Latest / Visit Sacramento Podcast / Zelda’s Dishes Up Big Flavor in Sacramento

Transcript

Zelda’s Dishes Up Big Flavor in Sacramento · Visit Sacramento Podcast

• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to the Mrs. Sacramento podcast. I'm your host,
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: Montana Lynch, and today we're joined by Beau Cornell, owner
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: of Zelda's Original Gourmet Pizza. Thanks for joining us, Beau.
• 0:11
  Speaker 2: Hi, guys. Very happy to be here. Thanks for having me.
• 0:14
  Speaker 2: Of course. Before we get into this intense interview where
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: we're unfolding layers of Sacramento history and personal hygiene issues,
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: I got to say, you have the coolest name in
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: show business I've ever heard. Thank you. You sound like
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: a bad guy in a Western. Montana Lynch. I mean,
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: come on. That's so cool.
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: I appreciate that.
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: You better cover your ass as Montana Lynch is in town.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: My parents are very big 49er fans, and Joe Montana
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: was the quarterback, and so they picked it from.
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: Is that who that was?
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that's how they got it, which it's a pretty
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: cool one. To kick us off, can you tell me
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: a little bit about the history of Zelda's?
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: Yeah, Zelda's was founded by Zelda Breslin herself in 1978.
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: I'm not going to sugarcoat the history at all. This
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: is what it was told to me. This is how
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: I understand it. She worked at a famous Chicago pizzeria
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: called Uno's. This is like a big thing, you know?
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: And apparently took the recipes, took one of the cooks,
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: moved to California and opened her own shop over here.
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: And they know what Zelda's is, and apparently they're still
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: pissed about it. Yeah, it's been operating since 78 when
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: she opened it. She passed away in 2006. Her son
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: took over the reins up until 2024. And that's when
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: I took over.
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: As you mentioned, Zelda, it's been here for decades. It's
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: so well established. What do you think is the reason
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: people continue coming back for more?
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: You know, it's got a strange cult-like following. It's also
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: difficult to describe because it's a very divisive. I mean,
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: pizza is kind of a divisive topic.
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: It is, absolutely.
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: People build very strongly about the way that pizza is.
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: I would contend that Zelda's is actually one of the
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: most divisive. There's people who drive from Reno and ready
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: to get it. And then there's people who won't set
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: foot in this place on principle that they won't eat
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: a pizza that resembles a casserole. You know, it's just
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: it's the nature of the business here.
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: So if you were to describe the aesthetics and the
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: vibes of Zelda, what would you say it is?
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: You know, people call it a throwback. You walk through
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: the door and it's kind of like a time capsule.
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: When I took over, I didn't change a whole lot.
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: I didn't knock down any walls or anything like that.
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: It's got the black popcorn ceiling with glitter in it.
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: That was original to the 78. Put a little lipstick
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: and rouge on the old girl as well, we like
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: to say. Put some mirrors on the walls, update the
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: lighting a little bit. Just give it some subtle, soft
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: touches to kind of elevate it. Otherwise, you are walking
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: in the same establishment as you'd be walking in 1978.
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: I love that.
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: I love a good time capsule for any location, quite frankly.
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: Totally, totally.
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: So obviously you came into Zelda's. What about Zelda's made
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: you want to be part of its story?
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: Well, I was a regular here. I live five blocks
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: away and I still do. So I was a regular
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: here for about 13 years. I missed Zelda. You know,
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: the God's honest truth. I was in the wine industry
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: for almost 15 years. And I don't know if you
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: keep up with the wine industry, but they're having some struggles.
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: So I got, I got laid off in July of
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: 2024 and Zelda's closed August 31st and You know, not
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: to sugarcoat, as I said, I didn't want to write
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: a resume. I was like, fuck it, I'll just go
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: buy Zeldas. That's what happened.
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: I mean, it is kind of cool because I think
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: you've done so much to help reinvigorate it and really
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: just keep it alive. And obviously people, like you said,
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: it's polarizing, but a lot of people, it has a
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: cult following and they love it. So I'd love to
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: hear a little bit more about the menu. What does
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: Zeldas offer?
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: Okay, so Zelda's, I wasn't going to touch the pizza.
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: It's in the damn neon sign.
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: Yes, of course.
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: Zelda's Pizza and Cocktails. I'm not touching that pizza.
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: Yes.
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: Well, the pizza's exactly the same. People swear that I've
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: changed it or whatnot. One of the chefs back there
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: has been working here off and on since 2002, and
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: he's like, it has not changed. So he eats the pizza.
