Restaurant closures have continued to hit local markets across the U.S. in 2026, with longtime independent spots and regional chains both feeling the pressure. In Arizona this month, three familiar names are going away: Native Grill & Wings in Tempe, Bell’Italia in Ahwatukee, and Native Grill & Wings in Sierra Vista.
Three Arizona restaurants are confirmed to be closing
Native Grill & Wings in Tempe closed on June 15, 2026, after 47 years, according to the reported closure details in NewsBreak’s source material. The restaurant at 1301 E. Broadway Road was significant because it was described as the last remnant of the brand’s original location.
That Native story began in 1979, when Floyd Anderson and Judy Anderson opened Native New Yorker at McClintock and Baseline in Tempe, according to the same report. The concept later grew to roughly 25 locations across the Valley before the brand became Native Grill & Wings.
Bell’Italia in Ahwatukee also shut down after 24 years at 4909 E. Chandler Boulevard, according to Mouth by Southwest as cited in the source material. In Sierra Vista, Native Grill & Wings at 3950 Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway also closed this month after opening in 2015 under franchisees Marcus and Cindy Teufel.
What is confirmed in Tempe, Ahwatukee, and Sierra Vista
In Tempe, the confirmed closure involves a restaurant that carried unusual local history because it remained tied to Native New Yorker’s 1979 origins. The Broadway and Dorsey store had been operated as part of a brand passed to the Anderson daughters after Floyd Anderson died in 2009.
In Ahwatukee, Bell’Italia had become a neighborhood fixture since opening in 2002 under owner and chef Mario Caputo. The source material said the restaurant displayed a “temporarily closed” sign for several weeks, but staff members said they were told the closure is permanent.
In Sierra Vista, the confirmed loss is one Native Grill & Wings location, not the full brand statewide. The company has not released a comprehensive public list of any additional affected Arizona locations beyond the Tempe and Sierra Vista closures described in the source material.
Why these closures matter for Arizona diners
The source material does not give one official statewide reason connecting all three shutdowns, and no single company statement explains every closure. What is clear is that each restaurant had operated for years, from Bell’Italia’s 24-year run to Tempe Native’s 47-year history and Sierra Vista Native’s roughly 10 years.
Bell’Italia had continued operating even after Caputo’s unexpected death in 2021, according to the source material. In Tempe, the closure ends the last direct link to the original Native New Yorker story, while in Sierra Vista it removes a casual sports-bar option in a smaller southern Arizona market.
For customers, the immediate impact is simple and confirmed: these three dining rooms are no longer regular options this month in Tempe, Ahwatukee, and Sierra Vista. Arizona has also seen other recent restaurant losses, including a Phoenix pizza restaurant that closed after 52 years, according to the source material, adding to a broader pattern of familiar local places disappearing.
