Ken's Pizza

[jet_deck]

Would someone put into words how the Ken's sauce it has a kick to it? Would you say an acidic taste kick, like vinegar? Or a spice type kick, like cayenne? Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.

[metro]

Spice, like spicy herbs

[Larry OKC]

Ken's Pizza morphed into Mazzio's because when the Selby's got a divorce she got the Ken's Pizzas and he got the Mazzio's . He did a quick name change and she got like 5 or 6 of them.

Interesting... funny how that's not the story told by corporate. I believe you

That's the same thing told to me by a co-worker who grew up on Ken's pizza.

[Larry OKC]

This makes no sense to me. If Kens Pizza was so great, why the Change to Mazzio's? ....

That is the first thing I thought of when I saw the commercial for it. Right after they mention bringing back the original Ken's Pizza, the closing tag line is "Mazzio's is better". Which begs the question, if it is better, why are you bringing back an inferior product? LOL

[Larry OKC]

A friend (who is finicky about his fast[er] food anyway) complains of excessive grease on the top of the Ken's version of the pizza. I had no problem, but I did notice a bit more grease than usual. Is this an artifact of thin crust pizza in general, or something else?

That seems to be the case with most pepperoni based pizzas. At least the good tasting pepperoni is loaded with fat...heat it up and grease is everywhere. Have had it happen with other brands too. One of the greasiest pizzas I ever had was from Hideaway several years ago. Was called something like the Pig Pizza (all pork toppings...pepperoni, ham, bacon). Was one of the best tasting pizzas ever 9and surprisingly didn't affect me later).

[Jettmiester]

Pork + heat (cooking) = grease.

Most New York style pizza's they place a little olive oil on top of the pizzas...seems to make everythig meld so much better.

Seems most pizzas makers around here are scared of using oregano.

When I want a great Pizza I definately don't visit any of the "chains". I take a little drive to Bethany and visit Papa Angelo's. It's worth the extra mile.

[baryl]

I recently stopped working as a driver at a metro Mazzio's and can say they'll most likely be keeping the Kens on permanently. The jump in business was just night and day and when they brought it out they told us they were going to see how it went before deciding to keep it on. I have no idea if they'll keep the special price though.

[WilliamTell]

Great news I love Kens pizza and we have visited mazzios numerous times since they brought it back.

[jet_deck]

Any ideas what is in the spice bag used to make the sauce?

[ljbab728]

Any ideas what is in the spice bag used to make the sauce?

Maybe it's full of spices? LOL

[baryl]

Heh, that's not too far from the truth. The spice bag just says "spices" along with the usual garlic powder, red and green peppers, celery, onions.
They just add the pre-mixed spice bag to a lot of canned tomatoes, add some water and that's about it. They also bake the Ken's pizzas at a higher temperature than other Mazzio's food.

[WilliamTell]

I'm going to be the bearer of bad news....

and i hate to do this but already feel mazzios is beginning to slip again.

We ordered the pizza more than a few times now, and 2 of the last 3 times its become just another large mazzios pizza. I called the first time and customer service sent me a free coupon with no questions asked and i haven't called after the most recent time. I'm not sure what the real problem is. It almost seems that if we order it on a friday evening around 7 its great, but any other night of the week its just a regular mazzios pizza????

[baryl]

I'm going to be the bearer of bad news....

and i hate to do this but already feel mazzios is beginning to slip again.

We ordered the pizza more than a few times now, and 2 of the last 3 times its become just another large mazzios pizza. I called the first time and customer service sent me a free coupon with no questions asked and i haven't called after the most recent time. I'm not sure what the real problem is. It almost seems that if we order it on a friday evening around 7 its great, but any other night of the week its just a regular mazzios pizza????

I don't work there anymore but if that happened more than once you can't really chalk it up as a simple mistake. I can already tell you it wasn't at the store I worked if you ordered delivery because my tips depended on orders being right so I was back in the kitchen cracking the whip over that, lol. The Kens takes a little bit more effort than normal Mazzio's so it sounds like some lazy cooks to me. Around 7ish on a Friday night is when the main manager is around so they're probably doing thing by the book.
I'd try to let the main manager (or owner if it's a franchise) know and that should be fixed pretty fast. Either that or just vote with your wallet and stop patronizing that restaurant.

