Vero Chicago Pizza, the local group of pizzerias formerly known as Buddyz, is expanding into south Chandler. It just signed a lease for a space behind AutoZone on the southwest corner of Gilbert and Chandler Heights.
Chicago native JoeScarnato brought the Buddyz brand to Queen Creek in 2013, leading a parade of well-known Windy City pizzerias – including Lou Malnati’s, Gino’s East, and Giordano’s – into the Valley.
Buddyz received less media attention than the other newcomers but proved the most successful, adding busy locations in Gilbert (2016), Ahwatukee (2017), and San Tan Valley (2020).
Scarnato recently began changing the pizzerias’ name to Vero in order to sell franchises, the first of which is opening next month in the former Barro’s Pizza near the southwest corner of Val Vista and Williams Field in Gilbert.
The same franchisee also is opening the south Chandler location, which is expected to launch this summer.
Meanwhile, the former Gilbert Buddyz, owned and operated by a family friend of Scarnato, closed in December to move to southeast Mesa, where it will forge its own identity under yet another new name, Crave Pizza.
