• Mr. Charles

    There have been many unexpected rewards to opening Z's, we get to share in people's celebrations and we have been the recipient of the kindnesses of many.  But perhaps the most inspiring has been to watch the changes in the lives of Samaritan House residents who come to join our program and work at the Cafe.  Not only does Z’s have a moving story of how it came to be, but each employee who makes up our company has their own story to tell. Today we want to share the story of one of those workers, Charles Walker.

    Charles was born in Corsicana, Texas. He is one of six children (one deceased.) He also has three sons – the youngest is 37. His journey in Fort Worth began in 1956.

    Charles Walker, father, friend, part of the Z's family

    Charles Walker, father, friend, part of the Z's family

    Charles was one of the first employees of Z’s Cafe when it opened three years ago. When asked how his career at Z’s began, Charles said, “I found out about it from Rick Eisimeeger. He works at the Samaritan House. I was my brother’s caretaker and had retired from doing plumbing work and I was taking care of my brother until he passed away. Rick asked one day if I would be interested in working in a cafe that was going to open up and I said put my name on the list and when the job opportunity came up, I started and have been here ever since.”

    Prior to working at Z’s, Charles was in the military during the Vietnam War and later became a plumber until 1997. “I used to do plumbing and I’m used to seeing people all the time. I was in the military and got to see people all over the country. To me personally, its an everyday thing. We’re serving the public a specific deal so we have to go along with their program,” Charles said.

    When asked his best memory so far at Z’s, Charles had a great story to share.

    “My best memories...one that I am going to never forget I’ll put it like this....when we first started out we had a catering event, it was me Martin and Carlo. Carlo washed dishes quite a lot that particular night, it was quite busy. He’s not afraid to wash dishes. After that I think I washed dishes for 8 hours one night. It was fun and the time went by really fast. There was no problem with that, it was kind of fun to see your boss be a part of the program, not a lot of people get to see that.”

    Many friendships have been made among the Z’s staff. Charles shared how he has seen every new employee begin at Z’s. He said, “ I am constantly meeting new friends. It happens in all walks of life, wherever you go you meet new people. Its one of life’s experiences.” Charles lit up when talking about his fellow employees and spoke about them in a playful way, “they remind me of my kids, most of them are around the same age. So I treat them as kids.”

    Charles is a very special man and one that any person would be lucky to have a conversation with. Charles, or “Chuck” as his grandkids and close friends like to call him, is a man who loves his family and job. He enjoys relaxing and watching television when he is at home. Charles will not hesitate when asked what his favorite Z’s meal is, “The salad trio, that takes care of everything (pasta, chicken and fruit salad) you can taste. The stuffed pork chops and rice but we don’t serve that everyday.”

    Along with sharing his brilliant leadership and serving talents at Z’s, we would like to thank Charles Walker for graciously sharing his story with us.

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  • Z's Grand Opening of Second Location in Hospital District

    FORT WORTH, TX, January 24, 2012 –Z’s Café & Catering announces the grand opening of their 2nd location – 1116 Pennsylvania Ave in the Southside Fort Worth neighborhood – on Friday and Saturday, January 27-28, 2012 from 4-8pm.  Complimentary food and drink will be offered.  Guests are welcome.
    Z’s Café is a social enterprise, collaborating with local non-profits Samaritan House, Cuisine for Healing, YWCA, Make-a-Wish and others.  The joint venture with Samaritan House creates jobs and increases skills for their low-income residents.  To date, 72 employees have found employment, marketable experience, and renewed self-esteem as a direct result.

    "These days, we are all balancing health and nutrition with budget and schedule.  Our goal at Z’s Café is to offer delicious food at reasonable prices that support job growth and individual empowerment in the Fort Worth community.”  Chef Janet Z. Capua, Co- Owner Z’s Café & Catering.  "As a family-run and woman-owned business, we are excited to be a part of the Southside community.”

    An enterprise with a social mission, Z’s works with hundreds of local non-profits, donating to awareness and fundraising efforts.  Added to their reputation for outstanding food, beautiful presentation, and top-notch service, Z’s Café has enjoyed generous support from the Fort Worth community.  A key goal for 2012 is to develop a job training center for low-income individuals to teach food preparation, catering, and food service.

    Keeping with their family tradition, the new location will feature two Chicago-style Italian favorites - Italian Beef and Italian Sausage sandwiches, both served with sautéed peppers and a tasty au jus.  For diners seeking healthier fare, heart-healthy and cancer-fighting meals will be available for pickup. Z’s is committed to quality food, and treating everyone who walks through the door like family.

    The new location will also rent prep space and commissary services to food trucks, caterers and bakers in the area.  The networking opportunities alone in this “culinary incubator” promise quite an opportunity to the innovative entrepreneur.

    Voted Best Chicken Salad
    ~Fort Worth Texas Magazine~    		 Best Healthy Lunch in Dallas/Fort Worth
    ~WFAA-List~    		 Best Healthy Dining
    ~Fort Worth Child Magazine~

    From the recipe collection of Chef Janet Capua, Z’s Café offers a variety of menu choices with a home cooked flair, healthy, low-fat, low-cost options and no time spent in the kitchen, including a variety of alternatives for gluten-free vegetarian, vegan and dairy-sensitive diets.

    Z’s Cafe'& Catering features:

    • Full catering menu for any size party or business function, breakfast, lunch or dinner
    • Wedding options for the cost-conscious couple
    • Family-packaged, portion controlled meals for two or more
    • Weekly packaged, portioned controlled individual meals (10+ meals per week)
      The menu selection for all packaged meals changes weekly to provide a variety of healthy cuisines that are convenient for busy lifestyles. Full menu available at www.zscafe.com/menus.

