Now Open: Mellow Mushroom in Tempe

By Wynter Holden Mon., Mar. 14 2011 at 4:07 PM

The Georgia-based Mellow Mushroom pizza franchise opened its doors for lunch on Mill Avenue in Tempe today.

The former Z Gallerie space underwent extensive renovations to welcome the new eatery, including the installation of an open kitchen with top-of-the-line pizza ovens, a bar with rotating record player art and a new outdoor patio facing the spectacle of Mill Avenue.

Owner Jay Beskind promises "colorful eclectic art, hip music and excellent food." We can't speak for the food (yet), but the place is pretty artistic. Walls are decorated with graffiti art murals and tricked-out skate decks painted by a dozen local artists.

Beyond the standard Hawaiian and meat pies, Mellow Mushroom offers groovy pizza combinations including the Kosmic Karma with sun-dried tomatoes, pesto, spinach and feta, Mediterranean and Caesar versions, and a delicious sounding red skin potato pie with applewood-smoked bacon and caramelized onions. They've also got steak & cheese calzones, a couple of salads and hoagies, and bar-style munchies like pretzels and stuffed portobellos.

Get a first look inside, after the jump...

This rotating record might be dangerous to stare at after a few drinks.

Grab a souvenir tee on the way out, if you're feeling Mellow.

Local graf artists pimped out MM's new digs.

Hours are Sunday-Wednesday, 10:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. and Thursday through Saturday, 10:30 am to 4 a.m. It'll be nice to have a place to grab a slice come last call on the weekends -- though with the demise of Sucker Punch Sally's, Stan's Deli and Uno's, we'll keep our fingers crossed.

Location Info

Venue

Map

Mellow Mushroom

740 S. Mill Ave., Tempe, AZ

Category: Music

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Tags:

mellow mushroom, mill avenue, munchies, new restaurant, pizza, tempe

We Recommend

Kingchicken

Bad service all around, avoid this place and give your business to someone else. Also, screw the bartender with the red hair and tattoos, she was very rude and there were other customers complaining about her when we were leaving. Have fun packing your bags guys...

GoldenPeanut

I love this place. Tried it for the first time in GA a couple years ago, and it was amazing. Different than any other local pizza place around it.

Vicelord

What jump? I did not jump, and even if I had jumped, I wouldn't have been able to read this article unless I clicked "read more."

Froggermario

I am very excited to try this new spot - might turn into my new neighborhood pizza place!

I am getting really sick of NT's bad attitude "though with the demise of Sucker Punch Sally's, Stan's Deli and Uno's, we'll keep our fingers crossed." Of course Sally's closed, all the food sucked and they had terrible service, and Uno's closed because the chain closed, not because "Mill Ave is dead." I don't know why Stan's closed, but it was a deli - not really comparable to a beer-and-pizza place.

Mill Ave is great! F the NT's bad attitude.