Apizza Alimentari set to open in Fayetteville after two-year remodel

Apizza Alimentari will open its Fayetteville doors on Wednesday, July 8, ending a more than two-year rebuild of the former Kirby’s Grill & Taphouse at 408 E. Genesee St. The project turns one of East Genesee Street’s most visible restaurant sites into a new stop for breakfast, lunch and, later, dinner in the heart of eastern Onondaga County.

The first service will run Wednesday through Sunday from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dinner and cocktails are planned for a later phase, once final construction work is finished and reservations are announced. The opening gives local diners an immediate daytime option in a corridor that has been watched closely since Kirby’s closed in October 2022.

Paul Messina, John Stage and Amy Chrisogonou are behind the restaurant. Messina and Stage also own Apizza Regionale in downtown Syracuse, giving the Fayetteville project a direct link to an established Central New York dining name. Apizza Regionale serves wood-fired pizza, pasta, salads, sandwiches, specialty cocktails and authentic Italian cuisine, while Apizza Alimentari’s own description says the business will focus on all-day authentic Italian eats, beverages and shopping.

The menu is built around Roman-style and Italian comfort food, including thin-crust pizza, paninis, homemade pastries, coffee, bread and other specialties. The evening trattoria concept will expand that lineup with wine and cocktail service, pushing the restaurant beyond a standard pizza counter and into a full day-part operation aimed at lunch crowds, families and dinner traffic.

Stage brings a long local food history to the project. He founded Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in 1983 with two partners, starting with a mobile concession stand that served motorcycle shows, fairs and festivals before growing into a Syracuse-based barbecue business with multiple locations. That pedigree, along with Messina’s role in Apizza Regionale, gives the Fayetteville opening a built-in audience among diners who already know the owners’ work.

The site itself has been part of the story. The Apizza Alimentari team said in 2024 that it had signed a lease for the former Kirby’s building, and local coverage in April 2025 described the work as a transformation underway in a shopping plaza off East Genesee Street. Messina said the team was looking forward to joining the “excellent culinary scene” in Fayetteville and Manlius. With the remodel nearly finished, the opening adds another destination to a busy commercial strip and gives neighboring businesses a new source of foot traffic when the doors open next week.