After More Than 70 Years in Metro Phoenix, Riazzi's Restaurant in Tempe is Closed for Good

After 72 years in the Valley, Riazzi's Italian Garden has served its last meal.

August 14, 2017

Image: The Van Buren location of Riazzi's in the mid-1950s.

The Van Buren location of Riazzi's in the mid-1950s. Courtesy of Riazzi's/Facebook

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After 72 years in the Valley, Riazzi's Italian Garden at 2700 South Mill Avenue in Tempe served its last meal yesterday.

Riazzi's Italian Garden at 2700 South Mill Avenue in Tempe.

Kyle Lamb

The family-owned restaurant initially opened in 1945 at 15th Avenue and McDowell Road, before moving to 53rd and Van Buren streets in 1947, where it remained for 40 years. In 1989, Riazzi's moved to its final location in Tempe on South Mill Avenue.

The manager informed us that the owners plan to take some time off before deciding what to do next. Meanwhile, former employees and customers express their sadness at the closing on the Riazzi's Facebook page, stating that it is "the end of an era."

Felicia Campbell has written about food, culture, and cars for digital and print publications all over the world and is the author of The Food of Oman: Recipes and Stories from the Gateway to Arabia (Andrews McMeel, 2015). Her husband learned quickly that she’d rather get a bag of avocados than a bouquet of roses.

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