🚫 Old Town Scottsdale’s acclaimed Liquor Pig served its last drinks Saturday, but on Friday it’s coming back – reborn as Wayward, a food-first dining destination with a moody, elevated vibe and a menu that means business.
Liquor Pig, a much-anticipated gastropub from industry veterans Scott Casey and Steve ‘‘Chops’’ Smith, had opened in March 2025 near the southeast corner of Scottsdale Road and Fourth Avenue.
Its rebirth comes with a reshuffled leadership team.
Co-owner Christina Foster has assembled what the restaurant is calling a ‘‘powerhouse’’ crew: executive chef CJ Kahley, who’s been running the kitchen since July 2025, and owning operator Kyla Hein, a hospitality veteran who’ll continue steering the cocktail program.
The pivot is deliberate – less cocktail bar with snacks, more serious kitchen with great drinks.
Kahley’s new menu is built around creative contemporary American cooking with global influences, seasonal ingredients, and what he describes as a melting-pot philosophy.
“We use America as a melting pot to construct and embrace our differences and similarities through food,” he says.
Hein promises the vibe will stay accessible: ‘‘elevated but casual’’ with a come-as-you-are attitude.
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