Say what? Why this pile of dirt is making East Valley pizza lovers’ mouths start to water

This isn’t just any old pile of dirt. It’s the beginnings of the new Began’s Classic Italian Pizza.

Classic Italian Pizza had survived (and thrived) since the ’90s despite its almost-hidden location in the aging Lake Country Village shopping center on Baseline, between Rural and McClintock, in Tempe.

So fans of owner/chef Azhar Began‘s award-winning wood-fired pizzas were stunned when the restaurant unexpectedly closed at the beginning of this year.

By May, Began had found a new space next to Mac’s Broiler & Tap in the Trader Joe’s/Changing Hands center on the southwest corner of McClintock and Guadalupe, about a mile-and-a-half from the old location.

After five long months, he finally announced on the pizzeria’s Facebook page today he has received his construction permit from the city.

Look for an opening in early 2014.

Earlier: Closed: Classic Italian Pizza in Tempe