Russo’s New York Pizzeria & Italian Kitchen Signs New Franchise Agreement for Mesa, Arizona

Russo’s New York Pizzeria & Italian Kitchen is set to open a location in Mesa, Arizona in Spring 2024. The Upscale Pizza restaurants will be owned and operated by first-time franchisee, Keven Barth and Phuong Thai.

The Mesa location will be a fast-casual footprint in a 1600- to 2000-square-foot location with an open kitchen design and a large outdoor patio, offering new menu items (including Truffle Garlic Knots) and Russo’s signature 28-inch party pizzas (which serves up to 10 people). Serving New York-style thin crust pizza, Prosciutto Burrata Pizza, Truffle Mushroom Pizza, Pizza By The Slice, Calzones, fresh made pasta, Gnocchi, Lasagna, Baked Ziti, Fettuccini Alfredo and more classic Italian entrées made fresh to order.

“My husband and I are based in Arizona, but spend part of our time living in Houston,” said franchisee Phuong Thai. “We’ve been Russo’s customers for years and love the food, service, and the entire Russo’s concept and franchise model. We were initially attracted to the idea of owning a Russo’s restaurant because of the access we get to Anthony Russo, instead of having to deal with a large corporation and not knowing who you’re doing business with.”

Russo’s offers authentic New York-style pizza and traditional Italian dishes using fresh ingredients with no additives or preservatives. The fast-casual chain creates dishes from ingredients that are safe, reliable, and from trusted brands. Thai explained, “We like the 4-revenue stream component, offering dine in, take-out, delivery, and catering opportunities. Our focus will be to market in the Mesa local trade area and offer unique and special choices to our customers like halal and gluten free options.”

“We use my family’s classic Italian recipes and only the freshest ingredients to create a delicious product that is unique, and the quality of our food is what separates our franchise concept from the rest of the pizza chains,” said Chef Anthony Russo, Founder and CEO of Russo’s. “We are so excited to expand our presence in Arizona with Kevin and Phuong to serve the best New York-style pizza and authentic Italian cuisine to the local communities."