The popular New York pizza joint Grimaldi's Pizza will serve its last pie on Nov. 25 after 10 years of service to the UA community. The pizza shop's Tucson location was unable to renegotiate its lease, but is looking to relocate elsewhere in the Tucson market, said the restaurant's PR representative Ryann Checchi.
The New York-based chain opened its only Tucson location in the Sam Hughes Place in late 2007, inside the former La Ferlita's Pizza Cafe at 446 N. Campbell Ave. The once-popular intersection of North Campbell Avenue and East Sixth Street has been thinning recently, after the closures of Social House Kitchen & Pub in 2015 and more recently Rosati's Pizza across the street.
The UA campus area has seen an explosion of pizza options, with the advent of rapid-fire shops like Pieology, a redesigned No Anchovies and highbrow restaurants such as the locally-sourced Anello, which opened in a former gallery space this week near Fourth Avenue. Grimaldi's was one of the first Tucson restaurants to approach pizza from a gourmet perspective, with its coal-fired brick oven that added a signature char to the thin crust pizzas.
Grimaldi's was also known for its generous dining club, which gave out a free pizza on your birthday. The Tucson location is running a special on Mondays through the month of October, offering a 16-inch cheese pizza for $10, in celebration of National Pizza Month.
The chain is in 16 states and has six locations in the Phoenix-metro area, as well as a location in Flagstaff. Gift cards will be accepted at all Arizona locations.
Grimaldi's will hold its regular hours on Nov. 25, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
