Author: Jess Harter

🦞 Hooked Boil House, a counter-service seafood restaurant, has debuted in the former Crawfish Cafe building in front of the Mekong Supermarket on the southwest corner of Dobson and Main in west Mesa. The restaurant has rebranded but is still

☕️🍻🍹 Maple House, the fourth downtown Chandler concept from restaurateur Gavin Jacobs, has soft-opened in downtown Chandler. The coffee and cocktail bar is housed in a 1940s cottage built after World War II on the northeast corner of Boston and California

🥃 Arizona Distilling Co., the award-winning spirits maker that opened in Tempe in 2012, has launched a new production facility and tasting room in downtown Mesa. The century-old window-less building near the southeast corner of Main and Robson is double

🧀 I Heart Mac & Cheese, a Florida-based chain that offers build-your-own macaroni and cheese bowls and grilled cheese sandwiches, has opened on the northeast corner of Bell and 59th Avenue in Glendale. The concept made its Arizona debut in

🍺 Nearing its 10th anniversary in downtown Chandler, The Perch Pub & Brewery has soft-opened a second location, now dubbed Perch Brewing Company, on the northeast corner of Cooper and Ray in Gilbert. It takes over the building and brewing

🌮 Loco Patrõn, a locally owned group of Mexican restaurants, has opened its fourth location near the northwest corner of Seventh Street and Missouri in uptown Phoenix. It takes over the space formerly home to Revolu Modern Taqueria & Bar, which

🍔 Bad Jimmy’s, a restaurant I first wrote about in August, holds its grand opening at 10:30 a.m. today in the former Breadfruit & Rum Bar space on the northeast corner of First Avenue and Pierce  in downtown Phoenix. James Piazza,

🍳 Biscuits Cafe, an Oregon-based chain of breakfast and lunch eateries, has opened its seventh Valley location near the northeast corner of Glendale and 91st avenues at Westgate in Glendale. Menu highlights include strawberry-stuffed French toast, vegetable omelet, biscuits and

🐓 Twist Hot Chicken, which made its debut in Peoria last year, has opened a second location near the northwest corner of Mill and Fifth Street in downtown Tempe. The local fast-casual concept has taken over the space previously home

🍔 White Castle, generally considered the world’s first fast-food hamburger chain, opened its second Arizona restaurant at 8 a.m. today near the northeast corner of I-10 and Warner in south Tempe. The iconic chain is famous for its small, square burgers known

🌮 Taqueria Factory, a fast-casual Mexican restaurant that debuted in Chandler last year, has opened its third location next to Arizona Mills shopping mall in Tempe. It takes over the former 5 & Diner building near the northwest corner of Priest

🍖 Texas-based Rudy’s Country Store and Bar-B-Q has opened its fourth Valley location near the northwest corner of the 101 and Raintree in north Scottsdale. The location opens at 6:30 a.m. daily for build-your-own breakfast tacos. Rudy’s offers 13 kinds

🍕 Roma 23 Wood Fired Pizza & Beer has moved into the former Fuego Bar & Grill space on the northwest corner of Van Buren and 91st Avenue in Tolleson. Besides pizzas, Roma 23’s menu offers appetizers, salads, pastas, and

🧇 Chestnut, a New American restaurant in Arcadia that closed in May, has reopened in the former Over Easy space at the Biltmore on the northwest corner of Camelback and 24th Street in Phoenix. Owner Jennifer Steele launched Chestnut on

🐓 Dave’s Hot Chicken, a Los Angeles-based chain that made its Arizona debut in Gilbert last year, has launched its second Valley location on the southwest corner of Bell and Seventh Street in north Phoenix. Dave’s specializes in Nashville-style hot

⛳️ Social Birdie, an elevated breakfast and lunch restaurant, has opened at the Las Colinas Golf Course off Rittenhouse, south of Ocotillo, in Queen Creek. Owner Ken Danielson previously operated well-regarded Phoenix farm-to-table eatery Modern Harvest. Social Birdie’s breakfast highlights

🇹🇭 Mr. Baan’s Bar and Mookata, a new restaurant and bar from the owners of acclaimed Thai restaurant Lom Wong, has opened in downtown Phoenix. The Thai-style barbecue concept is located behind Lom Wong, a bungalow next to the Cambria

🍦 Crispý Cones, an Idaho-based chain that made its Arizona debut in downtown Chandler in August, has added a second location on the northwest corner of Mill and Fifth Street in downtown Tempe. The concept, which was featured on the business

🌮 Rili-B’s Taco Shop, a 24-hour taqueria in Maricopa and Casa Grande, has opened a third location near the northeast corner of Ellsworth and Heritage Loop in Queen Creek. The menu offers two dozen burritos, including seven breakfast burritos available

🏈🏀 The DTC Sports Grille has opened in the former Matty G’s Steakburgers & Lobsta Rolls building on the southwest corner of Chicago and Wall in downtown Chandler. The space has been remodeled sine Matty G’s closed in early October,