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: What we've updated is the things I didn't really care
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: for on the menu, which might sound like heresy, but
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: I've updated the salads. The pastas, we get fresh pasta
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: every week from Pasta Therapy, just another good local business
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: with a great chef named Jason Acevedo. He hand delivers
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: pasta to me twice a week. So really, it's not
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: the same spaghetti and meatballs you would get in 2006, say.
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: It's just a little bit updated, a little bit elevated,
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: in my opinion. Yeah.
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: So obviously you've mentioned like the vibe, the aesthetic is
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: so unique. I've seen the website. It is also very
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: unique and very fun. What do you think makes the
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: food such a unique experience at Zelda's?
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: When you live in Sacramento and you've seen how Sacramento
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: has been changing over the years, over the decades, it's
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: really that whole farm to fork movement has really taken
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: hold over everything, you know, in kind of a good way.
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: It's like, you know, we've got a serious food scene
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: here that rivals the Bay Area in L.A. And so
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: implementing those same kind of devices into the Zelda's portfolio,
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: it's just done wonderful things. People have responded to it
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: very well. And that's the thing, you can still get
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: the pizza that you had with your grandma in the 80s.
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: You can still do that, but you might want like
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: a salad with goat cheese from the Coloma. We got
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: that too.
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: A good variety, absolutely. What is your personal must order
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: item for somebody who's never been?
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: Gin martinis. Of course, yes. Start there. As far as
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: pizza goes, there's one called Spinacoli, and it's kind of famous.
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: And it just sounds like something I would never order
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: on a menu. It's got spinach and broccoli and feta.
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: It's sauiceless. It's a sauiceless pizza. Incredibly delicious. Whatever Zelda
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: was doing, making those flavors work, she did it very well.
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: She knew what she was doing.
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: That's my favorite.
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: Absolutely. Absolutely.
• 5:52
  Speaker 3: California's best flavors are coming together for one unforgettable night.
• 5:57
  Speaker 3: Introducing the California Grand Tasting, Friday, September 11th in downtown Sacramento.
• 6:04
  Speaker 3: Dig into dishes from more than 30 restaurants, sip wine
• 6:08
  Speaker 3: and craft beer from more than 25 wineries and breweries.
• 6:13
  Speaker 3: and enjoy live music all in one delicious evening. Get
• 6:17
  Speaker 3: your tickets today at visitsacramento.com slash grandtasting.
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: The California Grand Tasting is supported by partners like KCRA3.
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: You mentioned, of course, the America's Farm to Fork Capital,
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: how much, you know, has been done in that scene.
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: What do you think makes Sacramento different from other food cities?
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: What makes Sacramento different from other food cities? How about this?
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: we're on a grid and it's very walkable and you
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: could do, you know, what I lovingly call a bang bang,
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: where you just, you might have a two dinner night,
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: go take your day, go have one dinner, walk to
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: the next restaurant.
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: Nice.
• 6:53
  Speaker 2: You'll be walking as a mile, you know? And it's like,
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: and walking is part of the fun and see a
• 6:59
  Speaker 2: bar on the way, stop in for a pop there.
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: Then you'll hit the next restaurant. I mean, Sacramento is
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: truly a culinary destination. You can make a day out
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: of eating and, You might only last until about 6 p.m.,
• 7:10
  Speaker 2: but you can make a day out of drinking in
• 7:12
  Speaker 2: this town.
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: No, absolutely. It's definitely one of the best places to
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: hit up. Is there a moment when you realized just
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: how much Zelda means to Sacramento?
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: That is a good question. Let me reflect on that
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: for a second.
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely.
• 7:25
  Speaker 2: I guess, you know what? It's interesting because the way
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: I always viewed it, since I was a regular here,
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: it was a bar, you know? And then I could
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: eat if I got... if I needed to pat my stomach, essentially.
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: But people really do have a very personal relationship with
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: this place. And I guess it's because they remember going
• 7:46
  Speaker 2: here with their now-dead grandparents back in 83. So there's
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: a very intimate history with the Sacramentans. So the people
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: who are, you know, the light touches I did put up,
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: mirrors and lights up and whatnot, Some people were like
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: shocked and offended by that because they wanted it exactly
• 8:05
  Speaker 2: the same. So, you know, I guess I had to
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: start respecting that this is not a place that can
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: be easily changed. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. If that makes any
• 8:17
  Speaker 2: sense at all.
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: Yeah, no, it definitely does. No, that's great to hear.
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: It's precious for a lot of people.
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely. So obviously, Zelda's had such a good and
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: long legacy. If you're looking out, you know, 5, 10, 20,
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: 25 years from now, what do you hope Zelda's legacy
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: will look like?
