you will support us and share this program with your friends and family. We are working with a handful of local restaurants in the area, and you can read about them on our GoFundMe page. This is part of the larger Feed the Frontline Santa Clara County initiative.

4/19/2020
Two announcements -
1. Starting Mon, 4/20, we are REQUIRING all customers to wear a face covering or mask when coming in to our Sunnyvale shop for pick-up.



2. We are officially offering frozen, take-and-bake 10" personal pies! They are the same price as our regular personal pies and ready to put in your freezer. They are 85-90% cooked and take less than 10 min to prepare, right from the freezer! Never be without ASONY goodness, not even on a Monday!
Here is our guide on cooking instructions.



4/14/2020
Today, we will be thermal scanning all employees for fever. Our no-contact thermometers arrived today, and all team members will check their temperatures before starting work. While we considered testing all customers, we decided against this as it would encourage close contact, impacting our six-foot social distancing guidelines. We respectfully ask all customers to protect our team by wearing a face mask/covering when entering our Sunnyvale location, but we are not requiring it at this time; we may change this policy in the future.

4/6/2020
New Sunnyvale Hours. Starting 4/7, we are changing Tues-Thurs hours.
Our Sunnyvale lunch business has been pretty grim. After assessing the last 3 weeks, we've determined it's not worth being open for lunch hours in the Sunnyvale shop. This week we're changing Tues-Thurs hours to 3-9pm. The crew will start at 2pm so feel free to start placing orders then! And no, there's nothing wrong with a pizza snack before traditional dinner time!

Thank you for your ongoing support! Reminder on 3/24 we eliminated the tipping option on credit card transactions to make them safe and touch-less, and have added an 18% surcharge that goes to the team! Also Stevens Creek hours remain the same for now, but please check often as things are pretty fluid these days. Also note, we will be closed on Easter Sunday, 4/12. Be safe!

4/3/2020
ASONY has implemented a number of new protocols to further keep our team safe and help make your experience with us a safe and efficient one. Due to additional safety measures, orders may take longer to fill. Please be patient. If you would like to see an overview of both shops and what we put in place, please look here for short videos in San Jose/Santa Clara and in Sunnyvale. You can see the Social Distancing Protocol documents for San Jose/Santa Clara and Sunnyvale.

Our team started wearing masks/bandanas effective March 31, 2020, so don't be nervous! None of our crew are ill; these are measures we are doing to protect them and ensure their safety, to create the safest working environment, and of course, as a result, a better place for our customers. You can see a little video we put together for the team, and it also talks about the surcharge we implemented. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

3/27/2020
Both shops are OPEN. We have still do not have slices, but we have a pretty good alternative - the 10" personal pie. It is priced just like a Gluten Free. We are even looking at it for take-and-bake frozen, along with frozen dough balls. Stay tuned this weekend while we try to create a program highlighting it. Lots of positive responses. Check this site for current hours. A slow night might cause us to close up early, so please call first.

3/24/2020
Both shops are OPEN. To further reduce the risk to customers, we will be implementing a no-touch credit card system for all users of ApplePay, GooglePay, RF tap cards, or other wireless pay device. We are disabling the ability to tip on the terminal and signatures will no longer be required. Tipping will no longer be possible when paying with credit card. In order to cover the lost income to our team, we are implementing an 18% surcharge that will be 100% distributed to our team members. If you would like to tip more, please bring cash with you at pickup. We thank you for your continued support in this very difficult and time. Please be patient if the lines are busy or things take a bit longer to make. We are trying to find way to protect each other and you.

3/21/2020
Both shops are OPEN. In order to better protect our team, we are discontinuing slices effective immediately. In San Jose/Santa Clara, we are closing our lobby with pickup through our sliding window, like a real NY pizza shop! Also, in Sunnyvale, we are reducing the number of people inside to five (5) and closing the restrooms to the public. Beer is available to go in cans (please buy beer to go in Sunnyvale!). Maintaining updated hours, so please order before 9:30pm.

