The popular New York pizza joint Grimaldiβs Pizzeria will serve its last pie on Nov. 25 after 10 years of feeding the University of Arizona campus area.
Grimaldiβs was unable to renegotiate its lease at its only Tucson location at North Campbell Avenue and East Sixth Street, but it is looking to relocate elsewhere in the local market, Grimaldiβs spokeswoman Ryann Checchi said.
The Brooklyn-based chain opened its only Tucson location in the Sam Hughes Place complex in late 2007, inside the former La Ferlitaβs Pizza Cafe at 446 N. Campbell Ave. Options at the once-popular intersection of Campbell and Sixth have been thinning after the closures of Social House Kitchen & Pub in 2015 and, recently, Rosatiβs Pizza across the street.
Overall, the UA campus area has seen a surge of new 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 this week near Fourth Avenue.
Grimaldiβs was one of the first Tucson restaurants to approach pizza from a gourmet perspective. Its coal-fired brick oven added a signature char to the thin-crust pizzas.
Grimaldiβs is also known for its generous dining club, which gives out a free pizza on birthdays. 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.
