Drive East Pinnacle Peak Road this October and three addresses look the way they always have. At 8900, the building that used to be Arrivederci Pinnacle Peak now has a new name on it. At 7605, the Thai Basil storefront still serves Thai food under different owners. At 8700, The Citadel's former Preston's Steakhouse space has been under construction since summer and is about four weeks from opening.
None of this fall's new restaurants on the corridor needed a new building. Each one moved into a room that diners here already knew. The biggest of them, ALMA, closed in Old Town and chose to move to Pinnacle Peak. That move reverses the usual story about North Scottsdale dining, where the big names stay south and the north gets their second locations.
What Replaced What
The changes on this stretch are easiest to follow address by address.
| Address on E. Pinnacle Peak Rd. | Previous tenant | New tenant | Status as of early October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8900 | Arrivederci Pinnacle Peak | Il Segreto | Opened Aug. 12 |
| 7605, Suite 2 | Thai Basil | Baan Thai Bistro | Grand opening held Sept. 12 |
| 8700, The Citadel | Preston's Steakhouse | ALMA Southwest Steakhouse | Scheduled to open Nov. 2 |
| 8700, The Citadel | New space beside Little Snitch | Little Scoops | Expected around ALMA's opening |
Four openings, and only one of them, the ice cream parlor, is a brand-new space. The rest are new operators taking over rooms with a history. That history shapes what each one is trying to be.
Il Segreto Takes Over the Arrivederci Room
Il Segreto opened August 12 at 8900 E. Pinnacle Peak Road, in the space Arrivederci Pinnacle Peak used to occupy. Forking Scottsdale identifies the owner as Jameson Neuhoff, through Segreto Restaurant Group LLC.
An Italian restaurant replacing an Italian restaurant might sound like a lateral move, but the new room has a sharper focus. PHOENIX magazine's September openings roundup called Il Segreto a North Scottsdale fine-dining newcomer, with white tablecloths, a focused menu of seasonal Italian standards, an aperitivo menu and a patio. In its first-look visit, Forking Scottsdale described house-made pasta and named zucchini blossoms with whipped ricotta and preserved-lemon honey, seafood mafaldine, and Calabrian-marinated chicken.
Those specific dishes may not be on the menu when you go. The restaurant's own menu page says the offerings change, and it lists a bar-only aperitivo service with small bites and wine. The restaurant describes its wine list as a collection of Italian and international bottles. If you want a drink and a few plates instead of a full dinner, the bar is the place to sit.
The patio is ready, though it isn't finished. Forking Scottsdale reported that misters had not been installed yet and were planned for next year. That matters less in October and November than it will next June.
Baan Thai Bistro Keeps 7605 a Thai Address
A few blocks west, Baan Thai Bistro held its grand opening on Saturday, September 12, at 7605 E. Pinnacle Peak Road, Suite 2, the former Thai Basil space. PHOENIX magazine's roundup lists panang curry, Thai BBQ chicken, tom yum fried rice, pad Thai, and crispy whole pompano with tamarind and ginger sauce.
Local coverage has not named the owners or said whether Baan Thai has another location. What's clear is that a storefront the neighborhood knew as a Thai restaurant is still one, under a new name and with a menu built around curries, noodles and that whole fried pompano.
These first two openings show the same pattern. The cuisine stayed, the room stayed, and the operator changed. The third opening adds something the first two don't: a restaurant that chose this corridor over somewhere else.
ALMA Moved North on Purpose
ALMA isn't new to Scottsdale. Chef Sheila Bryson closed the Old Town location earlier in 2026, and she is reopening the restaurant at The Citadel, 8700 E. Pinnacle Peak Road. The space opened up after Preston's Steakhouse closed in 2025 following a decade in business. Phoenix New Times attributed that closure to the building's condition and the repairs it needed.
Bryson explained the move to What Now Phoenix in terms of her other restaurants. She said the relocation was a chance to bring ALMA closer to the rest of her Soul Hospitality Group concepts: Soul Café, Vic & Ola's, Pescada and Little Snitch. Little Snitch is already at The Citadel, a breakfast-and-lunch café with a bakery counter, a walk-up coffee window and a full bar.
