Gilbert’s downtown restaurant scene pushes southward today with the opening of Hundred North Bar Kitchen on the northwest corner of Gilbert Road and Bruce Avenue.
The Mediterranean-influenced restaurant takes over the ground floor of the recently constructed building next to GCM Liquor.
In fact, Hundred North is the project of brothers Chris and Mike Hanna, whose family opened GCM (short for Gilbert Convenient Mart) in a former Circle K in 1994 and built it into a favorite destination of East Valley beer geeks and whiskey aficionados.
The lot on which the new building sits came with the convenience store 24 years ago.
‘‘We’ve always wanted to do something – it’s just taken us forever,’’ says Chris Hanna. ‘‘It one of those things where we had all these awesome ideas, we had all these awesome whiskeys, we had all these connections with local breweries. So we just said, ‘Do you know what? Let’s expand.’’’
The groundbreaking for the new building was in September 2016. It’s taken more than two years to get the design approvals and permits and complete construction.
The original plans called for some type of connection with the store, but the store is set back from Gilbert road with parking in front. Hanna says the town requires new buildings to be on the street with parking in the back.
The new building has 4,500 square feet on the ground floor – the upstairs will be leased as office space – about 2,700 of which is the dining area that seats 200 people at mostly high-top tables. Three large roll-up glass doors open to a sidewalk patio.
In one corner of the restaurant you’ll find an 8-foot-tall replica of Gilbert’s iconic water tower. It’s positioned next to a large window that allows diners to view the real thing as well.
As you might expect, the 15-seat bar is a prominent area of focus. Hanna estimates he stocks 600-700 different whiskeys.
‘‘It’s definitely a whiskey bar,’’ he says. ‘‘That’s our main focus. Then we have 30 taps for craft beers, including 10-15 local ones.’’
The limited opening food menu includes 17 items, such as stuffed dates, tabbouleh and fattoush, lamb burgers, chicken pitas and shawarma, and New York prime beef with a harissa-date sauce.
An expanded menu is expected to debut this weekend or next week, Hanna says.
Hundred North is open 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday.
