Author: Jess Harter

Stylish Mexico City street food apparently doesn’t sell in Gilbert: Rosa Blanca Café has closed after less than a year in business. Rosa Blanca opened on the northeast corner of Val Vista and Elliot in February. The menu featured tacos

Chef Brandon Crouser (pictured) has left the renovated and reopened Vine Expressions wine bar and retail shop in Gilbert after two months, saying simply, “It wasn’t a good fit for me.” Sous chef John Ribeiro, who also worked under Crouser at

Herb-N Flavors – that’s the name for now at least – has opened on the southeast corner of Broadway and McClintock in Tempe. Tunisia-born Sabeur Rouin, best-known for his Doctor Hummus products sold at Valley farmers markets, planned to call his

Texas chain Dickey’s Barbecue Pit has opened its second Arizona restaurant on Power Road, just north of Baseline, in east Mesa. Several years ago, there were several Dickey’s in Arizona, including one in Chandler. But they all closed and the

The Market Café has reopened with a fall seasonal menu at the Buttes Resort in Tempe. The all-day restaurant, whose mountainside patio affords a spectacular view of Phoenix, offers such cantina-themed dishes as: Three Lettuce Salad with local goat cheese,

Bar en Gril, billed as a “please-all” neighborhood eatery, has opened in the former Native New Yorker space on the southwest corner of Val Vista and Elliot in Gilbert. Owner Aaron Lopo, a Philadelphia native whose resume includes stints at

Vine Expressions, a wine bar and retail store that closed six months ago in Gilbert Town Square, reopened today under the new leadership of Brandon Crouser and John McLoughlin. If the names sound familar, they should. Crouser’s locally focused, fine-dining

Grilled Ave Teriyaki House, a new teriyaki and sushi restaurant from the owners of Sushi Ave in Gilbert, has opened next to ASU. It takes over the former Gyros Hut building at Forest and Seventh Street, just north of University

Oregano’s Pizza Bistro opens its ninth Valley location today on the southwest corner of Priest and Elliot in south Tempe. The building formerly housed Kashi’s Bakery & BBQ and, before that, Atlanta Bread Company. Oregano’s offers a menu of Chicago-style thin-crust, stuffed

Paletas Betty, the downtown Chandler shop that sells handmade Mexican ice and cream pops, opened its spinoff location in downtown Tempe today. The new store is located on the northeast corner of Mill and Fifth. Flavors change daily at both locations. The

It’s been a good month for burger lovers in Chandler? First came Habit Burger. Then Coal Burger. Now it’s Flame Burger. Decked out in red and white, independently owned Flame Burger takes over the old El Pollo Loco building on

Coal Burger, a new fast-casual burger concept from Patsy Grimaldi’s pizzeria, opened today at the Casa Paloma shopping center at I-10 and Ray in Chandler. The environmentally conscious restaurant offers six coal-fired burgers made with Angus beef from Niman Ranch:

Ncounter, a stylish eatery offering breakfast and lunch seven days a week, opened Saturday on Mill Avenue in downtown Tempe. Located on the southwest corner of Mill and Third Street, Ncounter is the brainchild of Thom and Kathy Coker, owners

It looks like Gilbert isn’t getting a Barrio Cafe spinoff this fall after all. Chef-owner Silvana Salcido Esparza has canceled those plans. The reasons? Disagreements with the landlord over the Mexican restaurant’s name – Barrio Tequileria – and design, she tells

The Republic reports upscale burger joint 25 Degrees has closed at CityNorth in northeast Phoenix. It lasted 13 months. New Times reports Brugo’s Pizza, a Reno, Nev., import that just opened in April, already has closed at Phoenix’s Esplanade.

I know summer is the toughest time of year for Valley restaurants, but the pace of high-profile closings is getting scary. Trader Vic’s, the Polynesian-themed throwback at Scottsdale’s Valley Ho, is the fourth closure announced in seven days. (The restaurant

Spitfire Grill & Tavern, a upscale gastropub that opened in south Tempe in September, has closed its doors after nine-plus months. Owners Don and Tonya Lococo had offered a mostly made-from-scratch menu of familiar pub grub with a global wine

Caffe Boa Bistro, the 18-month-old east Mesa spinoff of Mill Avenue stalwart Caffe Boa, has closed, former New Times dining critic Michele Laudig reports. The bistro, opened by owners Jay and Christine Wisniewski after they hired chef Payton Curry, never really

Three months after the unexpected closure of Simply Bread, the Republic tries to figure out what went wrong for the seemingly booming business. Co-owner Harold Back blames his bank; the bank and other creditors say Back didn’t make his payments.

Chef Shinji Kurita, who closed his acclaimed ShinBay in Ahwatukee five years ago, quietly has reopened his sushi restaurant at the Scottsdale Seville. The new spot, which seats just 30 people, will feature a “New Tokyo-style” menu, meaning no sushi rolls. To