Brian Zaro is a fourth-generation co-owner of Zaro’s Family Bakery, the popular bakery and coffee shop in Brothers College
April 2026 – Students in one of Drew University’s business innovation courses recently got a classroom visit from someone with experience in putting innovative ideas into practice.
Brian Zaro is a fourth-generation co-owner of Zaro’s Family Bakery, which opened its first location on a college campus at Drew in 2024 with its bakery in Brothers College.
Zaro began by telling the students the story of his great-grandfather, who opened the family’s first bakery in the Bronx in 1927. Now a New York City institution, Zaro’s Family Bakery started its Manhattan expansion when a 1977 ad in The New York Times for a retail opening in Grand Central Terminal caught his grandfather Phil’s attention. His grandfather suspected the location might be a retail dream. In true entrepreneurial fashion, Zaro’s grandfather gauged potential new retail locations by observing garbage bag counts to estimate foot traffic and decided to take a chance on the New York transit train station.
Fast forward to today, and the primary bakery for Zaro’s services locations in Grand Central Terminal, Penn Station, Port Authority Bus Terminal, Newark Penn Station, and licensed locations at JFK Airport, LaGuardia, Newark International Airport, and multiple college campuses, all of which have daily product-receiving teams in place so the stores are ready by 5 a.m.
“I liked how he emphasized their popularity, because it’s easy to focus on results,” said business major Nate Sica C’26. “He made it clear that the process is what actually drives those outcomes.”
In BST 366: The Work of Innovation: Creating Organizations That Solve Problems, students are tasked with developing a credible business idea that addresses a real-world problem and building a full pitch deck for the idea.
Students also learn about the importance of uncontested market space in Kim and Mauborgne’s Blue Ocean Strategy. The class inquired about how Zaro’s Family Bakery navigates the “red ocean” or highly competitive retail environment in New York City, while maintaining century-old family recipes and high-quality goods.
“We’re incredibly grateful to Drew University for giving Zaro’s Family Bakery our very first college campus opportunity, a milestone we won’t forget,” said Zaro. “The students were so engaged and asked incredibly thoughtful questions that made for a really dynamic conversation. Thank you for taking the time to hear our story; it truly meant a lot to us.”
Despite its success, Zaro explained that the business had significant challenges during the pandemic. The family moved quickly to limit inventories, reduce stock-keeping units (SKUs), and utilize federal aid to keep the business running.
Now Zaro is undertaking a new challenge by helping the family business enter new markets on college and university campuses. Drew University was Zaro’s first campus location, opening in fall 2024. Today, the Drew community continues to enjoy Zaro’s Family Bakery coffee and baked goods daily.
”I really enjoyed having someone from a small family business come talk to the class,” said psychology major and marketing minor Michaela Fajardo C’26. “It was very insightful and interesting to hear about the longevity of Zaro’s legacy. Being able to navigate current events and setbacks, like 2020, taught him to set parameters to mitigate the impact of events like COVID on their business.”
Zaro emphasized the family’s decision to own the business without private equity or outside stakeholder investments.
The company continues to grow with shelf space in premium grocery store chains like King’s and Harris Teeter. Soon, the brand will also be expanding to over 200 Super Target stores. Zaro said the company is excited to celebrate its 100th anniversary this year and is looking forward to the many challenges ahead.
“Drew has really seen a surge of interest in innovation and entrepreneurship over the last few years,” said Business Department Chair Steve Firestone. “We added a concentration in the Business major in Entrepreneurship, and many students have had success presenting their new business ideas in the UPitchNJ state competition. The enthusiasm that we are seeing in entrepreneurial activities has been contagious at Drew!”
