Zio Al’s Pizza and Pasta plans new Shenandoah location at Metropark Square

Metropark Square is the kind of address that tells you Zio Al’s Pizza and Pasta is chasing traffic, not just adding another badge to the map. The Shenandoah center sits in one of North Houston’s busiest shopping and entertainment corridors, and the new outpost is planned for 8888 Metropark Drive in a space once occupied by Peacora Jewelry.

That location matters. Metropark Square is built around the kind of steady daytime and late-night flow that can keep a casual Italian chain moving, with nearby draws such as AMC and Dave & Buster’s helping feed moviegoers, arcade visitors and families looking for a quick meal after hours. Visit Shenandoah describes the city’s retail base as a mix of shopping, dining, entertainment and meetings, which makes the development a natural fit for a restaurant built on walk-in traffic and fast service.

Zio Al’s has leaned into that model from the beginning. Founder Alex Frijat opened the first location in 2010 after years working as a pizza delivery driver, and the brand has grown into a regional chain with 12 locations across the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. The menu is broad and familiar by design: hot pizza, fresh pasta, crispy wings and other comfort food made to order. The company says it stays open until 3 a.m., 365 days a year, a schedule that puts it squarely in the late-night category that can thrive around entertainment districts.

For pasta fans, the Shenandoah move is less about fine dining and more about dependable, high-volume Italian-American comfort. Zio Al’s serves pasta alongside sandwiches, cheesesteaks and wings, giving the brand a wide appeal that works for families, theater crowds and anyone looking for a meal after most kitchens have closed. That positioning is part of what makes the Metropark Square opening notable: it is not a luxury pasta concept chasing destination diners, but a chain built for speed, accessibility and repeat visits.

The Shenandoah location also fits into a bigger Greater Houston push. Zio Al’s had already been reported as expanding into Richmond, just outside Houston, in late 2025, and a Flower Mound opening showed the chain continuing to build out across North Texas at the same time. Taken together, those moves suggest the brand sees suburban growth centers like Shenandoah as the next stage of its expansion, with Metropark Square offering exactly the kind of traffic mix a late-night pasta-and-pizza operation wants.