Daily Deacon

ZICKS PHASE TWO A SUCCESS // Katie Dickens

It’s 6pm on a Monday night. A line that only a few weeks ago would have consisted of three to four students looking for a quiet meal and a game of pool has now grown to wrap around the entire corridor of Zick’s. The crowds are eager to witness the second step of a three-step plan to improve the upper quad pizza parlor.

The phase two changes include six new flatbreads, three new appetizers and four new healthy salads. The menu was designed by Wake Forest executive chef Jose Muñoz and the pizzas were renamed to be “quirky, funny, and different” according to Aramark marketing manager Sarah Barkley. Names of the new features include the Thai-Tanic salad, the Ken & Barbie-Q flatbread, the Margaritaville flatbread.

Jason Puhlman, Aramark’s Assistant Food Service Director, said creating a new plan for Zick’s was a group effort in response to student’s desire for more variety and consistency.

“We brainstormed the three-phase plan with a large group of people,” Puhlman said. “We wanted Zick’s to be different, not just a pizza place. When a student comes back to Wake five years down the road, we want them to tell their friends that they have to go to Zick’s.”

The first phase of the project was implementing a new beer and wine selection, increasing the number of beers on tap from two to four and adding 17 new beers for sale.

“I’ve heard such incredibly positive feedback about both phases so far,” Barkley said. “It makes me so happy to hear people talking about it around campus and even seeing the response on social media like our Instagram.”

“The positive response is more than any of us expected, honestly,” Puhlman said. “I would’ve been happy with doubled sales, but sales tripled within the first week.”

Hunter Honnessy, the current chair of Dining Commission, said the student response has been overwhelmingly positive. The Student Government committee is open to all Wake Forest students and meets to discuss on-campus dining options with Aramark and Wake Forest dining employees. The commission recently pushed for more diverse options, and Honnessy said the Zick’s changes are proof of how receptive the faculty has been to implementing student ideas.

“Zick’s is the place to be now,” Honessy said. “I love seeing people hanging out, eating and drinking as I walk by on quad. People used to go because they were in a hurry and didn’t want to wait, but now you have to be ready to sit down and actually enjoy the meal which is what they wanted as an outcome of the changes.”

Junior John Idzik says Phase 2 is a good move. “It is being well received by students and should be a model for other campus dining options.”

One of new, personal flatbreads is called the Couch Tomato and is made with pesto sauce, sundried tomatoes, mozzarella and basil. The new appetizers that have been added to the menu include ravioli bites, pizza dip, and the tater-zone, which is a calzone of tater tots.

Will Hargrove, a freshman who was a Zick’s regular before the changes echoed the same sentiments, saying flatbreads like the Couch Tomato has made him a happy customer.

“The new menu accommodates a more diverse crowd, like vegetarians and upperclassmen who enjoy the beer and wine options,” Hargrove said. “The new Puff Daddy flatbread is my favorite.”

Phase three will premiere this coming fall, but the dining staff are keeping the details about the final step a secret. According to Puhlman, students “have a better chance of finding out the fate of Jon Snow on Game of Thrones than finding out what phase three is!”