Rising Stars: Meet Jeff Rogoff

Today we’re excited to be connecting with Jeff Rogoff again. If you haven’t already, we suggest you check out our prior conversation with them here.

Jeff, thanks for joining us again. Just to level set a bit for folks who may have missed our last interview together, can you briefly introduce yourself?
Hi, thank you for connecting with me again. My name is Jeff Rogoff and I own Sazza. We are a pizza and salad fast-casual restaurant, specializing in local and organic ingredients. This June we will be celebrating our 19th year in business.

I attribute our longevity to four basic tenets:1) providing unsurpassable customer service; 2) serving the finest pizzas, salads, and beverages of only natural and organic ingredients; 3) upholding environmentally sound business practices, and 4) ingratiating ourselves with the local community. Performing these four tenets to the highest possible standards are what sets us apart and makes Sazza a special destination.

The highlights happen on a weekly basis. The continued support of our regular patrons and the excitement of seeing a first timer enjoying our food. The connections we make with our community is what keeps me excited to continually strive to make Sazza a special place for everyone to enjoy. Certainly, reaching milestones, whether it be longevity or financial are exciting, but the connections made with my employees and guests are most rewarding. It is those connections, mixed with our fresh entrees and high-level customer service that has allowed Sazza to stay in business this long. I am grateful to so many people for our continued success.

Awesome, so we reached out because we wanted to hear all about what you have been up to since we last connected.
I am looking forward to hitting the 20 year milestone. I feel like 20 years of a restaurant life is rarified air and I’m proud that we will hit this mark in 2026. As far as day-to-day operations, the next project that has me excited is a Sazza food truck. I feel like I’ve been talking about getting a truck for a few years, but 2025 is the year we will roll out our truck. I look forward to sharing our pizza and salad creations with a wider audience as well as giving our patrons an opportunity to bring Sazza to their special events.

We also want to give folks a chance to get to know you a bit better so we’ve prepared a fun lightning round of questions. Ready?

• Favorite Movie: Life is Beautiful
• Favorite Book: Lord of the Rings
• Favorite TV Show: Breaking Bad
• Favorite Band or Artist: Leon Bridges
• Sweet or Savory: Sweet
• Mountains or Beach: Mountains
• Favorite Sport (to watch): College Basketball
• Favorite Sport (to play): Pickleball
• Did you play sports growing up (if so which ones): Soccer and tennis
• As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up: an athlete
• French Fries or Onion Rings: French Fries
• Favorite Cartoon growing up: Tom & Jerry
• Favorite Childhood movie: Airplane
• Favorite Breakfast Food: Breakfast Burrito

When you look back on your life, what are three things you expect to be proud of?
1) My two boys, who are 19 & 21. As they begin their adult journey, I still see the little boys they were and I’m in wonderment of the men they are becoming. I am so proud of them, the struggles they have overcome and I am confident that they will overcome the unknown hurdles in the future. I’m most proud of the individuals they are, the questioning spirit that they carry, and the love of life that they hold.

The second and third things that I expect to be proud of, do not hold a candle to my number 1. With that said,

2) The legacy left by my life’s work, Sazza. I’m proud to bring awareness of organic and local food to an American staple, pizza. As well as being on the forefront of running a sustainable and green business, Sazza was and is not just a restaurant, it is an ideal. The ideal being that a restaurant can not only survive using organic and local ingredients but thrive and be successful. My hope is that today’s youth will see the possibilities and take our framework and make it even more sustainable and more successful.

3) Lastly, I’m most proud of being the son of Ed and Lynda Rogoff. I am so grateful for the lessons that my parents have passed down to me. The idea of judging each person on their own merits, not their ethnicity, religion, gender or economic status. Or the lesson that hard work does pay off. Or the importance of family and friends. Or that we should follow our dreams, These and so many more lessons were passed down to me by my parents, not necessarily by vocalizing but instead by seeing how they live their lives. If I can be half the people that my parents are, I will be very proud of my life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sazzarestaurant.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sazza.pizza.salads/