Russo’s New York Pizzeria Opens in Tempe Near ASU: Menu, Prices and Hours

• Russo’s New York Pizzeria & Italian Kitchen is open at 521 S. College Ave. in Tempe, near the Arizona State University campus. It is the brand’s second Arizona restaurant, after Mesa.
• Local franchisees Kristina and Christian Alvarez run it, serving oversized New York slices ($4.95), fresh pasta and a 28-inch Giant Party Pizza ($49.95).
• The dough ferments for 24 hours, and the kitchen cooks with Sicilian extra-virgin olive oil instead of seed oils.

Tempe has a new place for a New York slice. Russo’s New York Pizzeria & Italian Kitchen, the Houston-born chain founded by Chef Anthony Russo, announced on Sept. 24 that its restaurant at 521 S. College Ave., near the Arizona State University campus, is open.

The Tempe Russo’s is locally owned and run by franchisees Kristina and Christian Alvarez. “We are incredibly excited to bring authentic New York-style pizza to Tempe and introduce the community to Russo’s famous oversized pizza slices,” the owners said in the announcement.

Where is Russo’s in Tempe, and when is it open?

The address is 521 S. College Ave., Tempe, AZ 85281. The restaurant opens at 11:30 a.m. Monday through Saturday and closes at 10 p.m., or 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. On Sunday it runs from 2 to 10 p.m. Orders can be picked up or delivered.

It is the second Russo’s in Arizona. The first opened in Mesa, at 4537 S. Power Road, on April 19, 2025. The Alvarezes said what sold them on the franchise was the food: “The gourmet, fresh, high-quality ingredients, the scratch-made recipes and, most importantly, the incredible taste really stood out to us.”

What makes Russo’s pizza New York-style?

Most of it happens before the oven. Russo’s makes its dough fresh with high-protein flour and extra-virgin olive oil, then lets it ferment for 24 hours. Over that day, the flour’s enzymes break starch into sugars, and yeast turns some into gas and flavor. The leftover sugars help the crust brown.

The long rest also relaxes the gluten, the stretchy protein network that high-protein flour builds. Relaxed dough can be stretched thin by hand without snapping back, which is what gives a New York slice its shape: a thin center that folds in half lengthwise and a puffy, blistered rim.

The kitchen also skips seed oils, the oils pressed from soybeans, canola, corn or sunflower seeds that are common in restaurant cooking. Russo’s says it cooks only with extra-virgin olive oil imported from Sicily, dough included, and the Tempe menu lists it across the pastas and salads.

“At Russo’s, we are a fresh-scratch kitchen,” Russo said in the announcement. “We make our pizza and pasta the old-fashioned way, using fresh dough, fresh-made pasta, premium toppings and high-quality ingredients.”

How big is the 28-inch Giant Party Pizza?

About three large pizzas’ worth. A round pie’s area grows with the square of its width, so the 28-inch pie covers roughly 616 square inches, against 201 for a 16-inch large. Here is how the build-your-own cheese pizzas compare on the Tempe menu, with the serving counts Russo’s gives:

By the inch, the party pie is priced in line with the larges, about 8 cents per square inch for both. The most pizza for the money is the 16-by-16 square, which costs the same $15.95 as a round large and has 27% more area. A gluten-free 12-inch crust is $15.95.

For groups, the catering menu’s Milano package is a 28-inch pie with two toppings, a half tray of salad and drinks, for 10 people at $119.95.

Beyond pizza, the Tempe menu runs through Italian-American classics: Chicken Parmesan over spaghetti ($17.95), Russo’s Lasagna with fresh pasta and a Chianti-braised meat sauce ($16.95), two house meatballs ($12.95), Italian sandwiches from $10.95 and a tiramisu soaked in espresso and Kahlúa ($7.95).

Who is Anthony Russo?

The son of Italian immigrants, Russo grew up on the East Coast learning family recipes and was making pizza by hand by 12, according to the brand. His family moved to Galveston, Texas, in 1978, where his father opened Russo’s Italian Restaurant. The first Russo’s New York Pizzeria followed in Houston in 1992.

The brand now counts more than 50 locations, with restaurants abroad since a first international opening in Dubai in 2012. It grows through franchisees like the Alvarezes, and says its smallest format needs about 1,500 square feet.

For would-be owners, Russo’s says its franchised restaurants average about $1.1 million in yearly sales, a figure drawn from its Franchise Disclosure Document, the filing federal rules require franchisors to hand buyers at least 14 days before they sign. Qualifying U.S. military veterans get franchise incentives and fee discounts.

We’re excited to have Kristina and Christian Alvarez representing Russo’s in Tempe. Strong local franchise owners are an important part of our growth, and we’re proud to see them bring our family recipes, New York-style pizza and fresh-scratch Italian food to this community.

Chef Anthony Russo, founder and CEO of Russo’s New York Pizzeria & Italian Kitchen

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Sources: Russo’s New York Pizzeria & Italian Kitchen’s announcement of the Tempe opening, Sept. 24, 2026, with remarks by franchisees Kristina and Christian Alvarez and founder and CEO Anthony Russo; the Tempe restaurant’s online menu, prices and hours, checked Sept. 25, 2026; Russo’s history page; the brand’s April 2025 announcement of its Mesa opening. Photos and video courtesy of Russo’s New York Pizzeria.