3/18/2020
We are OPEN. Yesterday was slow. We need to adjust our hours to meet the demand. So effective immediately, the San Jose/Santa Clara shop on Stevens Creek will close at 10pm (last order 9:30pm)

3/17/2020
We are OPEN. Per the Bay Area-wide mandate, and to retain a safe social distance among folks inside the shops, we are limiting the number of people picking up orders at a time. 7 MAX in Stevens Creek and 20 MAX in Sunnyvale (may be adjusted +/-). We are also asking for you to use your CREDIT or DEBIT card (no cash please).

Please be kind to each other. Please be patient with our process. And please tip our crew well.

3/13/2020
We continue to follow the guidelines of the Santa Clara County Health Department. You can find the latest details here (please remember to wash your hands!!!)-
Santa Clara County COVID-19 resource page.

3/7/2020
Effective Sunday 3/8, all orders will be for takeout/pickup only, with no dining in. We are following guidelines from Santa Clara County and will update our operations as needed. Please click on the link below for more DETAILS.









A Slice of New York is looking for great people! If you would like to work at an employee-owned company, and even want to become an owner with us, please let us know by applying below. We welcome all people with a good attitude and a willingness to work hard. We start at $16.50, but will go up to $20 for the right person. All employees participate in tips and that usually adds an additional $4+ an hour to your salary. For a seasoned pizza or kitchen pro, that could be over $24/hr...starting! We offer many benefits, including spot bonuses, short shift pay, quarterly and annual partonge dividends, and more.

APPLY HERE to be part of the ASONY team!




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, with Kirk taking on the role of General Manager, and ASONY is now governed by its owner/members! 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 offering members job stability and career opportunities in the local community and in the local food industry. We believe 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...

SF Chronicle article on Employee Ownership featuring ASONY (Feb 2017)

Metro Silicon Valley/San Jose Inside taking a deep dive into the ASONY conversion (Aug 2017)

KPIX - CBS SF Bay Area video segment on the ASONY conversion (Aug 2017)

Mercury News article on Worker Cooperatives featuring ASONY (Jun 2019)

NCBA - Santa Clara, California is taking steps to invest in worker cooperatives (Nov 2019)


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Thanks for 10 Years of Support - Sept 2016!!!
What a great time we had on Sunday, Sept 18, 2016.
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The total slices sold in at the San Jose shop since opening - 872,840! Congrats to Rory who guessed - 869,323 and won our contest.
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We were honored to have the Mayor of Santa Clara and Senator Bob Wieckowski's office attend our ribbon cutting, where the Mayor presented us with a proclamation and the Senator presented us with a Certificate of Recognition. And the best part, Spiderman was there! Thanks Spideyfit!
Thanks to the Santa Clara Weekly/Larry Sacks for writing a great article on the event!
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Folllow us on Instagram!
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Mayoral Dough Cutting video


Ribbon cutting with the Mayor of Santa Clara!


Santa Clara Mayor Gillmor and Andrae Macapinlac from Senator Bob Wieckowski's office


Senator Bob Wieckowski getting a pie!










Oct 15, 2019 (Tues)

All business operations are back to normal again. We have a *very* clean shop and our crew is eager to take care of you. Thanks for your support during this very challenging time.

Oct 12, 2019 (Sat)
Saturday update for Stevens Creek- tldr- We will be open by 2pm after cleaning up! See you over a couple of slices! 🍕🍕

Full version- This past week we have been dealing with a pest problem that stemmed from the bar next door. A couple of weeks ago they were shut down by the County Dept of Environmental Health for 7 days and within a week, we started to get impacted (after receiving 2 clean reports from the DEH). So, we proactively self-closed last Sunday to make sure we addressed any sanitation issue on our side. We had a pest control company in every night, deep-cleaned every day, and as a final precaution, decided to fog/bomb the shop last night. Today we are thoroughly cleaning (again) and will have a late opening. We are shooting for 2pm, but it may be sooner if you happen to be walking by or shopping at the Surplus Store. Closing shop for several days has cost us in many ways, but we are VERY serious about health and sanitation. This is the only time since opening 13 years ago that we’ve needed to take these measures, and we are very grateful for the continued support of our community! See you over a couple of slices! 🍕😎

Oct 11, 2019 (Fri)
Stevens Creek shop is OPEN. We will be open all day. We will open at 2pm on Saturday. We hope this will be the last time our hours are impacted. Thank you for your support.

