By Jess Harter
By Jess Harter
By Jess Harter
Please support the businesses that support MXSW:
Back East Bagels
Bar/Restaurant Insurance
Brooklyn V’s Pizza
Craft 64
Creative Strategies
Cuisine & Wine Bistro
Floridino’s Pizza & Pasta
La Ristra New Mexican
Laurshan Construction
Sal’s Gilbert Pizza
Serrano’s Restaurants
SK Oil Sales
Sun Devil Hoods
Taqueria Factory
The Hart Experience
The Restaurant Brokers
Tott’s Asian Diner
Venezia’s Pizza
We Sell Restaurants (Doreen Gorman)
We Sell Restaurants (Mike Smith)
🍹 Tropic Thunder, the latest concept from prolific Valley nightlife entrepreneur Julian Wright, has opened on Roosevelt Row in downtown Phoenix. Part tiki lounge, part punk rock dive bar, the 50-seat space is located near the northwest corner of Roosevelt
A day after being raided by armed federal agents serving search warrants, Zipps Sports Grill says it hopes to reopen its 14 Valley locations, plus Goldie’s Sports Cafe, by this weekend. ‘‘Federal officials have not shared details regarding the nature
Fat Brands, the parent company of Fatburger, and Twin Hospitality, the parent company of Twin Peaks, both have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Neither company expects any of its restaurants to close while they restructure heavy debt burdens. Fat Brands
🌯 Guscht Döner House has opened in front of the Harkins Theatres at SanTan Village, bringing a taste of Turkish street food to the busy Gilbert shopping center. The fast-casual spot specializes in döner kebabs – which later became a
Sorry! While most of MouthBySouthwest.com is free to read, MXSW Insider articles are for paid subscribers only. Learn how to become an MXSW Insider. Username Password Remember Me Forgot Password
Multiple Valley locations of Zipps Sports Grill were raided by Homeland Security Investigations and several other federal agencies serving 15 search warrants Monday afternoon. The warrants are part of a months-long ‘‘criminal investigation into felony violations of federal law,’’ according
🌮 El Gordo Mexican Grill, a fast-casual Sonoran-style comfort food eatery, has opened its 11th Arizona location in the Home Depot parking lot on the southeast corner of Black Mountain and the Carefree Highway in Cave Creek. The grill’s taco
🥢 Jing, a popular Asian-inspired restaurant and lounge designed to feel equal parts dinner destination and late-night hotspot, has opened its newest location on the northeast corner of Scottsdale and Shea in Scottsdale. The Scottsdale location is Jing’s fourth. Others
🥙 Shawarmaati Mediterranean Grill, a 17-month-old restaurant in Gilbert specializing in beef and chicken shawarma, has opened a second location on the northeast corner of Arizona and Chandler Heights in Chandler. The Middle Eastern concept originated in Amman, Jordan. Gilbert
Sorry! While most of MouthBySouthwest.com is free to read, MXSW Insider articles are for paid subscribers only. Learn how to become an MXSW Insider.
🌭 If your idea of a good time involves soup, hot dogs, disco balls, or celebrity vino (or all four), the Valley’s early-year food festival calendar has you covered. Here’s a roundup of some of the most unusual upcoming food
🍸 Neutral Ground Lounge has opened on the northeast corner of Thomas and 46th Street in Arcadia, bringing a laid-back new hangout to one of east Phoenix’s busiest dining corridors. The drink menu keeps things approachable but thoughtful. Expect classic
🌵 Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale has opened Desert Orchard, a new daytime café concept rooted in the landscape, history, and quiet abundance of the Sonoran Desert. Set beneath Pinnacle Peak near the northwest corner of Alma School and Jomax, the
Sorry! While most of MouthBySouthwest.com is free to read, MXSW Insider articles are for paid subscribers only. Learn how to become an MXSW Insider.
🌯 Someburros, a family-owned Mexican restaurant rooted in Arizona since 1986, has launched its 18th Arizona location – and first in Surprise – on the southeast corner of Cactus and the Loop 303. The menu features signature Sonoran-style burritos under
🚫 El Chullo, a family-run Peruvian restaurant, has closed its original location after 12 years near the southeast corner of Seventh Street and Thomas in Phoenix. A Melrose District location that opened on the northwest corner of Seventh Avenue and
Dolce Vita Gelato – a 20-year-old Italian dessert shop, deli, and grocery in northeast Mesa – opens its second location Thursday on the northeast corner of Priest and Warner in south Tempe. From 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., guests can
Sorry! While most of MouthBySouthwest.com is free to read, MXSW Insider articles are for paid subscribers only. Learn how to become an MXSW Insider.
🏅 Six Valley chefs have been named semifinalists for Best Chef Southwest in the 2026 James Beard Awards, the culinary world’s version of the Oscars: Roberto Centeno from Espiritu in Mesa; TJ Culp from Progress in Phoenix; Armando Hernandez and
🍩 For years, doughnuts have politely stayed in their lane: sweet, sugary, and unapologetically breakfast-adjacent. But 2026 may be the year they finally rebel. Parlor Doughnuts, a fast-growing chain known for its laminated, flaky “Famous Layered Doughnuts,” launches its first-ever
