Local Italian chain bets big on downtown Mesa

After years of developer delays, a popular East Coast-style Italian restaurant has opened its fifth location in downtown Mesa. That’s not all the owner of Crust Simply Italian has in store for its latest East Valley addition.

Crust’s bird-themed hidden speakeasy and a new coffee bar and gelato shop join the restaurant. The trio of eateries offer food and drinks all day from the first floor of The 233, a new Unscripted by Hyatt hotel on Main Street just east of Hibbert. Crust anchors the east edge of a downtown district that’s recently seen restaurant and bar closures. 

Crust and its hidden bar were originally announced in 2023. The project stalled when the original developer filed for bankruptcy in 2024. A new developer stepped in last year, and the mixed-use project pivoted to include a hotel. Meanwhile, Crust Concepts owner Michael Merendino and his restaurant group brought the Italian restaurant and its sister speakeasy, The Raven, to Peoria.

Now the Crust team is excitedly dishing with diners and serving pizza and pasta in the airy, modern industrial space in Mesa.

“We’re just excited to be here,” Merendino says, pointing to its shared building with the Hyatt and proximity to Benedictine and Arizona State universities. “We feel like we’re nestled in a really good spot.”

What to expect at Crust in Mesa

Crust serves personal-sized rustica and family-feeding New York-style pizzas, as well as plates of chicken Parmesan and pastas with alfredo, bolognese or vodka sauce, among other East Coast-style Italian staples. Crust debuted in Scottsdale in 2007. Since then, Merendino has expanded the restaurant to five Valley locations in Chandler, Gilbert, Peoria and, now, Mesa.

Natural light from floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Main Street-facing patio bathes the expansive 7,300-square-foot Mesa dining room and bar. Wood tables and the candle-like glow from large, round black iron chandeliers add warmth to the industrial space.

In addition to the flagship restaurant, diners can start or finish their day at Bombolino, a new cafe and gelateria from the Crust team. It wasn’t originally in their plans to debut a third eatery in Mesa, but when the hotel asked about coffee, Merendino and his team mulled it over.

Inspired by a trip to Sicily, where he enjoyed gelato with a pillowy doughnut, Merendino decided to add a sweet element to the coffee bar, and Bombolino was born. The small, cheerful shop boasts an espresso machine on one end of the L-shaped counter and cases brimming with pastries and gelato on the other. 

In the morning, people can order specialty lattes and snag a croissant or breakfast burrito. Bombolino also offers its namesake traditional and stuffed-and-glazed doughnuts, gelato and affogato. Can’t decide? Order the Bomba, a doughnut stuffed with gelato. 

Crust partnered with Glendale’s Villa Dolce on the frozen treats, whose flavors include New York strawberry cheesecake and kid-friendly Cookie Monster. Mesa’s Buttered Up Bakery prepares the pastries, doughnuts and other treats, which the Crust team bakes and finishes on site.

In addition to serving sweets at the shop, Merendino anticipates Crust diners will see dessert options from Bombolino on the restaurant’s menu this fall.

The cafe has proved to be “a great surprise for us because the community’s really embracing it,” Merendino says, calling Bombolino a “little gem.”

Those who prefer a nightcap as dessert will still step inside Bombolino to access Crust’s hidden bar, The Nightingale. Birds serve as the naming inspiration for every hidden Crust bar. Inside the moody, jewel-toned Mesa space, faux birds and cages hang from greenery strung above the bar, while paintings of distinguished birds in jaunty hats hang above a long velvet booth. Drinkers will also find seats on The Nightingale’s private patio.

The Mesa cocktail bar’s menu features classic cocktails and a selection of craft tipples created by The Nightingale’s bar team. Those include Dead Canary, a dark rum espresso martini with Licor 43, cold brew and coconut, as well as Tail Feather, a cucumber-infused mezcal stirred with mint syrup, lime and soda water. 

Merendino thinks The Aviary will “complement some of these great bars” in the brewery-heavy downtown district. 

Sitting at Crust’s bar, he’s already envisioning people spending date nights in the speakeasy, bringing their kids to Crust for dinner or girlfriends sipping wine on the patio during happy hour. After years of anticipation and planning, he’s thrilled to see diners in Mesa. They’re in the midst of their soft opening and will toast their official grand opening on Aug. 27.

“There’s such an energy in the community down here,” Merendino says, “which is unlike anything in the Valley.”

Crust Simply Italian

Now open
233 E. Main St., Mesa