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Pepperoni pizza — Detroit-style deep-dish (Photo courtesy of Transplant Pizza)

NOW OPEN: Transplant Pizza Brings Detroit-Style Pizza to River Road

Openings

March 12, 2025
By Matt Sterner

There’s a new pizza joint at the corner of River Road and La Cholla Boulevard. Just a couple of weeks ago, Serial Grillers closed at 1970 W. River Rd. so that Transplant Pizza could move in.

On Wednesday, March 12, the team opened the restaurant’s doors to the public.

A lot has been happening lately with the Serial Grillers/Transplant Pizza folks. Earlier this year, the masterminds behind Serial Grillers welcomed Chef Travis Peters (formerly of The Parish) as an equity partner.

“We’ve made the switch — Serial Grillers River location is out, and Transplant Detroit-Style Pizza is in,” the team shared. “We’re bringing our love for Detroit pizza to the westside of Tucson, and we can’t wait for you to try it.”

Chef Travis Peters (Photo courtesy of Transplant Pizza)
Chef Travis Peters (Photo courtesy of Transplant Pizza)

This is the concept’s second location — the first opened around three years ago at 4605 E. Speedway Blvd., which shares a space with Craft, A Modern Drinkery.

Chef Peters joining the team means there are new dishes on the menu. However, they’re still keeping the popular Transplant Pizza bites we’ve all grown to love over the past few years.

Right now, the new bites are only at the River Road location, and then they’ll arrive at the original Speedway Boulevard location next month. Some of the newbies on the menu will be chopped cheese sandwiches.

Here’s a sneak peek of a couple of the chopped cheeses:

The OG Chopped Cheese

House meat blend (ground chuck, brisket, and pork belly), grilled onions, hot cherry peppers, house garlic mayo, lettuce, tomatoes, cheddar cheese, and American cheese
The OG chopped cheese sandwich (Photo courtesy of Transplant Pizza)
The OG chopped cheese sandwich (Photos courtesy of Transplant Pizza)

Kimchi Chopped Cheese

House meat blend, grilled onions, house garlic mayo, mozzarella cheese, mustard greens, kimchi, pickled red onions, tomatoes, and toasted sesame seeds
The Kimchi Chopped Cheese sandwich (Photo courtesy of Transplant Pizza)
The Kimchi Chopped Cheese sandwich (Photo courtesy of Transplant Pizza)

They’ve also added fried chicken sandwiches — hand-breaded in-house — with fun flavors like a kimchi fried chicken and their version of a Detroit hot chicken.

Again, the team is aiming to have the new dishes at the Speedway location come April.

The new River Road location is open daily from 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.

Transplant Pizza is located at 4605 E. Speedway Blvd. and 1970 W. River Rd. For more information, visit transplantpizza.com. For more information about Serial Grillers, visit serialgrillersaz.com.

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Article By

At a very young age, Matt Sterner was gifted with the artistic ability to masterfully roll a burrito to the highest of standards, but the wrapped medley of delicious innards wasn’t his first love. Matt’s first true love was a combination of reading, writing, and creating. He grew up reading comics, the ingredients list of his shampoo and conditioner bottles, choose-your-own-adventure books, and the Scrabble dictionary — something he found useful when challenging his grandmother to a game.

He attended college at New Mexico State University and graduated with a degree in Digital Filmmaking. One of his favorite classes was screenwriting because he became responsible for the story’s birth before it came to life on-screen. After school, Matt took on numerous positions at a local television station in Tucson. From dealing out stories about heartbreak to producing “fluffier” content for a lifestyle broadcast, he learned what it takes to adapt to the many emotions the world of media can stir. Since 2017, Matt has dabbled in the culinary world of Tucson as well as San Diego, California from time to time.

If you’re in the mood for strange stories, head over to his pride and joy, wonkytimes.com. And in case you’re curious — yes, after all of this time, he still manages to roll a killer burrito.

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