Feb 19, 2004

Willow Street Pizza adds low-carb, high-value entrees to menu

By Candy Richter
Staff Writer

Long a proponent of healthy, economical family dining, Willow Street Pizza has once again risen to the occasion and now offers low-carbohydrate entrees and side alternatives as part of its regular menu.
According to Executive Chef David Cohen, the change was as much in response to his customers’ eating habits as the increased popularity of low-carb dining.

“I started seeing a lot of substitutions,” said Cohen. “They [customers] wanted spinach or broccoli instead of potatoes, and the few low-carb, high-protein entrees we offered were really selling.”

Cohen, who makes it a habit to get out to the tables to talk to the clientele, found that items like Willow Street’s steak and salmon entrees were increasingly popular. “We heard about Splenda (a sugar substitute), and decided to put that out on the tables,” said Cohen. “We got a real positive response.”

Next, Cohen decided to try out some of his new entrees on the restaurant’s specials’ menu. “Last summer we introduced some low-carb, high-protein items—I think it was steak and spinach—and it totally took off,” recalled Cohen.

With customer value as one of Willow Street’s hallmarks, Cohen emphasized the need to not only offer healthy eating alternatives, but to maintain the restaurant’s goals giving their customers good food at a reasonable price.
“Price is important,” said Cohen. “So we adjusted the portions and were able to offer these entrees in the $12-$15 range.”

After the success of these new offerings, Willow Street decided to add a number of new items to both their regular and specials menu, and offer low-carbohydrate alternative side dishes as well. All of the Willow Street locations offer four of the new items, and the restaurant’s Westgate Mall property has the added distinction of exclusively offering the new blackened catfish entrée.

“We’re doing what we thought was the best for our clientele,” said Cohen. “Paring proteins with veggies at the most attractive price.”

Willow Street has long prided itself as a neighborhood restaurant, with two of its locations nestled within easy walking distance of the residential sections of both Los Gatos and Willow Glen. The Westgate Willow Street restaurant, with easily accessible parking and a centralized location, also attracts a crowd of “regulars” from the surrounding communities of Campbell, San Jose and Saratoga.

“We’ve always been the frequently-visited neighborhood place,” explained Cohen. “I’ll see the same faces for lunch and dinner coming in three or four times a week.”

Offering friendly service, reasonable prices and high quality food was the vision that motivated Willow Street founders back in 1992, when the first restaurant opened on Willow Glen’s Willow Street, and it’s been the company’s mantra ever since.

“So many of us are dual working households,” remarked Cohen. “And when you can feed a family of four for under $25, without the clean-up, without the cooking, allowing you to spend more time with the family, that’s why we’ve been successful.”