Likes and lineups create ‘insane’ debut for Professor Zaaa’s

Since opening last week, this Windsor pizza joint has had a hard time staying open due to popular demand.

In a city where debates over where to find the best pizza are endless, a new shop has garnered the attention of dough-loving fanatics.

Since opening last week, Professor Zaaa’s has endured a craze of customers that’s forced them to close their doors early on multiple occasions.

Despite more than two decades in pizza, Dean Litster, commonly known as Professor Zaaa, would never have imagined the sight on his opening day.

“The weather was quite poor. Cold, snowy conditions, like a snowstorm. It’s 40 people waiting outside,” Litster explained.

“We had enough stuff for two days. They bought it all in one day.”

Litster closed the shop for a day to reset, only to reopen on Friday and sell out again quickly.

“Like the response has been insane. The craziest thing I’ve ever been a part of,” Litster said.

Almost every day has been a lesson for the business owner who has made adjustments to meet the higher demand and avoid turning away customers.

Crafting a Detroit-style pizza, Professor Zaaa’s now has midnight bakers work overnight to prepare the base for those specific pizzas for the next day.

To limit being overwhelmed, Litster noted they took a “unique” approach to take walk-in orders only.

“So we had 3500 missed calls on Saturday, and that’s insane,” he said.

The pies, he noted, are made from ingredients that could be sourced from local producers.

Business has continued to flow through the doors on a consistent basis for individual slices and whole pizzas.

“I came because I found out this place is new, and they ran out of slices already on the first day. So I came back today in the morning, and they said they have slices,” one customer told CTV News.

Many customers noted they showed up to the shop after seeing constant chatter on social media.

Windsor has gained a reputation over the years for its own style of pizza and numerous locations to choose from.

Across the river, Detroit-style pizza has grown its own reputation into an international following. Professor Zaaa’s is now using the style with twists of its own.

“I saw someone who had the Detroit-style, and I was like, oh yeah, that’s going to be good,” said another customer.

Detroit-style pizza is a thicker, yet crispy, rectangular pie.

“We’re selling really, really unique pizzas that you can’t get anywhere else, and we’re really putting a lot of passion into what we do,” Litster said.

Appreciative of all the support, Litster said they are continuing to work on their workflow and operations to ensure no customer is turned away.