Artichoke Basille’s Pizza is expanding its West Coast footprint into Arizona with a restaurant opening at 1120 E Baseline Road in South Tempe. The restaurant is slated to open doors in June and begin serving its authentic NYC pizzas and more for dine-in, takeout, and delivery.

The Tempe menu boasts a full bar, salads, and lighter fare alongside Artichoke’s signature New York-style pizzas like the Artichoke Pie and Crab Pie, plus traditional pizzas like margherita, pepperoni, and meatball. The 2,500 square-foot South Tempe restaurant pays homage to Artichoke’s roots with NYC-inspired design elements like exposed brick and antiqued tin, while also incorporating modern touches including an indoor/outdoor bar and garage doors that open to a 1,000 square foot patio. 

“We’re confident that our first Arizona location will be welcomed by the people of Tempe and we’re thrilled to add another community to the Artichoke family,” said Francis Garcia, co-founder and co-owner of Artichoke Basille’s Pizza. “We couldn’t have asked for better franchise partners to spearhead Artichoke’s development in Arizona.”

The Arizona franchisees, Keith Bolognese and Ron Marino, are long-time friends of Artichoke Pizza’s founders and fans of the New York-based pizza brand. Bolognese’s primary background is in finance and investing with an emphasis in the hospitality industry, and Marino has owned and operated restaurants and bars throughout Los Angeles for nearly two decades. 

“We wanted to bring Artichoke Pizza to Arizona since it’s such a fast-growing market with tremendous opportunities for development, and we know that the brand and high-quality product will be well-received by those in Tempe,” said Marino. “We feel fortunate to have such supportive, encouraging partners in the Artichoke Pizza team and for their faith in us and our ability to make a splash with this opening.”