Popular Scottsdale Italian restaurant opening in Uptown Phoenix

For nearly nine years, Lou Malnati’s served Chicago-style Italian eats at Uptown Plaza. Soon, a New York-style Italian restaurant will take its place.

This fall, DiMaggio’s is set to make its debut at the heart of the shopping center on Camelback Road and Central Avenue. It will be the second Valley location of the restaurant, which currently serves giant bowls of pasta at The Grove in McCormick Ranch.

It’s a homecoming of sorts for the restaurant’s chef and partners. DiMaggio’s got its start as a vendor at the Uptown Farmers Market, held each Saturday just north of the new restaurant. There, Brandon and Michele Gioffre started A Taste of Italy in 2021, selling hand-pulled mozzarella, cannoli and other Italian dishes along with pantry staples such as balsamic vinegar and olive oil. A year later, they took over the former home of The Blind Pig in Scottsdale and expanded their menu of nostalgic, New York-style Italian cooking.

Their food caught the attention of Frank DiMaggio, a developer and former baseball player (and relative of Yankee legend Joe DiMaggio). In 2024, he became a partner in the business, and the restaurant officially changed its name.

After the restaurant started to take off and tables became a hot commodity, the team realized they needed much more space. Last fall, they moved a few miles north to The Grove. And now a year later, that expansion continues.

“From the very first time that I ever tasted Brandon’s food, I’ve always felt it was the best Italian food I’ve ever had,” DiMaggio says. “So whenever you’ve got something like that, your dream, of course, is for it to be as many places as logically it can be.”

What to expect at the Uptown DiMaggio’s

The new restaurant will make use of some key aspects of the former Lou Malnati’s space. The team was drawn to the location thanks to its giant, central bar and its old-school vibe, DiMaggio says. The decor will mirror the Scottsdale location, with a more elevated feel. The color scheme, booths and woodwork will stay the same, but there will be higher-end lighting, an improved sound system and luxury touches throughout.

The new location will also offer a private dining space. DiMaggio’s has become a destination for professional athletes, and a private area was something Scottsdale customers have requested, DiMaggio says. At Uptown, the team has transformed a space that previously held towers of Lou Malnati’s pizza boxes into a luxe private dining area with its own secret entrance.

Visits from athletes began at the Scottsdale location when “one of the premier players in the NFL” came in to eat and really liked the food, DiMaggio says.

“It really started to reverberate through other professional sports teams. Then we had Suns players come in, and then Diamondbacks players come in, and then they start to talk about it,” DiMaggio says. “It’s really just become kind of a gathering place for celebrities, professional athletes, and it’s such a blessing to be able to break into that clientele.”

The location at Uptown Plaza is significantly closer to downtown Phoenix and the arenas where the Suns and Diamondbacks play, so DiMaggio hopes these high-profile fans will follow.

He also wants to tap into the surrounding neighborhoods. There are residents nearby who regularly visit the farmers market and are familiar with chef Brandon Gioffre’s food. Regardless of sports team affiliation or status, DiMaggio says he hopes all of the customers will feel “equally VIP.”

“If you’re a local resident living in an apartment, or if you’re an NFL star, we appreciate the fact that they’re going out there working hard for their money, and they want to spend it in our restaurant, and we want them to feel special coming in,” he says.

The main attraction for all, and the thing that drew DiMaggio to become a partner in the restaurant in the first place, is the food. That will remain consistent at the new location.

“It’s almost like catching lightning in a bottle to have a menu where we hope everything on the menu is great. All of our customers really enjoy it. So once you’ve established that, I think to deviate from that just doesn’t make a lot of sense,” he says.

The menu was inspired by big Italian Sunday dinners, with salads served family-style, shareable calamari and the Gioffre’s signature hand-pulled mozzarella. DiMaggio points out the award-winning bone-in veal parmesan, the nostalgic chicken parmesan, spicy rigatoni and a unique appetizer that includes little bites of baked mozzarella with prosciutto, marinara sauce and basil served with house-made ciabatta.

“Our Bocconcini is probably one of our best appetizers. If you don’t know it, you might just skip over it on the menu,” he says. “Don’t. It’s incredible.”

The new location will have a much expanded wine list, as the group brought on a sommelier with the expansion. The list will be tested first at Uptown before it’s implemented at both restaurants.

After Uptown, the team may start to look beyond Arizona, DiMaggio says. The restaurant is a concept he envisions in cities around the country. Until then, the team is fully focused on getting their second Valley spot off the ground.

“We’re trying to create the best New York-style Italian restaurant in the country, and that’s based on the food. But, of course, the hospitality and the service have to be on par with the food to give you that really A-plus experience across the board,” DiMaggio says. “We’re, in all junctures, trying to ensure that that’s executed in both locations.”