Paladino’s Italian Eatery plans June opening in Mesa

Paladino’s Italian Eatery is lining up a June opening in Mesa, and the move says as much about family business momentum as it does about pasta. The Arizona-born Italian concept is preparing its second state location at 2711 S. Alma School Road, giving East Valley diners another neighborhood option built around hand-tossed pizzas, hearty pasta dishes and classic Italian-American comfort food.

The Mesa location is moving through licensing under Paladinos Italian Eatery LLC, which was filed with the Arizona Corporation Commission on Dec. 1, 2025 and is listed as active and in good standing. Mesa council minutes dated March 23, 2026 show the company requested a new Series 12 restaurant license for 2711 South Alma School Road, Suite 4, with Richard Thomas Slayton listed as the agent. The minutes also note there was no existing license at that address, a sign the restaurant is stepping into a space that is not already set up for the same use.

For diners who know the original shop in Apache Junction, the Mesa opening will feel like an expansion rather than a reinvention. Paladino’s describes itself as a family-owned and operated deli and pizzeria, and its menu already stretches beyond pasta into Chicago-style pizza and Italian beef. Franchise materials say the concept began as a small deli and grew into a full Italian restaurant when Bob Paladino’s son-in-law, Rick Slayton, moved to Arizona and became CEO. That backstory matters here because it explains the restaurant’s lane: blue-collar Italian food, generous portions and the kind of everyday menu that can work for lunch, dinner and repeat visits.

That broader positioning should help Paladino’s in Mesa, where families and commuters are constantly choosing between chain convenience and local places with a clearer point of view. Mesa says it has a population of 517,496 and projects metro growth to 5.2 million by 2028, which gives a restaurant like Paladino’s room to make a case for itself. The draw is not just pasta, though the pasta is part of the pitch. It is the combination of a second Arizona outpost, a recognizable Chicago-leaning identity and a menu built for regular meals rather than one-time novelty. That is exactly the kind of opening that can turn a new address on Alma School Road into a dependable stop.