MEET THE SICILIAN GUY
FROM LONG ISLAND WHO
NEVER STOPS COOKIN'.
Crust Simply Italian has been feeding Arizona communities for over 15 years, and every dish traces back to where it all started: a dinner table on Long Island.
I grew up a first-generation Italian in Great Neck, New York, where my family gathered around the table every single night. My mother brought her recipes that are simple, honest, and full of flavor, from Abruzzi, Italy. I didn't realize it at the time, but I was sitting in front of my life's inspiration every evening.
My father, born and raised in Toretta, Sicily, loved to tell stories about the village elders and how, as children, they'd stretch scraps of bread dough thin, take them to the town's shared oven, and top them with vine-ripened tomatoes, fresh cheese, olive oil, and basil. Those little creations were made with lots of love and called pizzettas.
I worked at my father's pizzeria, Francesca's, from a young age, learning his recipes from the inside out. Including the Pizza Rustica, his own evolution of the pizzetta. When I opened Crust in Scottsdale in 2007, the Rustica came with me and it's been on our menu ever since.
Everything we do here comes back to those two things I grew up with: food made the right way, and people gathered together to share it. That's Crust Simply Italian.
Salute!
Founder - Michael Merendino
"We're not corporate. We're the ones that bought the oven first and figured the rest out later. That kind of moxie is our operational advantage."
THESE FOUR RULES ARE NON-NEGOTIABLE.
YOU'LL FEEL EVERY ONE.
Hospitality Always
It's the feeling of being welcomed, taken care of, and treated like family.
Our managers touch every single table, every single night. Not because we tell them to, because they believe in it.
Generosity
Big plates and fair prices is the Italian way. At Crust Simply Italian, generosity is on every plate.
You won't leave hungry. That's not a promise, it's a track record.
Community First
We don't just serve the neighborhood. We belong to it.
The Little League team. The charity night. The 'yes' when everyone else says 'maybe.' That's us.
Craft & Pride
Hand-tossed and house-made. If we didn't cook it, we don't serve it!
With every dough, sauce, and cocktail, the answer is always on the plate.
One Promise.
One Soul.
Jane Doe
Date Night | Crust ChandlerJane Doe
Date Night | Crust ChandlerJanine Bingham
Date Night | Crust ChandlerJanine Bingham
Date Night | Crust ChandlerJanine Bingham
Date Night | Crust ChandlerJanine Bingham
Date Night | Crust ChandlerJanine Bingham
Date Night | Crust ChandlerJanine Bingham
Date Night | Crust ChandlerJanine Bingham
Date Night | Crust ChandlerJanine Bingham
Date Night | Crust ChandlerJanine Bingham
Date Night | Crust ChandlerJanine Bingham
Date Night | Crust ChandlerJanine Bingham
Date Night | Crust ChandlerJanine Bingham
Date Night | Crust Chandler
THE BIRTHDAY TABLE
The one where the whole family finally sat down together. The one where the manager remembered it was your mom's birthday without being told. The one you'll book again next year.
THE DATE NIGHT
Two hours that didn't feel like a Tuesday and the kind of night where you say 'we should do this more often.' And, actually mean it.
THE REGULAR
The night you realized you'd been here six times and still haven't tried everything. That's not an accident, that's the plan.
YOUR HOME BASE FOR LITTLE LEAGUE, LOCAL SPORTS, AND COMMUNITY GROUPS.
Good food feeds people and great communities feed each other. At Crust, we believe in both. That's why you'll find us supporting Little League teams, fueling runners before the local 5K, and showing up for the neighborhoods that have shown up for us. Supporting the Valley isn't something we do on the side, it's just what good neighbors do.
COME FOR THE FOOD,
STAY FOR THE PEOPLE.
If there's one thing Mike can't live without, it's the team. Managers, Servers, and Bartenders who have been here since the beginning are what make Crust Simply Italian. They are, in his own words, 'family.'
"My team at work holds me together and have become the family I choose. This restaurant, this community, everything we've created, belongs to all of us."
CATERING & EVENTS
Feed the Office AND Be A Hero.
When you bring Crust to the office, you don't just feed people - you become the person everyone thanks. Big trays of scratch-made pasta, hand-tossed pizza, garlic knots by the dozen. Groups of 10 to 500+. Starting at $15/person.
MEET OUR Famiglia
Crust runs on people who show up, for the early mornings, the full dining rooms, and the thousand small details that make a meal feel right. Behind every location is a team that's earned its place through consistency, care, and a genuine love for hospitality, holding the same standards throughout each location. These are the people who turn a recipe into an experience and a regular into family. Meet the people that make up the Crust family!
