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This fall, a wood-burning oven will be churning out artisan pizzas from that spacious kitchen in the city-owned former train depot.

, the 6-year-old pizzeria that landed on the list three years in a row (2024-26), is opening its second location in the 18,000-square-foot space at聽400 N. Toole Ave., which has spent most of the 21st century as an upscale restaurant.

Owner Jared Schwartz said he hopes to open the pizzeria in September once he has completed a minor buildout and "refreshing" of the space.

The pizzeria, which also will serve an expanded menu of handmade pastas, salads and entrees, will occupy the dining room and patio. In the former market space fronting Toole that has mostly been used as a wine and specialty foods shop, Schwartz is considering opening a breakfast and lunch cafe.聽

"We were looking for a space to grow Penelope, and we have that space in the kitchen. So the market presents us with a really unique opportunity to be able to try to bring something hopefully that downtown needs," Schwartz said. "We really are trying to be intentional in that market space, maybe trying to bring something not necessarily unique, but something that doesn't exist, or something that might be complimentary to the residents and the workers downtown."

The depot space has been vacant since , one of downtown's few upscale restaurants, closed last June. Owners Richard and Shana Oseran, who also own at 311 E. Congress St., had run it for 17 years.聽

"We are so excited to have somebody in that space and really, really hope they do well," said Jen Mead, 's marketing and communication director.

"They have created a following, they have created some excitement, and for them to come downtown and reinvest, that's great news," said CEO and President Felipe Garcia. "It's part of the equation, it's part of what we need downtown."

Schwartz, who has worked in restaurants since he was 15, said he started discussions with the city last October and recently signed a five-year lease with a second five-year option.聽

The move gives聽Penelope Pizza a downtown presence for the first time since Schwartz left on East Broadway in summer 2024. Cartel was the first brick-and-mortar location for the pizzeria that Schwartz launched as a mobile venture after moving to Tucson from Phoenix with his now-wife Ashley during the pandemic.

After spending a couple of years sharing space with Cartel, the restaurant moved to its official flagship at 800 N. Kolb Road.聽

The Kolb Road restaurant, at 2,700 square feet, is a fraction of the size of the depot space. But Schwartz said when the opportunity presented itself, he couldn't resist.

He said the downtown menu will include most of Penelope's pizza offerings and an expanded selection of handmade pastas and entrees.

"I think we'd like to be able to appeal to everyone that's coming downtown for different reasons," he said. "We'll have some good entrees and pizza and pasta."

He hasn't nailed down all the details for the cafe, which he plans to name after his and Ashley's 8-month-old daughter Sunnie. But he said he hopes to offer prepackaged salads, sandwiches and smaller bites like appetizers. Plans also call for a freezer section offering small-batch parbaked house-made lasagnas, pastas and pizza. The cafe would operate during the day; Penelope's would be open at night.

Schwartz realizes that the cafe and pizzeria join a downtown area that has plenty of both, including Hotel Congress's聽, a popular breakfast destination, across the street; and a pair of pizzerias聽鈥� 听补苍诲 聽鈥� a short walk around the corner on East Congress Street.聽

"That's kind of the beauty of downtown, right? ... There are options kind of all over the place, and certainly pizza options," he said.聽"But what I think excites me and is pushing me is that it feels like there's meat on the bone in town for everyone. It seems like there's a lot of room to grow."聽

"I think pizza is one of those that, from workers downtown to students from the university, people want to try something different," Garcia said. "I think it'll appeal to many, many individuals."

The setting in the historic train depot also could give people unfamiliar with downtown an excuse to visit, Garcia said, citing a Visit Tucson consultant's report聽 from several years ago that suggested having more community gathering spots would help Tucson "keep growing as a tourism destination."

"Hopefully this will bring new people that maybe are not familiar or haven't been engaged in downtown to come and try it out," Garcia said.聽

"This is a landmark space. It's a special, special thing to Tucson," Schwartz said. "Ultimately I hope we're there for the next 20 years, just like Maynard's."