Restaurants

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski Keith and Janine Walashek remember the 9/11 terrorist attacks vividly. They recall exactly where they were, and the pain and fear that overcame their bodies. So when Keith heard that at one...

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski Pita Jungle is taking its staff’s health seriously. Restaurant co-founder Bassel Osmani and his partners hired Company Nurse, a triage and reporting service for workplace injuries, to further protect their employees, customers and...

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski Pizzicata owner Federico Venturini considers his guests and employees family at his Carefree Italian restaurant. Guests impart stories of visits to Italy, from which Venturini hails. In turn, Venturini shares authentic dishes like...

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski The breakfast and lunch spot Morning Squeeze is spending August raising funds for the Be Like Josh Foundation, a local nonprofit that raises awareness about special needs animals. For every dog biscuit order...

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski When Sapporo in Scottsdale rebranded as Kasai Japanese Steakhouse in November 2018, the move infused new energy into the 11,000-square-foot airy building. Owner Michael Russello says that energy hasn’t subsided at the teppanyaki...

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski Stuart Gee has literally spent his life in the restaurant business. Growing up in Waterloo, Iowa, he split his days between school and his father’s Chinese restaurant. After college, he worked for Red...

By Connor Dziawura With the stay-at-home order over and many restaurants trying to return to some semblance of normalcy, while still maintaining safe practices during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, one local establishment is aiming to...

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski Sima Verzino calls her husband, Chef Marcellino Verzino, a “visionary.” That relates to the creative dishes at Marcellino Ristorante in Old Town Scottsdale and his thoughts for the restaurant, which was temporarily closed...

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski Regina Holmes believes everything happens for a reason. When she and her husband, J.J., had the chance to rebrand the couple’s Native Grill and Wings stores, they ran with it.  “Life happens for a...

By Liz Renninger Laissez bon ton roulette! Takeout just got a little livelier at VooDoo Daddy’s Steam Kitchen. The locally owned Cajun and creole restaurant is open and offering pickup and takeout orders in the...