Author: Jess Harter

🥙 King of Gyros, a nine-year-old Meditteranean eatery in south Tempe, has opened a second location on the southeast corner of Price and Willis in south Chandler. Besides gyros, the menu offers shawarma, souvlaki, kefta, and falafel. Open for lunch and

🇮🇳 Curries Indian Cuisine & Bar, a very popular Yuma restaurant that opened in 2020, has made its Valley debut in central Scottsdale. It takes over the former Dos Familias Local Mexican space (previously Blue Adobe Grille) at Palo Verde

🌮 Oscar’s Taco Shop, a Tennessee-based chain, has opened its seventh Valley location in Chandler. It takes over the former Buon Padre Pizza space on the northeast corner of McQueen and Pecos roads. Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily. An

🥂 The Parlay Kitchen & Cocktails, a local gastropub concept that debuted in 2019, has opened its third location in south Chandler. It takes over the former Fat Willy’s space in the Bashas’ center on the northwest corner of Gilbert

🌮 Dallas-based Velvet Taco makes its much-anticipated Arizona debut at 11 a.m. today in Old Town Scottsdale. It takes over the former Second Story Restaurant & Liquor Bar building on the southwest corner of Scottsdale Road and Third Avenue. Velvet Taco

🦪 Humble Oysters & Bubbles, a new concept from the owners of Humble Bistro, has debuted at High Street in northeast Phoenix. The seafood parlor and bubbles bar is located next door to Humble Bistro near the southeast corner of

🥗 Crave Protein Cafe, a health-food eatery and smoothie bar, has opened in south Gilbert. It takes over the space formerly home to Crave Cookies & Drinks (how’s that for a 180-degree turn?), which closed earlier this year near the

🥩 Origen Steakhouse – an elevated wood-fired grill from Mérida, the capitol of the southern Mexican state of Yucatán – has opened in Gilbert. It joins the restaurant lineup at Verde at Cooley Station on the southwest corner of Williams

🍳 Brunch Snob, a local breakfast and lunch restaurant with a full bar, has opened its third Valley location in the former BLD space on the northeast corner of Germann and Dobson roads in Chandler. Menu highlights include chicken fried

🥣 Rush Bowls, a Boulder, Colo.-based chain offering acai bowls, protein smoothies, and other health-focused fare, has made its Arizona debut in downtown Phoenix. It’s located on the northwest corner of First and Taylor streets (on the east side of ASU’s

🍕 Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria, the Chicago-based chain known for its deep-dish pizzas, opens its fourth Valley sit-down restaurant (it also has four locations for carryout and delivery only) today at the Village at Prasada on the southwest corner of the Loop

🍔 Paradise Valley Burger Co. closed its original 13-year-old location Thursday but plans to open today in its new location on the southwest corner of Hayden Road and Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard in Scottsdale. Owner Bret Shapiro says the new

🐟 BLU Seafood, a Sonoran-based seafood restaurant originally from Hermosillo, has relocated to Verde at Cooley Station on the southwest corner of Williams Field and Recker roads in Gilbert. It’s the latest venture by restaurateur Martin Hurtado (Buqui Bichi, Miel

🌺 A pair of restaurants offering Hawaiian-style plate lunches have opened in Mesa. Moku Hawaiian Grill (pictured), which opened in Ahwatukee in 2019, has launched a second location at Cannon Beach on the southeast corner of Power and Warner roads

🇻🇳 Viet Bites, a Vietnamese eatery, has opened on the southwest corner of the Loop 101 and Cave Creek Road in north Phoenix. It takes over the space formerly home to Viet Kitchen and PT Pho Express. The menu features

🍷 Pinard Wine Bar, which promises a European-style dining and wine drinking experience, has opened in north Scottsdale. It takes over the space formerly home to The Craftsman on the southeast corner of Hayden Road and Thompson Peak Parkway. The

🥗 Aubergine Kitchen, a Utah-based chain of health-focused eateries, has made its Arizona debut on the northeast corner of Val Vista Drive and Baseline Road in Mesa. The menu features salads, sandwiches, bowls, and plates made with unprocessed whole foods,

🍺 OHSO Brewery & Distillery, which closed its north Scottsdale location March 4 for a ground-up remodeling, reopens it today near the southwest corner of Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard and the Loop 101. Amenities include OHSO’s new Test Kitchen, where

🐓🍤 George’s Chicken & Shrimp, an eatery that uses what it calls a ‘‘Chicago-style chicken batter,’’ has opened on the northeast corner of Priest Drive and Warner Road in south Tempe. Besides fried chicken and fried shrimp, the menu includes

🍣 Yellowtail Sushi, which closed its popular Glendale restaurant near Bell Road and 83rd Avenue two years ago, has reopened on the northwest corner of the Loop 101 and 59th Avenue. The menu offers more than 40 sushi rolls, nigiri, sashimi,

