Pretty Decent Concepts has a a penchant for over-the-top spaces. Drawing insporation from Italian cathedrals, Roman God of Fire is no exception.
Pretty Decent Concepts
Teddy Myers and his restaurant group are on a tear, opening over-the-top restaurants and bars and racking up awards in the process. The company behind it all, Pretty Decent Concepts, isn’t slowing down in 2026. Myers is doubling down on Tempe with a new restaurant and hidden bar, and has tapped Scott Conant, an acclaimed Valley chef with Food Network star power, to develop the menu.
“He’s a master in Italian food,” Myers says of Conant, the James Beard Award-winning chef who many recognize as a regular judge on the popular cooking competition show “Chopped.”
Roman God of Fire is anticipated to open in the second quarter of 2026 at Hayden Ferry Lakeside, a development on Rio Salado Parkway near Mill Avenue. It will feature a hidden bar called Forgive Me, Father.
Roman will open less than a mile from Filthy Animal, a hotspot that Myers’ restaurant group debuted in March. The Arizona State University alum says there’s so much potential in the area.
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“It’s a really special street and can be a really special district if enough people buy in,” Myers says. “So far, our suspicions have been correct with Filthy Animal; it’s been a success for us so far, and we’re hoping to keep that momentum.”
Custom statutes and art will adorn Roman God of Fire’s dining room.
A ‘theatrical’ look
This new “theatrical” restaurant and bar will feature themes of virtue and vice. A trip to Rome inspired Myers to build a restaurant that highlights the ancient city’s art and architecture.
“We wanted to do something really over the top that was like a modern Italian museum framing antiquities,” Myers says.
Diners will settle into curved booths or club chairs at marble-topped tables in a softly-lit dining room with dark wood accents, custom statues and artwork.
“It feels rich, it feels dark, sexy, moody, a little masculine,” Myers says.
A wood-fired grill and oven are the focal point amid the extravagant decor. Live fire inspired the restaurant’s name and will be celebrated across the menu. That’s where Conant comes in.
Celebrity chef Scott Conant is teaming up with Pretty Decent Concepts.
While Myers and his team were developing the concept for Roman, he learned that Conant was stepping away from Creation Hospitality Group, whose Valley restaurants included Mora Italian and The Americano. The timing “aligned perfectly,” Myers says.
“For us, having never done an Italian restaurant before, not having an Italian expert on staff, we wanted to respect the food culture and to find somebody that really understood what that meant,” he says.
Conant has put together a menu draft, but he and Pretty Decent Concepts’ Culinary Director Ivan Gonzalez will start solidifying the dishes next month. Customers can expect classic Italian and specifically Roman items, such as pasta amatriciana and abbacchio alla Romana, a roasted lamb dish. The kitchen team is also developing Roman-style pizzas and baked breads, as well as large-format dishes, such as roasted chicken.
“My favorite part about it is open-fire cooking and I feel like we can do all kinds of fun things with it,” Conant says.
Myers describes the food at the new restaurant as rustic, with a Roman tilt.
“It’s not going to be just a chicken parm,” Myers says. “I think we’re taking it (in) a very different direction, but still comfortable and familiar.”
The bar will be led by the restaurant group’s beverage director Jax Donahue. Drinks will likewise lean Italian, with a focus on spritzes and amaros. Guests will also be able to sip unique tipples at the restaurant’s speakeasy, Forgive Me, Father.
“That’s really intended to be like a modern chapel that you enter through a confessional,” Myers says.
The focus on unique design, as well as service, makes for a “balanced experience,” Conant says.
“What I really love about (Pretty Decent Concepts) is they’re focused on food, but food isn’t the end all,” he says. “It’s gorgeous spaces, service-oriented. Food is a piece of the whole.”
Roman God of Fire
Opens in 2026
80 S. Rio Salado Parkway, Tempe