Mary’s Pizza Shack slices into separate ownership groups

Customers at Mary’s Pizza Shack’s Sonoma Valley restaurants are noticing that Artichoke and Eggplant Sandwich, Eggplant Parmigiana and other new items are now on menus, joining Spaghetti with a Giant Meatball and other longtime favorites.

This reflects Mary’s Pizza Shack’s decision to add specials and new items that are unique to each of its locations, part of the restaurant group’s strategy to improve its business model to help ensure long-term success.

“But I want to reassure everyone that what Sonoma residents know and love about Mary’s is going to stay,” said Nanette Albano-Lane, a granddaughter of the restaurants’ late founder, Mary Fazio (affectionately known as Noni to family members). “Nothing changes in terms of the favorite recipes that makes Mary’s Mary’s. The legendary meatball, world-famous ranch dressing, homemade classic meat sauce, signature salads and pizzas are going to continue to be as our guests know and love them.”

Mary’s has restaurants in its original Boyes Hot Springs location — which opened in 1959 — as well as in Sonoma, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Windsor, Vacaville, Fairfield and two in Santa Rosa.

Due to rising rents, uneven business and supply problems, Mary’s closed its restaurants in Dixon, Napa, Novato, downtown Santa Rosa and Sebastopol within the past year. Many crew members were offered transfers to the company’s other restaurants and others received severances, based on length of service.

The nine remaining restaurants are now individually owned and operated by extended family members of founder Mary Fazio.

As part of the process, which was completed in February 2023, Mary’s Pizza Shack, Inc. has been dissolved and Vince Albano no longer serves as CEO of the restaurants. A new umbrella company — Three Albano Sisters, LLC, named after Fazio’s granddaughters — houses the intellectual property and licensing agreements.

Each ownership group has a corporation that oversees its respective locations. They are bound by a license agreement that protects the brand integrity, including the core menu, logo and quality standards.

“Technically, the license agreement ensures that no one operator can change a recipe or remove a core menu item,” said Marie Albano-Dito, a granddaughter of the founder. “The consistency of service comes from our shared goals as a family to deliver our Noni’s brand of Italian comfort food.”

She said that the business model was inspired by the successful model implemented by Terri Williamson, another granddaughter of the founder, and husband Cully Williamson, who own and operate Mary’s Pizza Shack’s two remaining Santa Rosa restaurants.

“We began a process that will allow us to mentor the next generation of managers and crew members as well as more personally connect with our guests and respond to the needs of our stores rapidly,” Terri Williamson said.

Albano-Lane added, “Our grandmother built her business by being in the restaurant. She passed down her recipes and ways of service side by side with the crew members that worked with her.

“As our company passed a milestone of over 50 years of being in business, we asked ourselves how we can best ensure that the much-loved brand would last and thrive for another 60 years. The answer was obvious: by having more direct involvement in the day-to-day operations.”

Albano-Dito thinks that this will enable customers to establish stronger connections with her and other third-generation members of the founder’s family.

“Mary’s is already so active in our support of nonprofits, schools and communities,” she said. “And we’ll still do our scholastic certificates and offer our dine and donate program. But now, as a new generation of customers come to our restaurants who never met Mary or Toto (Mary’s son), we hope they can make that same connection to me and Nanette.”

Albano-Dito said that the recent changes already are having a positive impact.

“Because we’re leading in-store rather than in an office and able to quickly respond to the needs of guests and the restaurants, we can initiate changes that may have previously been prohibited, based on corporate priorities,” she said. “For example, both Nanette and I are working on Boyes Hot Springs and Sonoma Plaza bringing back our own delivery drivers.”

Albano-Lane said that she has been pleasantly surprised at how receptive customers already have been to the more direct, personal approach.

“Whenever I’m working in the (Boyes Hot Springs) store, I introduce myself to guests as Mary’s granddaughter, and it creates a special moment,” she said. “Some of our most loyal guests love to share their favorite stories about Noni, and new guests are delighted that our legacy is as strong now as it was 60 years ago.”

Mary’s Pizza Shack restaurants also are making ongoing improvements to tables, chairs and restrooms; painting areas to match the rebranded colors and iconography; and planning to add more special menu items.

“And we’re also exploring ways to offer locally sourced produce, which always elevates the experience,” said Jacob Perez, publicist for the restaurants. “You may also see additional staff members, but no changes to the service style.”

Reach the reporter, Dan Johnson, at daniel.johnson@sonomanews.com.