🎲 Forks & Boards – a large restaurant and bar attached to Gamers Guild, one of the country’s largest gaming stores – has opened on the northeast corner of Bell Road and 19th Avenue in north Phoenix. The menu features salads,

🍨 Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream, a Youngstown, Ohio-based chain, opens its ninth Valley store today next to AJ’s Fine Foods on the southeast corner of Scottsdale and Lone Mountain roads in Cave Creek. Approximately four dozen flavors – such as blueberry

🌮 Blanco Cocina & Cantina, the Sonoran-style Mexican concept from restaurateur Sam Fox, opens its fifth Valley location – and the first in the West Valley – today at The Park at 83 near the southeast corner of the Loop

🍦 Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, a Columbus, Ohio-based chain that made its Arizona debut last year in Old Town Scottsdale, celebrates the opening of its second Valley scoop shop at the Scottsdale Quarter from 7-11 p.m. today with free scoops

🍩 Randy’s Donuts, a famed Los Angeles doughnut shop that has appeared in dozens of movies and TV shows, has opened its third Valley shop – all in the past six months – near the southeast corner of Queen Creek

🌮 Fire & Braids, which has done Mexican food pop-ups at Pinnacle Brewing for several months, has set up a semi-permanent trailer next to the north Scottsdale brewery’s biergarten. The seasonal menu currently features corn masa sopes topped with Michoacán-style

🇰🇷 Central BBQ House, a five-year-old Korean barbecue restaurant in south Phoenix, has opened a second location at The Lakes in south Tempe. It takes over the lakeside building formerly home to The Watershed (and, before that, Charlie Brown’s) on

🍔 After nine months of construction delays, Badlands Bar & Grill finally has opened in Queen Creek. The American elevated comfort food restaurant closed its original Tempe location in January and planned to reopen that same month in the former

💐 Eighteen-year-old entrepreneur Dylan Capshaw has opened a third Valley location of Stemistry, his unique concept that’s part coffee shop and part flower bouquet bar. It’s located in the Road Runner apartments near the southwest corner of McDowell Road and 68th

🍝 North Italia, the upscale-casual Italian restaurant that Fox Restaurant Concepts launched in 2002 in Tucson, opens its fourth Valley location today at The Park at 83 near the southeast corner of  the Loop 101 and Bell Road in Peoria.

🍺 Mother Tucker’s Tavern, a vintage dive bar-style hangout, has opened in the former Bevvy space on the northwest corner of Saddlebag Trail and Shoeman Lane in Old Town Scottsdale. A streamlined menu offers burgers, sandwiches, tacos, and salads. Like

🍩 Creampuff Donuts, a pastry and coffee shop from Pretty Decent Concepts (Wren & Wolf, Chico Malo, Trophy Room), has opened on the southeast corner of Buchanan and First streets in downtown Phoenix. Chef Lucia Alferez’s menu features a rotating

🍔 Scottsdale-based gastropub chain Thirsty Lion opens its fifth Valley restaurant today at the Westgate Entertainment District in Glendale. The two-story building – the Thirsty Lion’s largest in the Valley – has a dining area, bar, and patio on the ground

🥗 True Food Market, a fast-casual spinoff of True Food Kitchen, has opened at The Edge shopping center near the northeast corner of the Loop 101 and 90th Street in Scottsdale. True Food Market offers health-focused dine-in meals – breakfast

🥖 Cheba Hut, the Valley-born cannabis-themed sub shop, opens its ninth Arizona location – and first in Gilbert – on the southeast corner of Baseline and Higley roads today. The menu features more than 30 signature “toasted” subs and a variety

🍺 Mr Brews Taphouse, a Wisconsin-based chain of burger-and-beer eateries, opens its second Valley location today in northeast Mesa. It takes over the former B’s Fiesta Kitchen building in the Bashas’ plaza on the southeast corner of Ellsworth and Brown roads.

🇻🇳 KaĐa Vietnamese Coffee & Tea has taken over the former Boba Bliss space on the southeast corner of Gilbert and Williams Field roads in Gilbert. KaĐa serves a mix of classic Vietnamese iced coffee (cà phê sữa dá) with modern

🐓 Copper & Sage, a Southern-influenced gastropub that’s the newest concept from Westside Concepts (Haymaker, Cantina Gueros, Maple & Rye, etc.), has launched a second location at GSQ in downtown Goodyear. Copper & Sage made its debut in Phoenix in late

🔥 Etta, a two-year-old restaurant that closed for remodeling in July after being sold, has reopened at the Scottsdale Quarter. The revamped menu from chef Todd Mark Miller leans more Italian than the previous New American version but still focuses on

🥗 3Natives, a Florida-based chain of health-focused juice bars, has made its Arizona debut on the southeast corner of Tatum Boulevard and Thunderbird Road in east Phoenix. It takes over the space formerly home to Starbucks. The menu features acai