The proper noun “Mastro” has a few meanings for Valley residents. For some, it’s the name of their favorite high-end steakhouse. For others, it’s their boss’ last name. And for a select few, it’s simply their own.

Jeffrey Mastro is one of those few. Alongside his brother, Mike Mastro, he is building on the legacy the Mastro name established in 1978.

The key to his family’s success? Family.

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“Working with family is everything. I worked with my dad, I’m working with my brother, and now our kids are in the business,” Mastro says.

The Mastro family has a deep history in Arizona. Originally from New Jersey, husband and wife Dennis and Jane Mastro and their four children moved to the West Coast to pursue Dennis’ passion for the restaurant industry. Eventually landing in Scottsdale, the family put down roots by opening a steakhouse named What’s Your Beef.

What’s Your Beef was a Scottsdale hotspot during the ’80s, and Dennis Mastro saw this success as an opportunity to keep going, promptly opening two more original concepts.

By 1985, Dennis had three successful restaurants under his belt. His son Mike was officially a partner in the family business, his other son Jeffrey was in law school, and Dennis was ready for the next thing.

In 1991, with the help of Mike and family friend Scott Troilo, Dennis opened his most successful spot yet: Maloney’s, a pub concept that spread like wildfire across the Valley. For 25 years, Maloney’s was one of Arizona’s most popular pubs, expanding to nine locations during its prime.

With all of the acclaim he had accumulated in over a decade of working in Scottsdale, Dennis still had not conquered the high-end side of the business.

To round out his portfolio of restaurants, Dennis opened the crown jewel of the early Mastro’s concepts, Mastro’s Steakhouse, on Pinnacle Peak and Pima in 1999.

Mastro’s Steakhouse was an instant success, turning the family name into a multimillion-dollar legacy.

The brothers

Following the family tradition of expansion and growth, the Mastros and Troilo opened Mastro’s Steakhouse’s second location in Beverly Hills, California.

Day in and day out, Dennis, Mike and Troilo worked together to grow the family restaurants, while Jeffrey occasionally stepped in to help. By the early 2000s, with the opening of Mastro’s City Hall and Ocean Club, Jeffrey was officially a full partner.

Now a unified operation, the Mastros expanded their steakhouses across California. While the restaurants garnered headlines in multiple states, behind the scenes the family continued to give back to organizations like The Foundation for Blind Children to raise millions of dollars.

For most families, that chapter of the Mastro’s story would be a satisfying conclusion. But with a man like Dennis Mastro for their father, the Mastro brothers saw it as the beginning of something new.

Jeffrey doesn’t dwell on the past when talking about the family’s entrepreneurial history.

“We started with the Mastro’s Steakhouse, my brother and my father and I. Then we sold that back in ’07,” he says.

The family sold 90% of the original Mastro’s concepts and brand in 2007, and the remaining 10% in 2012. The sale price was reportedly $180 million.

“…my brother and I went on to start Steak 44, Ocean 44 and Dominick’s in town, and then we have a few other steakhouses around the country called Steak 48,” Mastro continues.

After the sale of their father’s business, the Mastro brothers saw an opportunity to continue the family tradition and build a restaurant empire of their own. With Jeffrey as CEO and Mike as president, Prime Steak Concepts was founded in 2011.

The brothers and Dennis and Troilo, opened Dominick’s Steakhouse that same year. They named the new steakhouse after Dennis’ father.

Dominick’s quickly became a cornerstone of Scottsdale Quarter dining. Prime Steak Concepts followed with Steak 44 in 2014, building on that momentum.

In 2018, Prime Steak Concepts opened Steak 48 in Houston and Chicago, while Scottsdale welcomed another concept, Ocean 44.

Building for the future

Today, Prime Steak Concepts operates with the same philosophy that guided the family decades ago: grow deliberately and stay rooted in what works.

While the group’s footprint stretches beyond Arizona, the Mastros have remained committed to expanding at a pace that allows them to stay closely involved in every concept. This approach has led to continued growth both locally and nationally.

Most recently, the Mastros added another Valley institution to their portfolio. Last year, Prime Steak Concepts acquired Durant’s, a longtime Phoenix favorite that closed in January 2025, signaling a renewed investment in neighborhood-driven dining alongside its high-end brands.

Despite decades of success, Jeffrey Mastro remains focused on the people behind the restaurants rather than the milestones. “I work with my son every day. My nephews are in the business. One of my nephews is general counsel of the business. My other nephew is our regional operations director,” he says.

That multigenerational mindset continues to shape the future of Prime Steak Concepts, with sons, nephews and longtime partners playing key roles across the organization. For the Mastros, growth has never been about chasing trends or rapid expansion, but about building something lasting, together.

As the next chapter unfolds, the family shows no signs of slowing down. Instead, they are doing what they have always done best: identifying the right opportunities, investing in their community and relying on the same foundation that started it all — family.

“You’ve got people around that you could trust with your life,” Mastro concludes.