[WilliamTell]

so it sounds like some lazy cooks to me. Around 7ish on a Friday night is when the main manager is around so they're probably doing thing by the book.
I'd try to let the main manager (or owner if it's a franchise) know and that should be fixed pretty fast. Either that or just vote with your wallet and stop patronizing that restaurant.

Thanks for the info. Each time we order we do an instore pickup so i know it cant be about not tipping enough - but it is good to hear about drivers keeping the staff honest.

I know I shouldn't care so much about a pizza, but this is the first time in years that we've actively ordered from mazzios and we were surprised and pleased at how good the 'kens' pizza was. From what Ive heard mazzio's has been experiencing a declining sales volume over the years and if i have to fight each time to get what we order we will just quickly go back to papa johns because they offer superior consistency.

People are pretty simple creatures - we want to get something that we know exactly what it will taste like each and every time. Which is why MCD's is the gold standard of fast food. No one actually likes their food, but you can go any time of day, in any city, state, or country and get the same exact meal that you had the visit before.

[soonerstan56]

Don't know about Chandler but there is one in Prague.

Stan

[ddavidson8]

Just say no to Papa John's.

If I was back home I'd only patronize Mazzios and Pizza Hut. But since I'm in exile I have to settle for Pizza Hut. When I travel through the northern parts of Tejas I can sometime get lucky and find a Mazzios.

I actually took a day trip to Beaumont from Houston with the intention of gorging on the Mazzio's lunch buffett. I was disappointed to find that they don't serve a buffett at that location. It's a dine in location that only has $5-10 lunch specials and the regular menu. What a waste.

[WilliamTell]

Ordered a Kens pizza last night, still awesome.

[jdbells]

Kens is coming to Edmond. Danforth and Kellie, next to Johnnie's

[jdbells]

Didn't see this posted anywhere, but a Ken's Pizza Coming Soon sign is posted in the lot next to Johnnie's on Danforth. Pretty excited. Takes me back to my junior high days.

[boscorama]

A pizza place would be welcomed there!

[boscorama]

Kens, Mazzios, Pizza Hut - - - it's really the same baked beans. They all have good pizza and sorry ass pizza. No way would I rate any of them as GREAT or even SUPERIOR pizza.

It's the SAME baked beans!

Is there a thread here about Best Pizza, yet?

[metro]

yes, like 15 best pizza threads, hands down, it's Papa Angelo's in Bethany!

[Pete]

Is there a thread here about Best Pizza, yet?

http://www.okctalk.com/food-restaura...est-pizza.html

[Marko]

The Mazzio's in Guthrie is now rebranded to a Ken's Pizza. I went there yesterday and it seems like there was no change at all except for better service.

[warreng88]

This is great. I used to eat there all the time when we lived in Tulsa.

The predecessor to Mazzio's Italian Eatery, Ken's Pizza has survived in small towns. Edmond will be the first new restaurant for the brand in decades.

By Jennifer Palmer
Published: September 5, 2013

EDMOND — Ken's Pizza, the predecessor to Tulsa-based Mazzio's Italian Eatery, is coming to Edmond — the first new location to be built in decades.

The pizzeria, at 628 W Danforth Rd., is expected to open early next year. Construction has not yet begun.

Franchisee David Greer, who operates Ken's locations in Chandler, Prague and Guthrie, is building the Edmond location as a tribute to the late founder Ken Selby, said Dave Poth, Mazzio's vice president of marketing. Selby died last year.

Selby opened his first pizza joint in 1961 in Tulsa and expanded the Ken's brand to 100 locations. Most of those were converted to Mazzio's restaurants in the 1980s, but a few Ken's restaurants remained in small towns in Kansas and Oklahoma.

“They are just part of the fabric of the town. The chance to convert to Mazzio's was always an option, but these didn't,” Poth said.

Greer went the opposite way with the Guthrie store, converting it from Mazzio's to a Ken's earlier this year. But Edmond will be the first new build in decades, Poth said.

Ken's Pizza locations offer table service, unlike Mazzio's where customers order at a counter. They have the feel of an old pizzeria. And the pizza has a spicier sauce and thinner crust.

In 2011, Mazzio's added Ken's Pizza to its menu to satisfy customer demand.

Ken's Pizza is coming to Edmond | News OK