• 8:37
  Speaker 2: Well, I may not be alive then. This place might
• 8:40
  Speaker 2: just bury me, honestly. I guess the legacy is that
• 8:43
  Speaker 2: we will do our damnedest to keep it as beloved,
• 8:48
  Speaker 2: as untouched. We won't screw with your pizza recipe. I
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: might do some things with sandwiches and salads, but I'm
• 8:53
  Speaker 2: not going to screw with your pizza. And I'll keep
• 8:57
  Speaker 2: the wood paneling up on the walls. That's great.
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: So if we're looking at any, like, immediate changes, is
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: there anything that we can look forward to in the future?
• 9:04
  Speaker 2: I don't know if you keep up with current events,
• 9:07
  Speaker 2: but apparently the state workers are coming back to work,
• 9:10
  Speaker 2: coming back to the office, I should say. We might
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: be starting to do lunches just to keep the doors
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: open a little longer and accommodate the, you know, 100,000
• 9:17
  Speaker 2: or so workers. I need to come to work every day.
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: So that's the immediate future plan. We've never done delivery.
• 9:25
  Speaker 2: Everyone knows we have Zeldas. And so that might be
• 9:28
  Speaker 2: an avenue that we explore. And it could just be
• 9:31
  Speaker 2: as simple as taking on Uber Eats or the Grubhubs
• 9:34
  Speaker 2: of society, you know, not having our own fleet or, yeah,
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: I'm not going to get on a moped and drive
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: around kind of thing.
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: Yeah, don't worry.
• 9:42
  Speaker 2: Yeah, but those are the immediate future plans that, you know,
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: the foreseeable changes that could be happening.
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: Amazing. And for the lunch portion, is it going to
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: be every day or are you just looking at like
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: specific days?
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: Quit asking me the tough questions. This is the end
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: come on the simple truthful answers i just don't know
• 9:59
  Speaker 2: yet we'll have to figure out what makes sense i
• 10:01
  Speaker 2: mean i have to staff it you know yeah right
• 10:03
  Speaker 2: now we're doing lunches thursdays and fridays and those have
• 10:06
  Speaker 2: been working out so far you know if we need
• 10:08
  Speaker 2: to do a tuesday through friday thing maybe oh i'll
• 10:11
  Speaker 2: do it all i'll do all seven days if people
• 10:13
  Speaker 2: want lunch all seven days okay for people.
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: Who are planning a visit should they make reservations in
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: advance or can they just.
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: Stop by You can always just stop by. I mean,
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: there's usually a space at the bar. If it's a
• 10:23
  Speaker 2: Friday night and you've got a party of six, yeah,
• 10:25
  Speaker 2: give me a call, all right? Yeah, yeah.
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: Definitely for the bigger parties, I understand that. And then
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: what's the best way to stay up to date with
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: what's going on at Zelda's?
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: All right, either Facebook or Instagram. I know that's kind
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: of old school, but I'm saying that that's old school,
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: that's crazy. Yeah, we're not that high tech here. And
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: so just, I operate the Facebook. My neighbor downstairs does
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: the Instagram. And so it's not the most professional way
• 10:51
  Speaker 2: But it'll tell you, you know, hey, we're closed on
• 10:53
  Speaker 2: Fourth of July. That kind of stuff. Hey, we've got
• 10:55
  Speaker 2: a wine dinner coming up. Actually, our wine dinners are awesome.
• 10:59
  Speaker 2: Those you should obviously make a reservation for because they
• 11:01
  Speaker 2: get packed. We're building tables to get people in for
• 11:04
  Speaker 2: the wine dinners.
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: I've heard good things about the wine dinners. How often
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: have you guys been doing the wine dinners? Once a month.
• 11:10
  Speaker 2: Once a month. Usually it falls on the last Sunday
• 11:12
  Speaker 2: of the month. But Christmas might screw with that. So
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: we have guest chefs. We got wineries come in and
• 11:18
  Speaker 2: it just becomes this huge party.
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: Yeah, a great experience for anyone that's going. And then
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: for anybody who wants to follow, it is at Zelda's
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: Pizza on Instagram.
• 11:27
  Speaker 2: Thank you, Montana. Of course.
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: So thank you so much for joining us, Beau. It's
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: been great chatting with you and getting to learn a
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: little bit about Zelda's.
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: Well, it's good to hear your voices.
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: Yeah, of course. Thank you. Thank you for listening to
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: this episode of the Visit Sacramento podcast. I'm your host,
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: Montana Lynch. Executive producers are Mike Testa and Brandon Darnell
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: in association with Flores Podcast Productions.