{"id":359298,"date":"2025-11-06T07:27:15","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T07:27:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/359298\/"},"modified":"2025-11-06T07:27:15","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T07:27:15","slug":"filthy-animal-team-celebrity-chef-to-open-new-tempe-restaurant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/359298\/","title":{"rendered":"Filthy Animal team, celebrity chef to open new Tempe restaurant"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"Woman
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tPretty Decent Concepts has a a penchant for over-the-top spaces. Drawing insporation from Italian cathedrals, Roman God of Fire is no exception.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Pretty Decent Concepts<\/p>\n

Teddy Myers and his restaurant group are on a tear, opening over-the-top restaurants and bars<\/a> and racking up awards<\/a> in the process. The company behind it all, Pretty Decent Concepts, isn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a master in Italian food,\u201d Myers says of Conant, the James Beard Award-winning chef who many recognize as a regular judge on the popular cooking competition show \u201cChopped.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0It will feature a hidden bar called Forgive Me, Father. <\/p>\n

Roman will open less than a mile from Filthy Animal, a hotspot that Myers\u2019 restaurant group debuted in March. The Arizona State University alum says there\u2019s so much potential in the area.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s a really special street and can be a really special district if enough people buy in,\u201d Myers says. \u201cSo far, our suspicions have been correct with Filthy Animal; it\u2019s been a success for us so far,\u00a0 and we\u2019re hoping to keep that momentum.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"RomanCustom statutes and art will adorn Roman God of Fire\u2019s dining room.<\/p>\n

A \u2018theatrical\u2019 look\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

This new \u201ctheatrical\u201d 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\u2019s art and architecture.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to do something really over the top that was like a modern Italian museum framing antiquities,\u201d Myers says.<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels rich, it feels dark, sexy, moody, a little masculine,\u201d Myers says.<\/p>\n

A wood-fired grill and oven are the focal point amid the extravagant decor. Live fire inspired the restaurant\u2019s name and will be celebrated across the menu. That\u2019s where Conant comes in.<\/p>\n

\"CelebrityCelebrity chef Scott Conant is teaming up with Pretty Decent Concepts. <\/p>\n

While Myers and his team were developing the concept for Roman, he learned that Conant was stepping away from Creation Hospitality Group<\/a>, whose Valley restaurants included Mora Italian and The Americano. The timing \u201caligned perfectly,\u201d Myers says.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor 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,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Conant has put together a menu draft, but he and Pretty Decent Concepts\u2019 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy favorite part about it is open-fire cooking and I feel like we can do all kinds of fun things with it,\u201d Conant says.<\/p>\n

Myers describes the food at the new restaurant as rustic, with a Roman tilt.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not going to be just a chicken parm,\u201d Myers says. \u201cI think we\u2019re taking it (in) a very different direction, but still comfortable and familiar.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bar will be led by the restaurant group\u2019s beverage director Jax Donahue<\/a>. Drinks will likewise lean Italian, with a focus on spritzes and amaros. Guests will also be able to sip unique tipples at the restaurant\u2019s speakeasy, Forgive Me, Father.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s really intended to be like a modern chapel that you enter through a confessional,\u201d Myers says.<\/p>\n

The focus on unique design, as well as service, makes for a \u201cbalanced experience,\u201d Conant says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I really love about (Pretty Decent Concepts) is they\u2019re focused on food, but food isn\u2019t the end all,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s gorgeous spaces, service-oriented. Food is a piece of the whole.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roman God of Fire<\/p>\n

Opens in 2026
80 S. Rio Salado Parkway, Tempe<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pretty Decent Concepts has a a penchant for over-the-top spaces. Drawing insporation from Italian cathedrals, Roman God of…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":359299,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5131],"tags":[5229,5643,1587,27144,97044,1589,26228,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-359298","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-phoenix","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-arizona","10":"tag-az","11":"tag-chefs","12":"tag-openings-closings","13":"tag-phoenix","14":"tag-tempe","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-united-states-of-america","17":"tag-unitedstates","18":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","19":"tag-us","20":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115501573204775044","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359298","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=359298"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359298\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/359299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=359298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=359298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=359298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}