A classic cheese pizza is called a Pong; add pepperoni and you have the Mario. Top it with sausage, bacon, spicy pepperoni and a four-cheese blend for the Donkey Kong - barrels and ladders not included.
Sensing a theme here?
When you take a table in front of a 39- or 42-inch LED screen TV attached to a game console, you will understand what Abe and Danielle Koroscil are aiming for with their new restaurant, Dak's Pizza & Games.
It's a teen hangout that doubles as a family fun destination. A pizza parlor that splits its personality with a gaming parlor. An evening of fun for 20-somethings or a perfect venue for a tween party.
"A family of four can come and eat and play video games for less than $30," Abe Koroscil said. "The whole family can sit at one table and eat and play games instead of the kids going off to play and the parents sitting at a table by themselves."
Dak's - a name borrowed from the couple's initials - quietly opened in mid-July in a former Blockbuster Video store across the street from Mountain View High School. It has 27 tables with gaming consoles - Xbox 360, Wii U and Playstation 3 - with more than 60 games. Each Monday they get new games, and Koroscil said he anticipates to eventually have hundreds available.
Gamers rent the tables for $5 a half hour or $9 an hour, and the price covers everyone at the table; there is no additional per-person fees.
The restaurant is entirely gamer-themed, with menu items taking their names from popular video games including Tetris, Pac-Man, Call of Duty, Super Mario Brothers, Resident Evil and Gran Turismo.
The couple spent nine weeks this summer converting the former video store into the restaurant. The kitchen is equipped with a triple-decked convection pizza oven that can cook as many as 28 pizzas at a time, he said. Each takes just five minutes to cook because the dough is hot-pressed, which partially cooks it before it is dressed with sauce and toppings.
Pizzas are individual-serving sized (8 to 9 inches) and come with a drink for $7 to $10. Salads are similarly priced, and hot sandwiches that Dak's introduced this week are $6 to $10. Koroscil said his goal is to keep all meals priced under $10.
Koroscil said he is forming gaming leagues, including a Wii bowling league. You also can book a party or gaming tournament at the restaurant for $5 to $7 per person, depending on the size of the party.
If you go
• What: Dak's Pizza & Games.
• Where: 9725 N. Thornydale Road, at West Linda Vista Boulevard.
• Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays; 11 a.m. to close Fridays and Saturdays.
• Details: 812-7717 or dakspizza.com
Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at cburch@azstarnet.com or 573-4642.
Published: Aug. 7, 2013
