After months of delays, Barrio Queen finally is ready to open next to Zinburger and Lo-Lo’s Chicken & Waffles in downtown Gilbert.
Invites have been sent out for a VIP grand-opening event on Thursday. Opening for the public is looking like Monday (May 4), but that’s not official yet.
I still see and hear a lot about award-winning chef Silvana Salcido Esparza “coming to Gilbert” – obviously from people unaware she parted ways with the Barrio Queen concept last year.
She still owns the similarly named Barrio Cafe in Phoenix.
• Iowa-based Happy Joe’s Pizza got the Valley’s Midwest transplants all excited when it announced its Gilbert location – the first in Arizona – would open in March.
Unfortunately, that estimate came from corporate headquarters, not the local franchisee, who’s actually targeting the end of May.
• Goldwater Brewing Company in Old Town Scottsdale passed its health inspection, and an opening date will be announced this week. I’ll have more details in a Goldwater story tomorrow.
I also checked in with the guys at Westward Brewing Company, who hope to open in mid-June in Phoenix. I’ll have more abut them on Wednesday.
• WisePies, yet another build-it-yourself, fast-casual pizza concept, this one out of New Mexico, is coming to the Valley. They’ve secured an unidentified location near ASU with others “coming soon.”
• The Whining Pig, a no-frills wine and craft beer bar in Phoenix, is opening six other locations, including two in Gilbert and one in Chandler, by next year. All will have different names that include “Pig.”
• D.P. Dough, a Massachusetts-based chain of pizzerias specializing in calzones, has taken over the former Gus’ Pizza at Rural and University in Tempe.
• Denver-based fast-casual burger concept Smashburger has opened its first Chandler location at Alma School and Queen Creek. It joins East Valley locations in Tempe, Gilbert, and Queen Creek.
