It didn’t take long for someone to snatch up the north Scottsdale home of The Melting Pot, which announced in August that it would close Sept. 30.
The new occupant of the building on the northwest corner of Hayden and Via de Ventura will be James Beard Award-winning chef Alex Stratta (pictured).
Stratta recently left the Arizona Biltmore and reportedly plans to open a plant-based Mediterranean restaurant called Blue Zone.
Blue Zone’s entire menu will be gluten-free, and only a few dishes will feature meat.
Stratta is one of just a handful of Valley chefs who have won the annual Best Chef Southwest honor from the James Beard Foundation.
He got the award in 1998 as executive chef of the now-defunct Mary Elaine’s at The Phoenician.
Blue Zone plans to open in February or March.
