The T Zone

I probably mentioned my previous employ at Papa John’s earlier. It’s the only real job I’ve had other than my current one at Smiley Media. If you’re anything like me (is anyone?), then you might assume there’s no room for life changing innovation at a major pizza chain. However, you’d be wrong.

When we were hungry, we’d make ourselves a pizza. It’s possible that you’re not supposed to do that, but it was a laid back environment. My boss was my friend, as were most of my coworkers. Deliveries would take a back seat to dough fights, and phone calls would occasionally go unanswered. Almost every day we’d each make a pizza.

I loved Papa John’s pizza. It was a good deal better than other pizza chains, and I thought I’d never get sick of it. As some of you may have experienced, working at a restaurant will make you totally sick of their food.

One day, eager to try something new, I got a medium sized dough. I stretched it to a large size to make a really thin crust. I dumped vegetables, cheese, and meat on one half, folded it in half, crimped the edge, and sent it through the conveyer-belt oven one an a half times.

When it came out, it was glorious. Because it had no sauce, it didn’t taste like a normal pizza. It tasted like the calzone it was meant to be. Eager to stamp my name onto anything and everything, I called it the T Zone.

The T Zone was a huge hit amongst my fellow employees, and until I quit shortly after it was the snack of choice around the restaurant.

After quitting, I didn’t think much of the T Zone until I saw an ad in the paper for it. Only this time it wasn’t made at Papa John’s. It was made at Pizza Hut, and they called it a P’Zone. A blatant rip off! I don’t know for sure, of course, but I’d be surprised if the P’Zone made it to market if I hadn’t created the first one at Papa Johns. It’s a small world.