A trio of Orange County chefs is bringing New York-style pizza by the slice and chef-driven Italian cooking to Irvine's Centerview complex this fall. Tifosi Pizza + Trattoria will open at 2000 Main Street, Suite 300, right next door to The Goldfinch, adding another name to a food hall that has been steadily filling out with independent restaurants.
The concept is a collaboration between chefs Zach Scherer, Frank DeLoach and Drew Adams, according to a release distributed via PR Newswire. The menu promises New York-style pizza by the slice, Italian sandwiches made with house-made bread, salads, California-inspired trattoria fare, craft cocktails and a curated wine list. Per the release, the restaurant's signature pizza will be built on carefully developed, multi-day-fermented dough with premium ingredients, and the space will carry a colorful, 1970s-inspired Italian trattoria look along with two expansive patios.
What's on the Menu, and Where It's Headed
Tifosi will serve both lunch and dinner, with takeout and delivery also available, the release states. The menu is described as drawing from Italian regional cooking, New York Italian classics and a California-influenced approach to trattoria dining — a broad enough mandate to cover everything from a quick slice to a sit-down plate of pasta. A separate report from whatnow.com notes that the project is tied to a filing with the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, though that agency's own license-lookup tool, which provides information on applicants and regulated businesses, does not establish that Tifosi's license has been approved.
Centerview itself has become something of a proving ground for Orange County restaurateurs. The complex is managed by EMMES Realty Services of California LLC and already hosts tenants including Goldfinch, Izakaya Osen, SOL Mexican Cocina, Porch & Swing and The Trough, according to the Orange County Business Journal. Earlier this year, the campus also drew Fat of the Land, a tapas-inspired restaurant that first opened in Santa Ana, into the former Maldon's Brasserie space at the Eighteen Main food hall — one sign of how much turnover and growth the complex has seen. That same report noted Monaco Italian Kitchen + Bar, a previous Centerview restaurant tenant, permanently closed on June 29.
The Chefs Behind Tifosi
Two of Tifosi's three collaborators, Scherer and Adams, are also behind Darkroom, the Santa Ana restaurant that appeared on the Los Angeles Times' 101 Best Restaurants list. The Orange County Register has described Tifosi as an Italian concept centered on comfort food with a California point of view. Zachary Scherer, who serves as managing member of Tifosi, said in the release that the team aims to bring fun food, decor, cocktails and atmosphere to the project, and added that he is excited to bring chef-driven Italian food to Irvine.
On the landlord side, Justin Nguyen, executive vice president of asset management for EMMES, said Centerview provides a place for people to connect, discover local restaurants and enjoy the complex's amenities. The release notes that the Centerview property has freeway access via the 405. EMMES, whose group of companies was founded in 1992 and operates out of offices in New York and California, is involved in principal real estate investments, capital management and real estate services, according to the same release.
No specific opening date beyond the fall 2026 window has been announced for Tifosi. For now, Orange County diners will have to watch Centerview for word on when the slices start coming out of the oven.
