A new pizzeria has opened near Arizona State University's Tempe campus, adding another dining option in the area. Russo's New York Pizzeria & Italian Kitchen has opened its second Arizona location at 521 S. College Avenue, Suite 109, near ASU.
The Tempe shop is owned and operated by Kristina Alvarez and Christian Alvarez, according to a company news release cited by Pizza Marketplace. The couple said they chose the Russo's franchise because they immediately fell in love with the food, and that the gourmet, fresh, high-quality ingredients and scratch-made recipes stood out to them, per the same release. The brand had earlier announced a Mesa franchise development agreement involving Kevin Barth and Phuong Thai, according to Business Wire.
What's on the Menu at the New Tempe Spot
The new restaurant serves New York-style pizza by the oversized slice, along with a 28-inch giant party pizza built to feed a crowd. Rounding out the menu are fresh-made pasta and other Italian dishes prepared from scratch, the report notes. Company guidelines call for dough to be made daily without additives or seed oils, using imported Sicilian extra virgin olive oil, and the signature 28-inch pie is designed to serve up to 10 guests, according to Russo's New York Pizzeria.
Russo's is expanding through franchise formats, while its menu includes items like the giant party pizza.
A Campus of More Than 51,000 Students Next Door
The location's appeal is easy to understand given the sheer size of the customer base surrounding it. ASU's Tempe campus is home to roughly 51,200 students for the fall 2026 semester, part of a systemwide enrollment that topped 200,000 for the first time during the 2025-26 academic year, according to ASU News. That scale of foot traffic is a major draw for fast-casual concepts looking to plant a flag on College Avenue, one of the commercial strips feeding directly into the university's academic core.
University-adjacent storefronts put restaurants close to the student customer base. For slice shops and late-night dining, that proximity can be an appealing feature.
Behind the Brand: A Texas Kitchen Turned National Franchise
Russo's New York Pizzeria traces its roots to Houston, where chef Anthony Russo founded the company in 1992 using family Italian recipes developed since 1978. The chain is now expanding across the Southwest and the rest of the country, offering several restaurant formats with pizzeria models starting at about 1,500 square feet. Franchised locations report average unit volumes of approximately $1.1 million a year, according to company franchise disclosure information cited by Pizza Marketplace.
Arizona's push began in late 2023, when Russo's signed a franchise development agreement with Kevin Barth and Phuong Thai, whom the company described as first-time franchise entrepreneurs, laying the groundwork for the stores that followed in Mesa and now Tempe, according to Russo's New York Pizzeria. Nationally, the brand operates more than 50 corporate and franchised locations across states including Texas, Florida, California, Oklahoma and Arizona. It also has outlets abroad in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the Philippines; Franchise Arabia lists locations in the United Arab Emirates.
The Price of Getting In on the Franchise
For anyone eyeing a Russo's of their own, the numbers aren't small. FranArabia lists a $40,000 initial fee and a total initial investment ranging from $450,000 to $950,000 for multi-unit stores only. Franchisees also pay an ongoing 6% royalty.
The Tempe opening marks the brand's second Arizona location, following the Mesa debut.
