Hot on the heels of Lou Malnati’s move to the Valley, another iconic Chicago deep-dish pizza icon is headed to Arizona.
Gino’s East, a Windy City institution since 1966, will move into a new building on the site of the recently closed Hazelwoods First Place on the northeast corner of 36th Street and Indian School in east Phoenix.
The new 4,400-square-foot building and patio will seat up to 200 people. It is scheduled to open in September.
‘‘We’re looking forward to bringing Gino’s East’s longstanding tradition of deep dish to the people of Arizona,’’ says Jordan Himmel of Bravo Restaurants, which owns all five Gino’s East locations in downtown Chicago.
‘‘The popularity of Gino’s East is obvious based on the amount of frozen pizzas shipped to the Valley every year,’’ he adds.
This actually is the second time Gino’s East has tried to enter the Valley market, following an ill-fated attempt in Tempe in the 1990s.
Gino’s East currently has 18 locations in Illinois, Wisconsin, Texas, and Mexico City.
