Popular Phoenix Restaurant Suddenly Closes Over the Weekend

A local restaurant closed out of nowhere.Photo byTim MossholderonUnsplash

For anyone who enjoys eating out around greater Phoenix and spends any amount of time reading up on restaurant owners or the individuals behind various brands, it is difficult to miss the eclectic Joey Maggiore. Self-dubbed “Chef Joey,” he, as well as his family, have opened a number of restaurants around the Valley, Most of the restaurants are given over-the-top press coverage by other media outlets (especially when compared to nearly any other restaurant launch), and now, with the unexpected closure of a Chef Joey restaurant, it will likely receive more attention than other failures. Especially when the closing restaurant had been around for less than a year. 

Over the weekend, The Rosticceria closed its doors. Whether the name didn’t connect with local eaters or food lovers in the Valley don’t have the same soft spot for Italian wood-fired grub, the restaurant failed to make it a full year before closing. It launched in December of last year, and while there was media buzz around its launch, the restaurant failed to generate continued attention. 

There was no official reason given as to why The Rosticceria closed. This is mostly due to Joey Maggiore and his marketing team spinning the closure into a positive, as The Mexicano Pop-Up will take over the space. Touting a failure as a positive is one way to go about it. After all, it’s sometimes better in life to focus on the silver lining and not what transpired to get you there. Still, this is nothing short of The Rosticceria being unable to make it in the ever-crowded Valley restaurant space. 

The closure of The Rosticceria was barely mentioned in the social media posts and a company press release. Instead, the posts stated the restaurant would “temporarily close” and open back up on October 15 as “The Mexicano Pop Up.” The 10-day-ish closure is likely to swap out the decor and bring in all the necessary food and design elements required to convert the Italian-themed restaurant to a Mexican-themed one. That is probably why this is being dubbed as a “pop-up.” Either the entire space will not be immediately in use as complete renovations of the space in less than two weeks would prove incredibly difficult, or the restaurant will remain as a pop-up until another full-time eatery is announced. 

Located at 12811 North Tatum Blvd in Phoenix, the restaurant will feature the same menu as previous renditions of The Mexicano.