🍦 Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream celebrates the grand opening of its sixth Valley location at Tempe Marketplace with the first 50 customers at 11 a.m. Friday receiving free ice cream for a year. There’s also a buy-one-get-one-free offer on small

🍺🍕 Phantom Fox Beer Co., a new brewery and restaurant, has opened in the former Desert Eagle Brewing space near the northeast corner of Main and Robson in downtown Mesa. It’s the second downtown venture for owners Trent Smith and

🍺 Valley Taproom, a 20-month-old craft beer bar and store at the Rivulon center in Gilbert, has opened a second location on the northwest corner of Ellsworth and Riggs in Queen Creek. Like the original, owner Donald Greenberg’s new location

🥃 One Handsome Bastard – a distillery, bar, and restaurant – has opened in the former Blue Clover Distillery space on the northwest corner of Marshall Way and Indian School in Old Town Scottsdale. The name is a reference to

🍺 Catalyst Crafted Ales, a new brewery from the co-founders of the recently closed Ad Astra Brewing in Prescott, has opened on the southeast corner of McClintock and Broadway in Tempe. Rex Williamson and brewer Will Walthereson, who launched Ad Astra

🍳 San Diego-based breakfast-and-lunch concept Broken Yolk Cafe has opened its third Valley location on the northwest corner of Highland and 20th Street in Phoenix. The breakfast menu offers a dozen specialty omelets and a half-dozen types of eggs Benedict, as

🍔🍺🎸 Off 87 has soft-opened in the former Ginger Monkey building on the southwest corner of Arizona Avenue (aka Arizona State Route 87) and Ocotillo Road in south Chandler. It’s the latest venture from former Arizona Diamondbacks pitching coach Mike Butcher (pictured)

🍕 Pizzicata, a small, family-owned pizzeria in Carefree, has launched a second location at Painted Mountain Golf Course on the northeast corner of Recker and McKellips in northeast Mesa. Owner Federico Venturini and his wife, chef Viola Tagliaferri, moved from

☕️ Oregon-based Black Rock Coffee Bar will open its fourth Gilbert location Friday on the southeast corner of Gilbert and Warner. Per the chain’s tradition, the new location will offer $2 medium drinks all day Friday. It’s Black Rock’s 33nd store

🐓 Birdcall, a Denver-based fast-food chain specializing in fried chicken sandwiches, opens its third Valley location today at Santan Village shopping center in Gilbert. It will be located just north of Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant near the northwest corner of Williams Field

🔥 A Japanese-style bistro called Pyro hass opened at The Grove, a new $300 million mixed-use development on the northwest corner of 44th Street and Camelback in east Phoenix. It’s from the Nebraska-based Flagship Restaurant Group, which also operates Ghost

🇹🇭 Sala Thai, a well-regarded, family-owned restaurant with locations in north Phoenix and Peoria, has opened a third on the northwest corner of McClintock and Broadway in Tempe. The menu offers the soups, stir fry noodles, fried rice, and curries

☕️ Los Angeles-based coffee shop chain Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf opens its seventh Valley location today at the Shops at Town & Country on the southeast corner of Camelback and 20th Street in Phoenix. Anyone with the company’s app

🐟🐓 Bay Bay’s Fish & Chicken, a family-run Southern-style eatery specializing in fried catfish and chicken wings, has opened near the northeast corner of 48th Street and University in Tempe. Catfish dinners come with two or four pieces of hormone-free

☕️ The teams behind Mythic Goat Coffee and Rift Wine & Tap have partnered together to launch Grounds on 2nd on the southeast corner of Second and 69th streets in Old Town Scottsdale. The coffee shop, wine bar, and urban

🥙 The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill, a Florida-based chain of counter-service restaurants, has opened its first Arizona location on the northwest corner of the Loop 101 and Via de Ventura in central Scottsdale. The menu offers salads, bowls, gyros, pitas,

🥩🍤 Kona Grill, a Valley-born upscale-casual concept that filed for bankruptcy protection in 2019 but appears to be on the upswing, has opened a new location at Desert Ridge Marketplace in north Phoenix. It’s located on the west side of

🔥 Big Nate’s Family BBQ, a 3-year-old family-run smokehouse in northeast Mesa, has opened a second location on the northwest corner of Main and Power in east Mesa. Eric Solheim, brother-in-law Ray Dandridge, and their wives started the business as

🍕🍗 Fox Restaurant Concepts debuted Doughbird in Arcadia in 2016. The new location is at The Colony on Seventh Street between Monetbello and Missouri. Its menu focuses on hand-stretched pizzas and rotisserie chicken, and also includes a few staples from

🌯 You’ll find it on the southeast corner of Val Vista and Williams Field. (The other express location is in north Scottsdale.) Señor Taco Express offers pretty much the same menu as Señor Taco, including more than 20 burritos ranging