Home-sick Chicagoans will no longer have to fly off to Chicago or order a frozen pizza online in order to satisfy their Gino’s East of Chicago deep-dished pizza cravings.
Gino’s first Phoenix location, and 18th overall, is set to open in Arcadia at 3626 E. Indian School Rd., on Monday, April 24 at 4 p.m. And the food? It’s delicious, it’s gooey and it’s Chicago.
Noah Himmel, executive vice president of Gino’s East and the third generation of the Himmel family, which owns Gino’s, has been a frequent visitor of the Phoenix area over the last couple of years, looking for the perfect spot to open the restaurant’s first Phoenix location.
Himmel wanted to open the location in one of the growing neighborhoods in the Phoenix area, and at a place that’s central to both Phoenix and Scottsdale, which landed the restaurant in Arcadia.
Himmel was at the restaurant on Thursday making sure things were just right before its Monday night opening.
“I’m here making sure everything is exactly the way it is at home,” Himmel said. “We’re bringing in all of the legit, original stuff.”
Everything from the sausage to the hot dogs are coming in from Chicago to capture the essence that is the Windy City.
You can even write on the walls with a silver sharpie, much in the fashion of the Chicago location at 162 E. Superior St.
Now, lets talk about the food. The menu includes the deep dish classics you’ve come to know and love such as the Meaty Legend and the Chicago Fire. There’s even thin-crust pizza, salads and the Chicago hot dog.
There’s a robust beer and wine menu to boot along with some killer appetizers (can you say Deep Dish Nachos?). Not only that, but the dessert menu includes Apple Crumble and Cinnamon Sugar Beignet Balls (yum).
Make sure to bring plenty of friends and an appetite because you’ll be full after one slice of this cheesy and satisfying pizza. The crust was golden and flakey and the flavors were rich and striking.
Other than what will eventually be home to thousands of hand-scrawled names, the walls are adorned with Chicago memorabilia including the more recent, the Chicago Tribune’s front page from when the Cub’s won the World Series last year, to the nostalgic, a photo of the 1967 cast of Bozo’s Circus.
You’ll feel right at home here in the restaurant’s relaxing atmosphere.
Gino’s East knew they’d be opening up in a welcoming neighborhood, because many of the online orders for their frozen pizza are coming from the Phoenix area, Himmel said. And the Chicago Cubs playing Spring Training in the Phoenix area, is a big draw too.
Although they haven’t determined where, Gino’s plans to add more locations in the Phoenix area in the future, Himmel said.
On its opening day next Monday, Gino’s East will be donating all proceeds to the Phoenix Children’s Hospital. There will also be a raffle that will give customers a chance to win a pizza for a yea (one pizza per month for 12 months).
