The downtown Tempe location of Oregano’s Pizza Bistro – the chain’s second-oldest and once one of the busiest restaurants in the Valley – is closing at the end of this month.
During its heyday in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the funky-casual Italian restaurant located on University just west of Mill drew diners willing to wait in an outdoor line for 90 minutes or longer at lunchtime, even in the summer.
Chicago native Mark Russell launched Oregano’s in 1993 in Old Town Scottsdale (that original space has been occupied by Brat Haus since 2012) and expanded to Tempe in 1997.
Buoyed by popular menu items such as its signature Heckuva Slice and Original Bollo Pasta, Oregano’s grew to two dozen locations throughout Arizona and, more recently, Colorado.
In recent years, however, I’ve found the food quality has slipped considerably – not just at the Tempe location – and no longer encounter lines.
Oregano’s currently operates 15 locations in the Valley – soon to be 14.
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