    For more information, contact co-owner Carlo Capua at carlo@zscafe.com or (214) 908-5452 (cell)

    Check out our Facebook Page for pictures of our Grand Opening!

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  • Follow My Lead...

    Carter Haber, a student preparing for his Bar Mitzvah, was looking for a community service project when he heard that the kids at Samaritan House last year would be without Christmas gifts.  So the industrious 13-year old took it upon himself to not let that happen.  He 'adopted' all 53 kids, he wrote down their wishes and he went door-to-door to gather donations.  (Note: actual donations exceeded what was needed to buy gifts, the balance went to the supportive housing program) Carter enlisted his family members to help with shopping, checking carefully to be sure each child would receive the gift they most wanted.  He then spoke with family and friends about donating wrapping paper and ribbons and wrapped every single one of those presents himself.

    Listening to Carter speak at the annual Samaritan House Out of the Box luncheon today, just reminded me that it is not always the magnitude of the effort, but the compassion behind it that resonates.  This sweet boy did not even want credit, he insisted that the gifts be given by an 'anonymous donor'.

    When the reporter asked Carter if he thought it was strange to be gathering Christmas gifts as a Bar Mitzvah project, his response was

    A good deed is a good deed, anytime, anywhere.

    This compassionate young man, stood up today and inspired a room full of community leaders with his leadership.  His mom simply asks that we follow his lead.  Z's Cafe hopes to follow this lead every day.  It is our mission to reach out and inspire others to make connections that make a difference. We'd love to recognize other community-minded young people as part of our 'Beyond the Cafe' news series. Share your stories with us!

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  • Z's Chicken Salad featured at trendy new coffee bar

     

    Although we're fiercely proud of our specialty recipe, we won't mind if you occasionally cheat on us. Z's is proud to partner with THE CUP, a new gourmet coffee shop on Camp Bowie (the Old Bluebonnet Bakery.) You can now get our famous chicken salad with your imported Italian coffee and delicious teas.

    We are excited to be an integral part of the Fort Worth neighborhood.  So if you don't feel like driving the extra 1/2 mile down Camp Bowie east, it's OK. We'll forgive you.

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  • Dinner for Life

    Chef Janet attended Cuisine for Healing's Dinner for Life party the other night.  You can check out pictures on our facebook page. http://www.facebook.com/zscafe

    It was a fabulous event.  6 local chefs, including Jon Bonnell, Jerrett Joslin and Brian Olenjack, each prepared a fabulous course paired with the perfect wine to bring out the flavors.  They all worked together to serve 6 delectable courses to over 200 guests.  Funds raised will provide over 2,500 meals to further the mission of providing nutritious, delicious food readily available to people combating cancer in the Fort Worth area.

    We are proud of our partnership with Cuisine for Healing.  You can be sure Janet was visiting with everyone she knew, including good friend and godfather of Fort Worth cuisine, Walter Kaufmann, and making new friends at every turn.  You can get involved and make new friends too.  For more information, visit their volunteer page.

    Jon Bonnell, Jerrett Joslin and Brian Olenjack, Janet Capua

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  • Catering for an American Idol

    Tim Halperin taking a break to enjoy some Z's Cafe

     

    In town for an alumni tailgate event, TCU grad and 2010 American Idol Top 20 Tim Halperin took a break to enjoy some Z's Cafe recently. Check out the incredible music video to his new single "The Last Song."

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  • Beyond Catering to Personal Connections

    Janet,

    It was wonderful!! A houseful of people--LOTS of leftover food...the cookies/cupcakes
    were a HUGE hit--Cooper really loved them. The book was such a great
    idea--little Esteban made it his job to take it around to everyone to sign it
    in different colors. I sent some of the Texas caviar home with folks and still
    have some--I didn't even get to try it until the party was winding down ( I love it!)

    Question-how does it work to freeze the mac and cheese? I am going to have 'dinnertime hangout'
    at my house during the run of June camp and thought it would be great to fee
    kids with but that's 9 days from now. Can't thank you enough for all the
    goodies and the great ideas and pep talks. I was really went from panic to
    excitement about the party because of you--You did so much to make it memorable
    for Cooper. : )

    ~Becky W.

    Becky,

    The mac n cheese should freeze without a problem, just let it defrost and then pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to warm it up. Enjoy!"

    ~Janet Z.

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  • Celebrating Employees

    Z's Cafe sends out Happy 21 st Birthday wishes to our sous chef Tracey!
    Enjoy your birthday.  We are so proud of all your accomplishments this year.
    We love you!

    Tracey's 21st Birthday

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  • Incredible Interns

    Chef Janet is always looking for new ideas and creative energy for the Z's menu.  So we are thrilled to feature two outstanding interns from the Culinary School of Fort Worth, who will be joining us for the month of June.  Chefs in training, Karen and Katherine, will be not only learning from Janet's experience but will hopefully bring their own fresh ideas and energy to our kitchen.  Karen and Katherine will of course compliment our fabulous staff of Chef Janet, Sous Chef Tracy and Assistant Chef David.

    Janet hopes to inspire newcomers to the field.  "Cooking for the community gives you a sense of purpose. "  she says.

    Chef Extern, Katherine

    Chef Extern, Karen

    Sous-chef Tracy, Chef Janet, Assistant Chef David
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  • Memorial Cuisine

    organic meals from Z's CafeOut of Z's kitchen today, a spinach, chicken, berry and almond salad for our Cuisine for Healing friends.
    Although we do not stop cooking, this doesn't mean we don't remember.  Today is about remembering too.

    "Proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free.
    And I won't forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.
    To the military......
    For all you have done and the sacrifices you have made.
    I honor you today.
    God Bless America."

    ~Janet Z.

    A fabulous holiday to all!

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