The 4,800-square-foot space that housed Agustín Kitchen for 13 years inside Tucson's Mercado San Agustín has a new identity in the works. Vito Prencipe and his wife, Tucson native Bonnie Callahan, plan to open Il Santo Italiano Rustico at 100 S. Avenida del Convento, bringing regional Italian cooking to a spot that closed at the end of August after more than a decade as a locally sourced, chef-driven staple of the Mercado District.
According to Arizona Daily Star, Prencipe and Callahan had been dreaming about opening their own restaurant for years before the opportunity at Mercado San Agustín materialized. The timeline for Il Santo's debut isn't entirely settled: the Star reported the space could open in the next month or so, while Tucson Foodie noted that no opening date for Il Santo has actually been announced.
Prencipe, who moved to Tucson from his hometown of Puglia in southern Italy 14 years ago, says the new restaurant will lean into the food of his homeland rather than a single regional style. Il Santo Italiano Rustico will borrow its menu from all corners of Italy, he told the paper, with an emphasis on authentic regional dishes rather than a generic Italian-American template.
A Menu Built on Sustainability and Local Sourcing
The menu is expected to center on Mediterranean-diet staples, pasta, pizza, and a wide variety of vegetables and beans, per the same account. The restaurant will also feature a large production operation inside the space itself, and the couple hopes to carry forward a sustainable food mantra by leaning on locally sourced ingredients, echoing the sourcing ethos that defined Agustín Kitchen's run in the same building.
Running the kitchen will be a Michelin Star chef trained in Italy, though the chef's identity and specific recognition haven't been detailed in reporting so far. The space itself offers room for more than 80 diners inside and shares a spacious patio with the shopping center's other eateries, giving Il Santo a built-in community of neighbors from day one.
From North Italia to a Culinary Institute in Italy
Prencipe's resume reads like preparation for exactly this moment. Before stepping away from North Italia a few weeks before the Star's report, he worked as a manager with the upscale chain and helped open a number of its locations around the country, also training employees in Italian cuisine. The brand's scale was considerable — North Italia had 33 existing locations with plans for up to six more that year, according to NRN.
Earlier in his career, Prencipe served as director of a culinary institute in Italy and spent a dozen years studying food sustainability, background that the couple hopes will come through in Il Santo's approach to ingredients and menu design. Callahan, a published writer in her own right, had planned alongside Prencipe to write a book about Italian food before the restaurant opportunity took priority.
How the Deal at Mercado San Agustín Came Together
The path to the Agustín Kitchen space ran through conversations Callahan had with Kira Dixon-Weinstein and, separately, with Adam Weinstein, about opening a restaurant at the Mercado District. Adam Weinstein and Dixon-Weinstein own Agustín Kitchen, while Dixon-Weinstein and her husband own the Mercado District itself, which includes the MSA Annex.
Dixon-Weinstein has said Mercado District businesses should support one another, a philosophy that fits Il Santo's planned arrival alongside the center's existing lineup. The new restaurant will join Rollies and Seis Kitchen, both Mexican restaurants; Kukai, a Japanese restaurant; Bōs Burger, a burger spot; and El Zumitos, a juice bar, rounding out a food scene that has evolved considerably since Agustín Brasserie first opened at Mercado San Agustín in March 2012 before relaunching as Agustín Kitchen in December 2013, per Tucson Foodie's earlier reporting.
