Business: Mazala Pizza
Address: 535 Fairway Drive, Naperville
Phone/website: 630-864-6694; www.mazalapizza.com
Owner/managing partner: Drew Patel, 32, of Hinsdale
Years in business: 6 months
What’s the background? “We started in Chicago. One is in River North, the other is in Lincoln Park. We’ll soon open one in Schaumburg. And we also have one in San Jose, California. I was there last year for four or five months as part of my training to make sure I can handle it on my own. … Different locations have different owners. … We are all college friends. DePaul, Loyola, UIC and University of Illinois,” Patel said.
Where did you attend college? “I went to UIC. I majored in management.”
Why did you start this business? “We used to sell snacks, chai tea and quick-serving food at River North. Then COVID-19 came and we realized pizza sales were off the chart. We decided to try our own fusion pizzas like chicken tikka pizza, butter chicken pizza as part of the menu. Now, five years later, pizza is our No. 1 seller.”
What’s different about your pizza? “The process of making the pizza is the same as the Italian way. The only difference is the sauces, the protein and the base sauce. Italian pizza has a tomato base, a marinara sauce. We add onions and cream to our sauce to make it richer. It has butter, green peppers (and) some house spices. That creates the difference between us and a normal pizzeria. … This concept is fairly new in Chicago. The goal is to spread the word as quickly and efficiently as possible. … Not a lot of people know about this.”
How do you do that? “The goal is to get everyone to try it. So, the past six months, we’ve probably given away $10,000 in free food just to get people to try it. In December when we opened, we gave away about $6,000 of food that month alone.
“We came to the conclusion that it’s always better to give, give, give before you can get, get, get.”
Why are you in Naperville? “Naperville is a growing community. There are a lot of South Asians in this area. … This is a higher class, posh area. The people here like to try out new things. … This is our biggest location.”
What should people know? “I went to India a couple years ago to try and make our recipe better. But, to be honest, I could not find anything that could match this flavor and taste. … I always recommend people to dine in, fresh out of the oven. … We offer Metra commuters 10 percent off if you’re dining in. They just have to show their ticket.”
How’s the take-out market? “This market is completely different than the city market. In the city, there are way more take-outs. Lunchtime is the slowest (here) and in the city there’s offices everywhere.”
What are your hours? “11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on weekdays, 11 to 11 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We want to extend those hours on the weekend. … I work every Sunday to give my people some time off. It is a new restaurant. I prefer working every day. I’m single. This is my girlfriend.”
Do you have a liquor license? “We applied for it. We got the city (approval). We’re waiting for the state. Hopefully, wings and beer. We have fried dumplings. Pizza, obviously, is our No. 1 seller.”
Who decorated the interior? “It was a group effort. We’re still working on it. We want to make it all green with plants. But we have some antique things.”
What about competition? “There are some competitors. The goal is to be the biggest Indian franchise. I want to be available for everybody.”
Do you enjoy your work? “I know this may sound like a cliché, but I realize, now that I’m 32, to try not to work for money. Have a passion. My goal is not up-sell anyone. My goal is to open their palette and see what they may like, what their preference is and recommend what I think it best for them.”
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Anything you don’t like? “No one likes long hours, but the motivation is to set the restaurant up and expand. That’s what keeps the fire going.”
What does mazala mean? “The word ‘masala’ means spices. But we changed it to ‘mazala’ because maza in our language means fun.”
Is pizza big in India? “Italian food is very big, especially pizza.”
What’s your advice for someone starting a business? “It takes a lot of time and effort. Try to be open minded. You never know what processes you may have to change.”
Steve Metsch is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun. If you know of a business you’d like to see profiled in Down to Business, contact him at [email protected].