This Sacramento Kings star has just signed on to be ‘Pizza Guy’ for this regional chain

There’s a new Pizza Guy in town.

Sacramento Kings shooting guard Malik Monk, fresh off of signing a four-year-$78 million contract, is the new face of local chain Pizza Guys. He’s the first “Pizza Guy,” as they’re known, after a decade-long hiatus.

Sacramentans may recall Kings players Isaiah Thomas and Ben McLemore hawking Pizza Guys pies in hard-to-forget TV commercials throughout the early 2010s. The ads usually involved Tuscan-style thin-crust pizza, a charming lack of acting skills and some variation of the tagline: “I’m a Pizza Guy. Are you a Pizza Guy?”

The partnership felt like a natural fit. Those Kings teams were cellar-dwellers whose stars were more likely to sell local pizzas than the latest Nikes nationwide, but Sacramento showed out for them, particularly when the team looked poised to relocate.

Pizza Guys isn’t Masullo or OneSpeed, but the budget-friendly chain is Sacramento’s own, too. Shahpour Nejad co-founded Pizza Guys in 1986 and continues to preside as CEO at its Rancho Cordova offices, even as the company has grown to serve its 93 locations throughout California and Nevada.

Yet after 2014, no player stepped up to the Pizza Guy mantle, not even the aptly-named Kyle Guy. Pizza Guys brought in former Kings shooting guard and current assistant coach Doug Christie for some ads in 2018, but didn’t consider dubbing another “Pizza Guy” until the team’s turnaround 2022-23 season.

Kamiar Najad, Pizza Guys’ vice president of innovation and Shahpour’s son, quickly decided Monk was the right spokesperson. Last season’s runner-up for Sixth Man of the Year has become a fan favorite over the past two seasons for his brash confidence as much as his three-point shooting and high-flying dunks.

“We had an internal meeting and started discussing some exciting players on the team that would fit the culture, and Malik quickly came to the top of that list,” Kamiar said. “That’s just due to his genuine approach, his ambition, and the way that he approaches the community.”

Monk and Pizza Guys reached a tentative agreement early last season, but kept the partnership on hold until his free agency concluded. He’ll be in Pizza Guys commercials, have a signature meal deal at Sacramento-area locations and ink autographs at restaurant meet-and-greets this coming season.

Monk took a slightly below-market deal to re-sign with the Kings, surprising many fans. Those people can thank the promise of unlimited Pizza Guys for keeping him around, Shahpour Najad said half-jokingly.

“The secret is, the reason that the Sacramento Kings (have) Malik is maybe because of Pizza Guys,” Shahpour said. “All the recognition that he’s going to get, and the free pizzas of course, I think that’s why he stayed.”

What I’m Eating

Stockton Boulevard has long been Sacramento’s mecca for complex, soul-warming bowls of pho and crunchy banh mi sandwiches. Little Saigon’s main street now has a Mexican seafood restaurant worth checking out as well.

El Ronco, owner Elba Yanez’s father’s nickname that translates to “hoarse” or “husky,” opened in March with a welcome slate of mariscos. Ranch-inspired decor and a mosaic-tiled bar fill the spacious dining room, where sizzling platters fill the air with the smell of asada and a litany of aguachiles and ceviches serve as balms to the summer heat.

Is there a San Diego transplant in your life? Take them to El Ronco for some of the Sacramento region’s best fish tacos ($3.50). The grilled tilapia drizzled with a terrific orange crema felt softly tucked inside a yellow corn tortilla, itself seared to form a crispy exterior.

Tacos gobernador ($9.50 for two) were more indulgent, and arguably even better. A Sinaloa specialty that reportedly charmed the state’s then-governor in 1987, they’re packed with shrimp and overflowing with melted white cheese that forms skirts around the tortillas. A spicy red chili sauce counteracts the creamy delights.

Torre marisquera ($28) is El Ronco’s take on a seafood tower, a densely-packed cylinder with layers of shrimp, scallop slivers, octopus, tuna and crab. All that chilled seafood was topped with avocado slices and drizzled with salsa huichol negra; pile it on some tostadas, and it’s the taste of summer.

El Ronco

Address: 6666 Stockton Blvd., Sacramento.

Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday, 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday.

Phone: (916) 603-8986.

Website: https://www.instagram.com/el_roncooficial/

Drinks: Full bar, including $5 beers and mimosas.

Vegetarian options: Huevos rancheros, chilaquiles, spinach-mushroom omelets and Caesar salad, a Tijuana creation that recently celebrated its 100th birthday.

Noise level: Loud.

Outdoor seating: None.

Openings & Closings

▪ Pho N Mor just opened at 194 Blue Ravine Road, Suite 120 in Folsom. Bun bo Hue, a central Vietnamese beef noodle soup with no shortage of spice, is a best-seller, along with tabletop-grilled shrimp.

▪ Fast-casual Middle Eastern restaurant Xtreme Bitez is in its soft opening phase in Elk Grove’s Bond Plaza shopping center. The restaurant at 9171 Elk Grove Florin Road, Suite 5 takes inspiration from New York City’s halal carts with items such as chicken gyros, loaded fries and chopped cheese burgers.

▪ Sweet Dozen Cones will close Aug. 4 after six years in business, the Folsom ice cream shop announced on social media Monday. They’ve served ice cream in churro-doughnut cones at 807 Sutter St. in Folsom Historic District.