Oct 10, 2019 (Thurs)
Stevens Creek shop still closed. We are targeting Friday. Check back for updates.

Oct 9, 2019 (Wed)
Stevens Creek shop still closed. Will open Thursday at the earliest. Check back for updates.

Oct 8, 2019 (Tues)
We are opening our Sunnvyale shop until midnight until our Stevens Creek shop is open. Thanks for your understanding and support.

Oct 6, 2019 (Sun)
As the Founder and General Manager of A Slice of New York, I take pride in providing a clean and safe experience for all our customers. During our daily inspections, we uncovered a sanitation concern, so we took immediate action to close our shop until we identify and eliminate the source, and thoroughly sanitize our space.

While we expect this to be resolved quickly, we will not operate until I am convinced we have solved the problem to keep and maintain the extremely high quality standards you expect from our business.

Thank you for your patience and support.

Kirk Vartan




Effective September 24, 2019, ASONY has SUSPENDED all delivery services--catering still available. We continue to see unpredictable results from drivers (not on time, no bag, lack of caring), and we cannot accept that level of service from any company charging our customers a premium and charging us a significant fee. We will consider starting a service in the future should these services strive for a better solution.

We thank all the many customers who tried out this service while we tested it. We understand you like the convenience of delivery and are willing to pay more for it. However, with these services charging our business 20%+ and charging you 10%+ in fees, we cannot in good conscious support this effort. We hope you will continue to call in your orders and come into our shop to be taken care of.

We further understand we may lose your business because we no longer have a way for you to remotely get our products. Please reach out to us at - delivery@asliceofny.com and give us your feedback. The current systems are really not equitable to our business, and the service levels are not acceptable to our standards. We are happy to hear your ideas and suggestions, and please know we are not going to create our own delivery service.

Thank you for 13 years of support. Our fellow Employee Owners strive every day to create the experience you demand of us and to which we hold ourselves accountable. We are always open to your feedback and input, so please reach out via email at - info@aSliceOfNY.com.

-Kirk
Founder/General Manager
A Slice of New York Worker Cooperative

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December 2018

We are excited to share we have partnered with Caviar. While we have not officially announced it, the service is active (TESTING) and we are asking you to give it a try. We need your help in making sure the service is working for you and is reliable. Service is ONLY happening out of our Sunnyvale location. If you are not close to that location, keep that in mind. Maybe even check our FAQ to see how best to reheat your slices (e.g., toaster oven, skillet, etc.).

To try us out, please use the web link delivery.asony.com, any time you order online. The website (vs. the Caviar application) saves our employee owned business almost 50% in fees. Your experience will be the same.

Be sure to keep us informed of your experience (e.g., Did the order arrive on time? Was your order still warm? Did the driver use a pizza bag?). Please email us at delivery@asliceofny.com
and share. We will be closely reviewing the costs, but in ALL cases, delivery is more expensive than coming in to pick up your order. We are not trying to make more on delivery; rather, we want to keep our profit margins the same.

We want to hear from you. We want to make this a great delivery experience and a win-win for everyone!

Thank you! - ASONY Team

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Reduction in Shop Hours - SUNNYVALE

A Slice of New York and A Slice of New York - Sunnyvale prides itself on making great pizza and providing memorable experiences for our awesome customers.

Hiring great people continues to be a challenge and we do not want to overwork the stellar crew we have.

