A $40-a-head Italian concept launched in tribute to a Phoenix restaurant legend is now eyeing 20 locations across the country. The Sicilian Butcher, the red-sauce chain Joey Maggiore created to honor his father Tomaso Maggiore's decades-long run in Phoenix dining, has received private-equity backing announced in 2022 as it pushes into new states.
A Tribute Rooted in Tomaso's Phoenix Legacy
Joey Maggiore launched The Sicilian Butcher in 2017 to honor his father, according to Restaurant Business. Tomaso Maggiore and his wife Patricia opened Tomaso's Italian Restaurant in Phoenix's Camelback Corridor in September 1977, according to Phoenix Magazine, and the restaurant operated for more than 50 years before closing, per Restaurant Business. Tomaso died after a long battle with lung cancer at age 73, Phoenix Magazine reported.
Joey grew up in his father's restaurant, and he has said the new concept was his way of keeping that connection alive. “My father came from a small town in Sicily. He made the American dream, and that was to come to America and never forget where you came from, but love what we do here,” Joey Maggiore said, per the Restaurant Business report. He added that he wanted his father “to have a taste of Sicily in his back yard.”
Fresh Pasta, Interactive Boards and a $40 Check
The Sicilian Butcher bills itself as a casual-dining red-sauce Italian concept with a playful, interactive spirit, the outlet's report notes. All pastas and sauces are made fresh in each restaurant, and guests can choose their own pasta, sauce and meatballs — including sicilian-style meatballs made with veal, prime beef, pork, sharp provolone, parmesan, herbed breadcrumbs and raisins, Tony's steak meatballs built on aged ribeye, and eggplant meatballs with roasted eggplant, basil, parmesan and mozzarella.
Signature plates include Lasagna Al Forno, Ravioli Cacio e Pepe and Veal Piccata, with an average check of about $40 per person, the same report states. Larger groups can order a five-foot-long Sicilian strada board, priced per person, that lets diners pick meats, cheeses, bruschetta, olives and crispy calamari — a board that, per a separate account from FSR Magazine, serves four or five people. Smaller parties can opt for a meatball or cannoli ferris wheel, and every location houses The Sicilian Baker, a dessert concept with its own separate entrance offering house-made cannolis, gelato and other sweets that do brisk to-go business, according to the restaurant business report.
Savory Fund Bets Up to $30 Million on Growth
Savory Fund, a Salt Lake City-based private-equity firm that specializes in young, emerging brands, acquired a majority interest in The Sicilian Butcher and is allocating up to $30 million toward it and The Sicilian Baker, according to a Savory Fund statement. The deal marks Savory's 10th emerging-brand investment and its second in a Maggiore brand — the fund previously put $20 million into Hash Kitchen in November 2021, according to the same statement. Savory Fund said Joey and Christina Maggiore will remain involved in developing the brands going forward.
Restaurant Business reports The Sicilian Butcher/Baker now operates seven locations across Arizona, Texas and Tennessee, with two more under construction in Utah, while FSR Magazine's account puts the current count at four locations — three in Arizona and one in Fort Worth. The Sicilian Butcher's planned Holladay Hills restaurant is slated to be its first Utah location, according to a Utah Business announcement, and the restaurant business report states the Utah locations are expected to open in 2027.
New Markets and a Menu Expansion on the Horizon
Savory Fund's announcement sets a long-term goal of opening 20 units over the next four years in new markets including Dallas, Houston and San Antonio in Texas, as well as Las Vegas. FSR Magazine separately reported plans for three additional Texas stores in the coming year. Joey Maggiore also plans to elevate the menu over the next year with more steak and seafood options, per the Restaurant Business report.
The Sicilian Butcher/Baker operates as part of The Maggiore Group, which according to the same outlet also includes The Mexicano, The Italiano, Hash Kitchen and The Delicatessen, the last of which opened in 2025. FSR Magazine reports the broader Maggiore Group oversees five concepts and 23 restaurants in total.
New Leadership Brings Decades of Hospitality Experience
The chain recently hired its first brand president, Nicole West, who previously served as vice president of operations for Hi Noon Hospitality, Restaurant Business reported. West also spent a decade as CEO of New York Pizza Department and began her career with Hillstone Restaurant Group, whose Phoenix office happened to sit across the street from Tomaso's, according to the same account.
West described the role in personal terms, telling Restaurant Business, “This isn't a job, it's a privilege.” She has said people place substantial trust in the restaurant when choosing it for significant family occasions, per that report. Joey Maggiore remains in control of the restaurant's operations, the outlet noted, even as the brand's newest leaders and investors chart its next chapter.
