If you want a sit-down meal in Gainey Ranch on a Sunday at 11 a.m., where do you go this fall? A year ago, I would have pointed you somewhere else. Over the past eight months, the neighborhood's three dining clusters each changed in a different direction. Two of them added daytime hours, and one lost the kitchen that had been open from morning until night.
The three clusters sit close together. The Shops at Gainey Village fronts North Scottsdale Road at 8777 and 8787. The Shops at Gainey Ranch is a separate, smaller center at 7704 E. Doubletree Ranch Road, on the north side of Doubletree and east of the resort. The third is the Grand Hyatt Scottsdale Resort, called the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort & Spa in older coverage. Its $115 million property-wide renovation was finished in November 2024. The two shopping centers have similar names and get mixed up often. That matters this year, because the news at each one is close to the opposite of the news at the other.
Sunday at La Zozzona Now Starts at 9 a.m.
The most recent change is at the resort. La Zozzona, the Italian American restaurant led by chef Richard Blais, started weekend brunch on Saturday, October 3. It runs every Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and the resort says reservations are highly recommended.
Look at where brunch lands in the week. The resort's posted dinner hours are 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 5 to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Sunday doesn't appear on the dinner schedule at all. Before October, La Zozzona was an evening restaurant that skipped Sundays. Now Sunday is a daytime service there, and Saturday is the only day it serves both meals.
The brunch menu is priced item by item, not as one fixed price per person. A few examples from the published menu:
- Bomboloni, $12
- Tiramisu pancakes, $22
- Short-rib hash, $27
- Grilled branzino, $42
- Blood-orange Bellini, $16
- Espresso Negroni, $18
The spread runs from a $12 pastry to a $42 fish course. You can stop in for coffee and bomboloni, or you can make it a long lunch.
Gainey Village Added Two Lunch Tables
At Gainey Village, the change started in February. Mendocino Farms, the California-based sandwich and salad brand, opened its first Arizona location at 8777 N. Scottsdale Rd. PHOENIX magazine's February roundup described it as fast-casual, with seasonal specials and elevated classics like loaded club sandwiches and superfood salads. When the company announced its second Valley restaurant at The Promenade Scottsdale for June 2, its marketing chief credited the response to the first store at Gainey Ranch. In other words, a national brand opened its Arizona test store here and expanded from it within about four months.
The second arrival has deeper roots. Frank & Lupe's began in New Mexico in 1980. Frank and Lupe Bernal opened their Old Town Scottsdale restaurant in 1995, and their sons Teddy and Eddie ran it for years before Piero Aviles took over the Old Town location. The restaurant closed there in 2025. In May 2026, it reopened at Gainey Village, and PHOENIX magazine listed it among the month's openings. Phoenix New Times reported the soft opening at 8787 N. Scottsdale Rd., Suite 214.
"We're not changing what works," Aviles said about the move. "Lupe's recipes, her traditions, and her standards are still at the center of everything we do." According to Arizona Foothills, the enchiladas, fajitas and green chile dishes that built its reputation are still on the menu and still made from scratch every day. The new space has a modern Southwest look and a bar with room for eight to ten guests.
The hours tie this back to Sunday. Frank & Lupe's is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Like La Zozzona, its Sunday ends in the afternoon.
Both newcomers joined a lineup that has been stable for years. Hash Kitchen, Luna Gelateria, Pomo Pizzeria Napoletana, SOI 4 Bangkok Eatery and Village Tavern all appeared in a Phoenix New Times guide to the center in 2019, and all are still in its dining directory. Lure Fish House, Sunset Wine Bistro, Koibito Poke and Kaleidoscope Juice are listed there too.
The New Daytime Options, Side by Side
| Spot | Location | Daytime service this fall | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|
| La Zozzona | Grand Hyatt Scottsdale Resort | Weekend brunch, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., since Oct. 3 | Brunch only, no dinner listed |
| Frank & Lupe's | 8787 N. Scottsdale Rd., Suite 214 | Opens 11 a.m. daily | 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
| Mendocino Farms | 8777 N. Scottsdale Rd. | Fast-casual sandwiches and salads, open since February | Check posted hours |
| Corso Italia | 7704 E. Doubletree Ranch Rd. | Was open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Tuesday to Sunday | Closed as of summer 2026 |
The bottom row is the counterweight to everything above it.
The Doubletree Center Lost Its All-Day Kitchen
The Shops at Gainey Ranch finished a renovation in the summer of 2024. The 30,591-square-foot center on a 3.38-acre site got a lighter exterior, black awnings and ironwork, and new signage, and it was reported as fully leased. Chef Corrado La Macchia opened Corso Italia Restaurant & Market there in late spring 2024, in the space that had been Gastrome Market.
Corso was bigger than a typical restaurant. It took 4,592 square feet, about 15 percent of the whole center. That space held a fine-dining room, a retail market, an espresso bar, a gourmet deli and lunch counter, an open kitchen and a private room for cooking classes. It was open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday. Morning espresso, deli lunch and Sunday dinner all came from one storefront on Doubletree.
PHOENIX magazine's July roundup reported that Corso Italia "has gone dark with no explanation." I haven't found a published last day of service or an announced replacement tenant. The space has now held two market-style concepts in a row, and what comes next is still an open question.
The center is still active. Wally's American Gastropub lists the 7704 E. Doubletree Ranch Road address on its site and is taking reservations this month. But the full-day mix of coffee, lunch counter and dinner that Corso offered in one spot now has to be pieced together from the other two clusters.
The Rest of the Fall Calendar
The resort has the busiest calendar in the neighborhood this season, and the Gainey Ranch Golf Club ballroom has two community dates. Here's what's on the books after today:
- Friday movie nights at the Grand Hyatt continue every Friday through November 27, with s'mores at the pool fire pit every night.
- American Red Cross blood drive in the Gainey Ranch Golf Club ballroom, Monday, October 12, at 8 a.m.
- Masquerade Halloween party at the resort's Grand Vista Lounge on October 31, with themed cocktails, live entertainment and a costume contest.
- A second blood drive in the same ballroom, Monday, November 2, at 8 a.m.
- Thanksgiving buffet at the resort. Reservations open in October 2026. The resort says New Year's Eve reservations and Brunch with Santa bookings will open later this fall.
So the map is different than it was a year ago. On a Sunday this fall, you can have brunch at La Zozzona from 9 to 2, green chile at Frank & Lupe's from 11 to 4, or lunch at Mendocino Farms. Corso's old corner on Doubletree Ranch Road is dark until a new tenant is announced.
Changes like these affect daily life here, and over time they can also affect how a home near Gainey Village or the Doubletree center feels to live in and how buyers see it. If you're thinking about what your Gainey Ranch home might be worth this season, Desert Living Properties can give you a valuation that accounts for this kind of street-level detail. Get Your Home Valuation, and I'll walk you through it personally.