Until we can add solid team members to provide the level of service we demand, we are reducing hours at our Sunnyvale location. Sundays we are closing at 7:30pm with last order at 7:00pm. This reduction will expand if necessary.

We want to be your go-to pizza shop. If you know anyone interested in working for our employee-owned cooperative and think they're a fit with our environment and culture, please contact us jobs@aSliceOfNY.com.

Thanks for your ongoing support of our small business!







DoorDash Fiasco - DoorDash Terminates Relationship with ASONY
10/10/18
We are disappointed to let you know that our small business isn't worth the time or trouble for DoorDash to manage. After submitting two serious complaints about driver issues (many of them were fine), we received the following email from DoorDash stating they no longer want to do business with us.

"Based on the incident reports which have been filed regarding A Slice of New York and our review of the circumstances, we would like to inform you that we will be parting ways with A Slice of New York. DoorDash requires all of our merchants to uphold and share in our commitment regarding maintaining a safe work environment, free from any intimidation or harassment. Based on these incidents and a review of our current agreement with A Slice of New York, we are hereby providing you with notice of termination, effective immediately."

It has been over two weeks since I had communication with them. There has been ZERO follow-up from them to the two incident reports I filed, one about an aggressive, disrespectful driver, and the second about a driver who stole from us. And when I asked about the status of these and what was happening, we received the above email. No phone call. No follow-up. Nothing.

Even though we had many issues reported around driver lateness, drivers not being assigned, lack of professionalism, disrespect, and general frustration, I was still willing to provide consistent feedback, speak to their Merchant Support on the phone in India, and put up with their technology and Merchant Portal not functioning. I wanted to make it work because our customers use their platform.

And, I am not willing to simply accept quality of our product being negatively impacted by some drivers who don't really care, or not identify issues with drivers who don't have the basics to do the job effectively (like a pizza bag). Was I too vocal? Is it unreasonable for me to request pizza delivery drivers have pizza bags to keep our product warm? Should I simply not care about food that leaves the shop because it's already paid for? Should I not care that drivers show up late and are unapologetic about it?

We heard you want delivery; we have heard it for over a decade. We will find a way to get a quality-based solution. Thanks for your patience.

Kirk Vartan
General Manager


9/26/18
Due to multiple and serious issues with DoorDash drivers (e.g., disrespect, lack of professionalism, and stealing), we have temporarily halted operations with DoorDash. There are two formal cases filed, and one may turn into a criminal case based on what is currently known.

A Slice of New York was founded on principals that are not negotiable, two being open and honest communication and mutual respect. We do not feel these qualities are being met by this service at this time. We are trying to work it out as we speak, but until we do, service has been suspended. We are sorry for any inconvenience this has caused.

We will keep you updated.

-Kirk


9/11/18
We tested DoorDash today (9/11/18), and it was much better. Still some issues, but we have a pretty good idea on how to work with it. Please let us know if you have issues by reaching out to us directly - delivery@asliceofny.com.

If you want delivery, please use the following (dead link) and DO NOT use the DoorDash app directly to order from us. Simply click this link (or bookmark it) to access our DoorDash menu. It will save us over 50% of the commission DoorDash takes from us and will keep that revenue in our business. Your experience will be the same.

Please understand that DoorDash takes 25% of the order revenue from us. On top of that, the additional taxes, tip, and fees do not go to ASONY. We are looking at how this significant fee will impact our business, and we might have to raise prices specifically for DoorDash service.

Once you use DoorDash, we no longer know who you are! We want to stay connected to our friends and customers, so please let us know what your experience is by emailing us at - delivery@asliceofny.com. We want to hear from you directly, whether it is good, bad, issues, questions, etc. Please keep in mind, the crew making your pizza are no longer able to get a tip from you.

We welcome your thoughts. These are hard times for everyone, but incredibly hard for our team to live in this area and for us to properly compensate them.

Thank you for all your years of support.

Kirk Vartan
General Manager/Founder
The A Slice of New York Worker Cooperative