Living in Rome before coming to campus turned Taeyun Paik into a full-fledged Italian food fanatic.
So the Singapore-based creative strategist thanks the grub gods for Za's.
"Before Za’s, there weren’t many Italian options at the campus," says Paik, a 2004 architecture grad who in December 2017 moved from Google to Netflix. "Olive Garden was too out of the way and Sbarro was too uninspiring.
"Za’s was like a gift from God. The concept of making your own was so fresh and ahead of its time and I remember trying out so many different combinations every time I went. Za’s definitely made my days very special."
Future class reunions won't be the same. Sadly, it was announced in January 2018, Za's would close its two Champaign, on North Neil Street and West Springfield Avenue.
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