The new ALMA is a Southwest steakhouse, with premium cuts and flavors drawn from Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Northern Mexico. Bryson has been clear that it won't feel formal:
"It's going to be a steakhouse as they've never seen. You can just have a taco and tapas if you want. It'll be fun and laid back without feeling like a stuffy steakhouse."
The plans go beyond the dining room. What Now Phoenix reported three more spaces on the property, and ALMA's full menu is meant to be available in each of them:
- Copper Club, a rooftop lounge with live music and cocktails
- A tequila bar with tequila and mezcal tastings, chef-created tacos and small bites
- Barbwire Western Couture, the return of a Western boutique Bryson ran years ago
Two of these are ideas Bryson is bringing back. She told What Now Phoenix that Copper Club was an event center she opened briefly right before COVID, and that the rooftop lounge responds to customers who had long asked for live music. Her stated goal is for guests to move between spaces over the course of an evening instead of staying in one room.
The timeline has already moved once. In July, the target was October 1, with early November as a possible fallback depending on construction. Forking Scottsdale's October 1 newsletter gave November 2 as opening day and said reservations were already open. No coverage has said whether Copper Club, the tequila bar and Barbwire will all open on day one. If one of those is the reason you're going, call ahead at 480-284-6736. Updates are also posted on ALMA's website.
Little Scoops Is Built for the Whole Corridor
The one truly new space on this stretch is aimed at everyone else's dinner crowd. Little Scoops is a counter-service, old-fashioned ice cream parlor planned next to Little Snitch and connected to it, with later evening hours. Forking Scottsdale described it as designed to stay open later so it can serve as a late-night dessert stop for people eating at other restaurants along the Pinnacle Peak corridor.
That design choice says a lot about the openings above. An ice cream shop only plans around after-dinner traffic if it expects that traffic to exist. With Il Segreto at 8900, Baan Thai at 7605 and ALMA's four spaces at 8700, Bryson's group now has her own restaurants plus several neighbors to draw from within a short drive. Little Scoops is expected to open around the same time as ALMA. No separate date or menu had been announced as of the October 1 update.
The Same Pattern a Short Drive Away
Look past Pinnacle Peak Road and North Scottsdale's other recent openings follow the same pattern of new names in familiar rooms:
- Kuza, from Clive Collective, opened September 16 at 17767 N. Scottsdale Road, Suite 100, in the former Chauncey Social space. Executive Chef Erik Davila's menu is built around a binchōtan-fired robata grill, a raw bar and sushi.
- The Breakfast Table took over the former OEB Breakfast Co. spot at 17757 N. Scottsdale Road, serving waffles, pancakes, omelets, skillets and burgers.
- Turquoise Wine Bar North Scottsdale is under construction in the former Café Au Plait space at 10405 E. McDowell Mountain Ranch Road, Suite 100, near Thompson 105. Owner Ariel Sheely told Forking Scottsdale she is targeting a late October or early November opening. The plans call for a wine bar, tasting room, bottle shop and bistro, plus a dog-friendly patio facing the McDowell Mountains.
North of the corridor, Vilvas Indian Cuisine opened this summer at 10434 E. Jomax Road near the Pinnacle Peak Trailhead, and its bar was open by early September. Coverage didn't say what the space was before, so it doesn't fit the pattern neatly. It does extend the cluster of new places within a few minutes of Pinnacle Peak Road.
Your November Calendar on Pinnacle Peak Road
Here's what's open now and what's coming, as of October 5:
- Open now: Il Segreto at 8900, Baan Thai Bistro at 7605, Little Snitch at The Citadel, and Vilvas on Jomax.
- November 2: ALMA at The Citadel, scheduled with reservations open.
- Around November 2: Little Scoops, next to Little Snitch.
- Late October or early November: Turquoise Wine Bar on McDowell Mountain Ranch Road, if construction stays on schedule.
Opening dates for new restaurants often shift, and ALMA's has already moved once. The clearest sign the corridor is drawing operators is a chef with an established Old Town restaurant picking 8700 E. Pinnacle Peak Road as its next home.
If you'd like a dinner suggestion along Pinnacle Peak Road this season, or you're curious which homes sit a few minutes from The Citadel, I'm happy to share what I know about this stretch. Reach out to Marina Gamez. Let's Connect.
