Transplant Pizza, Craft, Serial Grillers Cortaro, & Mosaic Brewing closed

Transplant Pizza has closed its sole remaining location at 4605 E. Speedway Blvd., ending a nearly five-year run for the Detroit-style pizzeria in Tucson.

Co-owner Travis Miller confirmed that the eastside restaurant and Craft, A Modern Drinkery both closed this week.

At the time of its launch in 2021 inside Craft’s taproom on East Speedway, Transplant Pizza was the only restaurant in Tucson offering Detroit-style pizzas. The concept was an offshoot of Tucson’s popular Serial Grillers brand, led by brothers Travis and William Miller. Transplant’s Speedway location became known for its thick, cheesy deep-dish slices and a menu that put a Tucson twist on the Midwestern pizza style.

Official Statement

Miller issued the following statement:

This week we made the difficult decision to close a few of our businesses and re-focus our energy on our Speedway and Houghton Serial Grillers locations!

We’re incredibly thankful for the Tucson community and everyone who’s supported us over the years. From the bottom of my heart, thank you to all the loyal customers who showed up again and again, and to the employees who worked their asses off and helped build these businesses. None of this happens without you.

With the closing of Transplant Pizza, our Detroit Style Pizza concept, we are excited to be bringing some of our most popular items to Serial Grillers. Over the next 3-4 weeks, we will be rolling out those items at both remaining Serial Grillers locations. Thank you again for your continued support, we look forward to serving you in the future.

Sister Ventures Also Shuttered

The closure of Transplant Pizza comes amid a string of recent shake-ups for the Miller brothers’ family of eateries. Serial Grillers, the horror-movie-themed pizza and sandwich shop that started it all, shuttered its Cortaro Farms Road location (5660 W. Cortaro Farms Rd.) in Marana in recent weeks, according to Miller. That northwest-side restaurant had been one of three remaining Serial Grillers outlets in Tucson. The Millers now continue to operate Serial Grillers at their original location at 5737 E. Speedway Blvd., which they returned to in late 2024, and another on location southeast at 7585 S. Houghton Rd.

Another offshoot, Mosaic Brewing Co., also closed. The craft brewery was launched by the Serial Grillers team in late 2023 after they took over the former Dillinger Brewing facility on at 3895 N. Oracle Rd., serving house-made beers that also featured on tap at Craft and Transplant Pizza. However, Mosaic Brewing Co. also quietly ceased operations, marking another contraction for the restaurant group.

In March 2025, the brothers attempted to grow the Transplant Pizza concept by opening a second location at 1970 W. River Rd. on Tucson’s northwest side, taking over a former Serial Grillers. However, the expansion was short-lived; the River Road location closed after five months, with a sign on the door directing patrons back to the original Speedway shop. Transplant’s original midtown location on Speedway carried on after that setback, until now.

Other Closed Concepts

Transplant, Craft, and Mosaic join a list of their concepts no longer open. In 2021, they permanently closed Boulevard Barbecue & Fixins, a barbecue restaurant they opened at 5737 E. Speedway Blvd., after less than a year in business. That location, the original home of Serial Grillers, later housed a Mexican eatery called Toro Loco Tacos y Burros, which also saw a brief run before the Millers decided to bring back Serial Grillers to the “OG spot” on Speedway. These earlier ventures fell victim to challenges ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic and staffing shortages to rising food costs, according to the owners’ past statements.

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