Looking around Isabel’s Amor – the bar with no top, the empty shelves, the table-less dining room – it’s hard to believe the East Valley’s newest Mexican restaurant will be open in a week. But owner Tim Vasquez insists the 2,200-square-foot space on the northwest corner of Val Vista and Williams Field is right on schedule.
The restaurant’s namesake is Vasquez’s late grandmother, whose recipes were the inspiration for Someburros, a local chain of six fast-casual Mexican eateries launched by his parents in 1986 and now run by Vasquez and his sisters.
“There’s a lot of my grandmother recipes,” Vasquez says. “We chose the ones when we opened Someburros we could do quick-serve. There’s a lot of things like the carne asada and some shrimp dishes that we just couldn’t do there.”
He says Isabel Amor’s comfort-food menu will have about eight appetizers, five or six tortas (around $9), and 12 specialty dishes like carnitas and steak picado ($12-$17). There will be no burros, but Isabel’s will use Someburros’ award-winning salsa.
Tortillas, both corn and wheat, will be made in-house every morning. Fresh tortilla chips will be made all day.
The cozy dining room only will seat 55 people. The table tops – weathered barn wood polished to a high gloss – will arrive next week, as will the bar top made from the same wood. Vasquez removed some existing landscaping to make room for a patio that will seat another 65.
“We live about a mile from here, so we’ve had our eye on (the space) for a long time,” Vasquez says. “There’a just a niche out here, with us being local. There are just so many chains.”
A 12-seat bar will serve a selection of specialty cocktails created by Lon’s at the Hermosa mixologist Travis Nass. It also will offer about 30 different tequilas, hand-crafted margaritas, red and white wines, and craft beers, including several from Los Muertos Brewing, one of Mexico’s few craft breweries.
Isabel’s Amor also will have a variety of aguas frescas, such as horchata or jamaica, made daily. Spiked and non-alcohol versions will be available.
Most of the decor was designed by Vasquez’s wife, Julie, who will work at Isabel’s Amor – her first incursion into the family business.
A wall by the bar will be covered with family photos, and some of Isabel’s antique cooking tools will be displayed on shelves.
Isabel’s Amor will be open for lunch and dinner daily. Info: 480-658-0742.
