Zeno's Pizza - Marshalltown, IA

I grew up in Newton, Iowa and my first pizza experience was with Pizza Hut when I was in junior high.  (I know - that sounds weird as 3 year-olds are eating pizza these days.  But we didn't have pizza places back then like they seem to have on every corner today.)  My second pizza experience is what changed my life on my tastes in pizza.  We had a Zeno's Pizza in Newton (now Giovanni's Pizza) that became my go-to for pizza.  The pizza was cut in party squares with the wonderful "honey pot" square center cuts where the cheese and grease would congregate.  We would fight over the center squares of a Zeno's pizza.  It turns out that the original Zeno's Pizza was just 32 miles north in Marshalltown.  I used to help out from time to time at a sporting goods store in Marshalltown in the mid-70's and Zeno's was always one of my favorite stops before I would drive back home.  Not long ago, I realized that I hadn't been to Zeno's in Marshalltown in, well, a long, long time.  I was driving between Waterloo and Ames during a recent outing and I decided to stop into Zeno's in Marshalltown to get reacquainted with one of their pizzas.  

The history of the Zeno's Pizza in Marshalltown starts out in 1952 when two Chicago natives Cosmos Nigrelli and his brother-in-law Joe Liberio decided to open a pizza place in Marshalltown.  It was one of the first pizza places in Iowa and the novelty of the new food won over many in the Marshalltown area.  The original place - called Joe's Pizza - sat in what is now the middle section of Zeno's.  It was approximately 20' X 60' in size and sat 50 to 60 people.  

In 1955, Nigrelli and Liberio sold the pizza place to Rocky Lavalle and Elmer Kluck who renamed the place Rocky's Pizza.  Four years later, Elmer Kluck bought out the shares owned by Rocky Lavalle and took sole ownership of the restaurant.   He also renamed the place Zeno's Pizza - Zeno was Elmer Kluck's middle name.  Along with his wife Margy and their son Terry, Elmer Kluck ran the restaurant - and Zeno's Coachman Inn, a tavern next door to Zeno's - until he passed away in 1966.  Margy and Terry Kluck continued to run Zeno's after Elmer's death.  In 1972, Terry Kluck and his wife Jan took over ownership of the family business and promptly expanded and renovated the decor of the restaurant.  Margy Kluck continued to work at Zeno's until she retired in 1984.  

Now, I don't know if the Kluck's owned or franchised out the Zeno's Pizza in Newton.  There was a difference in the pizzas - Marshalltown used provolone cheese on their pizza while Newton had mozzarella.  (I liked the one in Newton better, but the one in Marshalltown was still very good.)  I seem to remember a couple three other Zeno's Pizza locations around Central Iowa in the 70's and 80's, but I don't know if those were franchises or owned by the Klucks.  

By 2013, Terry and Jan Kluck had turned 70 years old and they decided prior to that milestone that they wanted to sell they business.   Terry had worked at Zeno's since he was in the 8th grade and he felt it was time to move on and let someone else run the business.  But they didn't want to just sell it to anyone.  They wanted the new owners to keep the same recipe and the tradition of the place the Kluck family had built up over the years.  Once they let it be known that they were looking to sell, they felt that if they didn't have a solid buyer within four years, they would just close the place down.  

Aaron Buzbee had grown up in Marshalltown and knew all about Zeno's Pizza.  Aaron and his wife Michelle - who grew up in Chicago and knew a thing or two about pizza - had been in the hospitality business for a number of years before they moved back to Marshalltown to open an Irish Pub, the Fiddle and Whistle.  They had owned the pub for about a year when they heard that the Kluck's were looking to sell the business and the Buzbee's approached Terry and Jan about the possibility of taking over.  The Kluck's liked the fact that a local - with restaurant experience - who grew up on Zeno's pizza was interested in buying them out.  After some negotiations, the Kluck's handed the keys over to Aaron and Michelle Buzbee in the summer of 2013.  From what I understand, the Buzbee's haven't changed a thing.

It was around 6 p.m. when I pulled into Marshalltown and pulled up to Zeno's on E. Main Street.  (see map)  The sporting goods store I would help out at from time to time years ago was on E. Church Street, just a block south of E. Main and an easy walk to Zeno's on Saturday evenings for a pizza before my drive home.  The facade of the building that houses Zeno's was exactly the same as when I first went there in the 70's.  About the only difference was that the building that used to be just east of Zeno's had been torn down since the last time I was there over 25 years ago.  

The center dining room hadn't changed since the first time I walked in over 40 years ago.  The original dining room still featured the low ceiling with the high-backed booths.  The famous "box" where people paid their bill and picked up pizza-to-go was still off to the side. 

The dining room to the right was still the same as I remember.  I sort of remember there was dining upstairs, but it appeared the upstairs seating area was closed off.  Booths and tables were exactly as I remember in the wood-paneled room.  

However, there were some changes from the last time I was in Zeno's.  The room below left was new to me.  It was definitely more updated than the two main dining areas and looked like a room where they would hold private receptions, parties or meetings.  "Marshalltown" was spelled out with large wooden letters along one of the walls.

The room off to the left of the original dining room was also different from what I remember.  (Above right)  I seem to remember there was a bar in there at one point, but that was no more.  It, too, could be used for overflow dining as well as private receptions and parties.  

