There’s a new fast-casual pasta joint in town to sink your teeth into. Spaghetti Shark opened in June near Kyrene and Warner roads in Tempe. This family-owned spot is both tasty and affordable, so prepare to get hooked.
The quaint storefront, formerly a Domino’s, has a small counter with stools for dining inside and a fridge stocked with bottled and canned sodas. Above the cash register, a giant artificial shark head hangs with spaghetti and meatballs dripping from its jaws.
Owners Aaron Middleton and James Burk were inspired by Burk's family to open their new concept.
His family owns a few By the Bucket locations in the Valley through license agreements. When the family floated the idea of a new spin-off concept, Burk and Middleton, tired of office life, jumped at the opportunity. They took the name Spaghetti Shark and dove in.
What's on the menu?
The new restaurant has an emphasis on takeout and lunch specials, and while the food comes out fast, it doesn’t taste rushed. The spaghetti sauce strikes a perfect balance of not too sweet or acidic. The meatballs are juicy, and the Overboard Bacon Mac and Cheese might be the best comfort food $10 can buy. Springy cavatappi noodles are smothered in a blend of rich cheeses, bacon, green chiles, and finished with toasted breadcrumbs and mozzarella.
For handhelds, try an Italian sausage sub, chicken parmesan sub or a meatball sandwich — the last of which also comes in a lunch-size portion for just $7.50. The garlic bread roll is slightly crisp and soft in the center, without any sogginess.
Each sandwich is well-sauced, well-seasoned and deeply satisfying.
The most popular pick so far? The Spaghetti Shipwreck, a generous portion of spaghetti with alfredo, hearty meat sauce, a beef-and-pork mixed meatball and Italian sausage, all toasted with mozzarella cheese and priced at $9.95.
The menu has already expanded slightly, with more on the horizon. Next on deck: a hot pastrami sub with Swiss cheese and coleslaw, launching in August.
Guests can build their own meal by choosing a size, sauce (meat, alfredo, marinara or a combination of two), and adding a protein: meatball, grilled chicken, Italian sausage or chicken parmesan. The menu also offers a Caesar salad, chicken scampi and Squalo dei Spaghetti, which is a creamy alfredo dish with a dash of red pepper heat. There are pizza bites for the kiddos and gluten-free noodles available upon request.
Don’t skip dessert. Try the house-made cheesecake with a berry, chocolate or caramel drizzle; tiramisu; a banana pudding parfait or a cocoa reef parfait, layered with crushed graham crackers, chocolate pudding and mousse, and topped with whipped cream.
Making a splash
While their new restaurant is making a splash, Middleton and Burk haven't always been in the food business. The duo have been together since 2001, meeting shortly after they each individually relocated to Arizona, and married in 2014. They’ve worked many jobs together since their partnership began, and most recently, were full-time medical billers.
The couple lives south of Phoenix, but picked Tempe to begin due to building availability.
“We originally wanted to build in Maricopa, but Maricopa is building so fast that there's no used spaces available. We'd actually have to build from the ground up, which could be millions of dollars, and you have to get city approval just to even build,” Middleton explained. “We are not millionaires. We're just a couple of guys who did medical billing. So we just took our life savings and said, ‘Where can we open some place that's basically already built out?’”
They’ve since fallen in love with the area, stating that South Tempe “has such good energy and the people are so welcoming,” Middleton said.
Burk works the front of the house and is the “people person” in the relationship, while Middleton tackles most of the cooking. They plan to keep their team small (as in, just the two of them) for the first year to keep expenses down.
“We love to make everything from scratch at home, (and) we don't think it's a hard thing. We don't go buy Hidden Valley ranch, we make ranch,” Middleton shared. “So having a restaurant where we have the ability to make the things that we want from the beginning, it's just loads of fun.”
Despite the challenges that come with opening a new restaurant, Middleton says the experience has been mostly smooth.
“It's creative and it's liberating to be able to be your own boss and offer a product that's comforting to people, and doing it in a fun way,” he continued. “It's not boring takeout... we're specializing in good comfort food at an affordable price, too.”
Middleton says some customers have told him “You’re not charging enough.” But that’s part of the appeal, he says.
“Everywhere is expensive, and people are feeling the pinch with the economy. They're worried. And if you do the math, it doesn't have to be expensive,” Middleton explained. “We don't have staff, it's just the two of us, so our overhead is not very high. We're passing that down to the people for relief. They need it.”
Looking ahead
The couple hopes their new concept will be the first of many shark-adorned pasta spots.
"James' dad is intending to license it to other people who are interested in opening other Spaghetti Sharks,” Middleton said. “We're going to be a flagship store where people who are interested can come and get an idea.”
The pair hopes future Spaghetti Shark owners will take the concept and make it their own, adding unique items and building their own twist on the original, with more freedom than a traditional franchise.
Spaghetti Shark is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., with online ordering and catering available. It’s a must-try offering dangerously good food without breaking the bank.
And the name? It’s just meant to keep things light; a nod to a pool shark who hustles people, only in this case, the hustle is craveable comfort meals.
“It's really good food at an affordable price, and we're fun here,” Middleton said. “We've got sharks on the walls…we don't take ourselves seriously, but we certainly take our food seriously.”
