After 33 Years in Business, Nello's Pizza in Tempe to Close This Week

After 33 years in business and who knows how many thousands of pizzas, Nello's Tempe will close its doors for good later this week. The restaurant, which opened in 1983 and is the original Nello's restaurant, has been a well-loved neighborhood destination for pizza pies, sandwiches, pastas, salads, and more. ...

By Lauren Saria

June 21, 2016

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After 33 years in business and who knows how many thousands of pizzas, Nello's Tempe will close its doors for good later this week. The restaurant, which opened in 1983 and is the original Nello's restaurant, has been a well-loved neighborhood destination for pizza pies, sandwiches, pastas, salads, and more.

The restaurant is located at 1808 East Southern Avenue, and will be taken over by Happy Joe's, an Iowa-based chain with one Valley location in Gilbert.

Nello's Tempe owners made an announcement about the restaurant's closure on Facebook last week:

After a great run, the assets of Nello's Tempe have been sold to the Happy joe's Pizza family! the Nello's Tempe family couldn't have made it this far without all of our great guests support, so we thank you for your loyal patronage throughout all 33 years! Nello's will won't be fully transitioned for 9 more days, so come in and reminisce your favorite pizza!

At one point, Nello's boasted four Valley locations including restaurants in Tempe, Ahwatukee, Mesa, and Scottsdale. Both the Tempe and Scottsdale locations have now shuttered, leaving just two restaurants in Mesa and Ahwatukee. The restaurant was originally founded by four brothers, each of whom would go on to operate a different Nello's location. The restaurant's legacy also includes The Parlor pizzeria, which was opened by one of the four brothers in 2007.

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