Z’s Pizza & Pasta coming soon to College Avenue

Future home of Z’s Pizza, Pasta & Subs, a new restaurant from former Razorback defensive back Zac Painter

Staff photo

After a year-and-a-half hiatus, pizza will soon be served again at 2730 N. College Avenue.

The small building, which was home to a Tim’s Pizza location for decades, will soon house a new restaurant called Z’s Pizza & Pasta.

Z’s is a new project by former Razorback defensive back Zac Painter and his girlfriend Kelsey McClain, who has been helping to develop the menu.

Painter recently sold his interest in West Avenue watering hole Z330 to try his hand at the restaurant business.

“I’ve done the bar thing. I just got tired of that,” he said. “It’s been a dream of mine to have my own restaurant, and I decided it was time to give the pizza business a whirl.”

Painter said extensive renovations have been underway at the College Avenue building for over a year now. “I had to gut the building, replace all the flooring, add new countertops, new booths, and remodel the bathrooms,” he said. “It’s been a lot of work, but it will be worth it.”

The restaurant will specialize in “fresh ingredients, good service, and cold beer,” said Painter. It will also feature one of his personal favorite dishes.

“We’re going to have a southern-style chicken spaghetti that’s really good,” he said. “I swear, when we’ve tested it out, I can eat the whole pan. It’s that good.”

Painter said that if everything goes according to plan, the new restaurant will open sometime in November.