Today we’d like to introduce you to Zane Hunt.
Hi Zane, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My brother and I started Via 313 in East Austin as a food trailer in December of 2011. To get the business launched, we both put in 10k and my father in law invested 10k. So with 30k, we were able to purchase a food trailer and outfit it for pizza. It slowly grew into another food trailer about a year later. We saved as much money as we could so we could open a Via 313 restaurant which was always our goal from the start. In April of 2015, we opened our first full-service restaurant in Oak Hill. The reception was positive from day one. We quickly added another location on North Campus about a year later. Almost two years later, we moved our original East 6th Street trailer to West 6th so we could open a restaurant on East 6th. After feeling the strain of quick growth and wanting to continue to bring Detroit-style pizza to everyone, we decided to partner with the Savory Fund in Salt Lake City. With their help, we have since added new locations in Orem, Utah (just south of Salt Lake City) and Cedar Park, TX. We have plans to grow to 30-40 locations in the next five years with potential stores in Las Vegas, Kansas City, Denver, Phoenix, Houston, San Antonio and more in the Salt Lake City are and Austin.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Of course, there have been many challenges along the way, each day & week brings new opportunities for learning and growth. We could probably write a book on all of the things we have dealt with along the way. However, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the first big struggle we faced on our journey. On the 1st night we were open as a business, a chilly December night in 2011, our first customer’s pizza is in the oven nearing completion. My brother Brandon pulls it out and puts it on the table to be cut. At that moment, we realized we didn’t have a pizza cutter in the trailer. We forgot it at my house (where we had been doing test bakes for months). We ended up running across the street and borrowing one from another food trailer. We had a good laugh about it. It’s always something.
We’ve been impressed with Via 313 Pizza, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Brandon and I were raised in the Detroit area. When I moved to Austin in 2009 with my wife and kids, I quickly realized that I missed the pizza of my home city. I had been an amateur baker/pizza maker for years but had never really made what we now call Detroit Style Pizza at home. I was able to convince my brother to take a chance and move down about a year later. We immediately went to work on menu and recipe development, branding, and writing a business plan. We had no experience with much of that and so it took us quite a while to not only learn those things but also have the confidence to show the world what we were working on.
We are known for our Detroit Style Pizza at Via 313. Our goal is always to not only serve a great pizza but also provide really good service in a full-service environment.
I am most proud of our team. We wouldn’t have been able to grow and open new locations without the hundreds of amazing people we have worked with over the years.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
I really think Covid has created a unique and interesting time for us in the restaurant industry. On one hand many people had been turning to off-premise dining & 3rd party delivery prior to the pandemic, Covid really just put that movement on steroids. But on the other hand, there is tremendous opportunity and desire for people to get back out and enjoy a full restaurant experience again as well. I felt like prior to Covid, we were living in a golden age of dining in the US. I see no reason why we cannot return to that once again coming out of the pandemic in the coming years.
Contact Info:
- Email: zhunt@via313.com
- Website: www.via313.com
- Instagram: @via313pizza
- Facebook: @via313
- Twitter: @Via313Pizza
Image Credits
Dustin Meyer Hunter Townsend