They were cleaning a center row booth in the original dining area when I walked in.  The young lady who greeted me at the front took me to the booth and handed me a menu.  I ordered a beer and took a quick look through the menu.  

I knew what I was going to have - my standard sausage, pepperoni and mushroom pizza - but I wanted to see if there was anything different from the last time I was in.  I immediately noticed that they had two Mexican-style pizzas - a taco pizza and a Mexican Fiesta pizza that featured seasoned beef taco meat, onions, black olives, and jalapeños.  I don't remember seeing pizzas like that when I was last in Zeno's.  

Like clockwork, I got the same thing that I always get when I get a pizza by myself.  Now, some people have told me that my pizza choices are boring and predictable.  Predictable, yes.  Boring, hardly.  The toppings I like - Italian sausage for the bit of the savory spicy bite; pepperoni for the salty taste, and mushrooms for the earthiness that offsets the Italian meat choices.  Oh, I do like cooked onions and green peppers, but they don't like me.  I usually get indigestion from the cooked onions or peppers after eating them.  But taco pizzas and pizzas with Canadian bacon and sauerkraut?  Uh, no.  I like tacos in tortilla shells and while I like Canadian bacon and sauerkraut, I like them better on a sandwich than on a pizza crust with cheese and tomato sauce. 

(And to the lady who said that I screwed up by not getting the chili dog pizza at Zipp's Pizzaria in Adair, IA  -click here to read about Road Tips' visit to Zipp's - to me that's not real pizza.  With all due respect to my new friend Jim Zimmerline, the owner of Zipp's, that's a novelty pizza.  Sure, I may try a piece, but I won't be ordering a chili dog pizza, anywhere, anytime in the future.  And I'll guaran-damn-tee you that you won't be able to walk into any pizza place in Italy and be able to get a taco or a chili-dog pizza.)  

On this visit, I ordered a 12" medium pizza.  Now, I was hungry, and I thought I could possibly finish a 12" pizza.  At least, I used to be able to finish a 12" Zeno's pizza when I was younger.  But at the Marshalltown Zeno's they pile the cheese and toppings on the pizza that it's just overflowing.  And because of that, it's a little more expensive than most other pizza places.  This pizza cost me $17.15 for cheese and three toppings.  But I wasn't able to finish the whole thing.  I think I left about five pieces to take with me to the hotel over in Ames.  

The sausage on the pizza were large chunks that had a great spicy taste, the pepperoni slices were plentiful and added that great salty taste to the pizza, and the mushrooms appeared to be fresh and had a nice, natural flavor.  The cheese was just slathered all over the top of the pizza covering the toppings - a Zeno's tradition.  Of course, the center squares - the "honey pot" of any party-cut pizza - were the most delicious part of the pizza.  This is were all the flavors come together and the thin crust of the pizza is a little more soggy and chewy.  Zeno's easily passes my "Does it taste good with a beer?" test when it comes to pizza.

But it seemed a little different in the overall taste.  It wasn't exactly I remember a Zeno's Pizza tasting like, but I did go to the one in Newton a lot more than the one in Marshalltown.  And there was a taste difference between those two pizzas.  My guess is that they put more cheese and toppings on the one in Marshalltown these days from what I remember from the Zeno's of years ago.  I don't know - I may be wrong on that.  

It had been over 40 years since I first tried a Zeno's pizza and over 25 years since I last enjoyed one from the original Zeno's Pizza.  Everything about the place - from the decor in the original dining room, to the quality taste of the pizza - I remembered vividly.  And not much has changed over the years.  Even with new ownership, the pizza at Zeno's was nearly the same as I remember it was years ago.  Expect to pay a little more for the pizza at Zeno's, but it's only because they put a lot more cheese and toppings on the pizza than most other places.   Everyone everywhere has a pizza that they were brought up on and think it's the best in the world.  But the people of Marshalltown - at least the ones who grew up there - are lucky to still have Zeno's Pizza in their lives.  

Comments

[Sam]

I lived in Marshalltown for four years and never understood the love for Zeno's. My first night in town I'd ordered three pizza off the menu, then quickly backtracked when they quoted me $75. $75 for three pizzas! Unreal. The pizza was fine, but not nearly as good as what everyone makes it out to be. For a $25 pizza, the canned mushrooms they used were unacceptable.

The second time we stopped in to dine. They sat us, then proceeded to ignore us for 20 minutes. I tried waving down a waitress and was unsuccessful, to which the guy in the booth next to me muttered, "Well, you can't please everyone." After 25 minutes, someone stopped by. The pizza was just as disappointing the second time, and I never went back after that.

[Vernon Beenken]

Zeno's Pizza in my Grundy Center, Ia was where my wife and I had our first date after going to a UNI Basketball game in '72.
In '76 I worked there as an Assistant Manager part time for some extra money.

[Tom Overman]

I worked at Zeno’s in Marshalltown as a teenager and I loved it. Terry and Jan would often have parties at their home after work on the weekends. That was in the late 60’s. I loved the sauce-and still do. However, decades later, the pizza does taste different somehow. Perhaps it’s just my taste buds!?! I was sad to see the new owners took down all the pictures of our crew that Terry had displayed for years. I realize it’s time for the new owners to give the place their own memories.