Author: Jess Harter

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

Taste of Philly, a Colorado-based sandwich delivery concept, has opened its first out-of-state location at the Tempe Food Court located a quarter-mile south of Tempe Marketplace. The menu offers nine varieties of Philly sandwiches, plus reubens, grinders, chicken tenders,

Sampurna, a family-owned Indian restaurant that offers a lunch buffet from 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. daily, has opened on the southwest corner of Dobson and Warner roads in Chandler. It takes over the space formerly home to Ruchi Vegetarian South

Smash Grille, an elevated kosher eatery offering parve meals, has opened on the northwest corner of 16th Street and Bethany Home Road in north Phoenix. The menu includes nine smash burgers, chicken sandwiches and wings, and dinner platters (such

Lunch N Munch, a breakfast and lunch cafe, has opened on the northwest corner of University Drive and Power Road in northeast Mesa. (No relation to the similarly named breakfast and lunch cafe Munch A Lunch in Tempe.) Lunch

Flower Child, a fast-casual healthy concept, has opened its seventh Valley location at PV, the $2 billion redevelopment of the former Paradise Valley Mall near Cactus Road and Tatum Boulevard in Phoenix. The menu features salads, bowls, entrées, wraps,

The Stillery, a Nashville-based restaurant and bar with Southern comfort food and live country music, has opened its third Valley location at Goodyear’s new downtown mixed-use development called GSQ. It’s located near the northwest corner of McDowell Road and

Backyard, the newest concept from Scottsdale-based Evening Entertainment Group, has opened its second Valley location near SanTan Village in Gilbert. Backyard, which made its Arizona debut in March at Desert Ridge Marketplace in Phoenix, takes over the former Sandbar

The Italiano, the newest concept from restaurateur/chef Joey Maggiore (Hash Kitchen, The Sicilian Butcher, The Mexicano, The Rosticceria, etc.), opens today next to the Sprouts Farmers Market on the southeast corner of Shea Boulevard and 90th Street in central

Mox Boarding House, a Seattle-based restaurant and board games concept, opens with a 2 p.m. ribbon-cutting today in Chandler. It took over the former Social Box Neighborhood Eatery on Alma School Road between Warner and Ray roads in 2020,

The Frybread Lounge, which claims to be the first Indigenous-owned restaurant in Old Town Scottsdale, has opened on the southeast corner of Scottsdale Road and Main Street. It’s located next to sibling business Native Art Market. The menu from

The Larder & The Delta, the elevated Southern restaurant from chef/owner Stephen Jones, reopens today in midtown Phoenix. Jones, who lost his downtown Phoenix space last October, takes over the recently closed Binkley’s Restaurant on the northwest corner of

Central Bean Cafe, a family-run bakery specializing in ‘‘croffles’’ (croissant waffles, pictured) and Filipino pastries, has opened in uptown Phoenix. It takes over the space formerly home to Infinity Sweets bakery near the southeast corner of Central Avenue and

 Top One Hot Pot & Asian Cuisine, a restaurant specializing in traditional hot pots, has opened at Superstition Springs on the northwest corner of Power and Baseline roads in east Mesa. Besides hot pots (including a mini version for solo

 Spitz, a Los Angeles-based Mediterranean street food concept that made its Arizona debut last year, opens its third Valley location today near downtown Chandler. It takes over the former Roll-Em-Up Taquitos space on the southeast corner of Arizona Avenue and

Pu’er Taiwan Tea & Coffee, a Texas-based chain specializing in its namesake fermented variety of tea, has made its Arizona debut at the Agua Fria Towne Center on the northeast corner of the Loop 101 and Camelback Road in

San Diego-based Better Buzz Coffee launches its second Valley location at 5 a.m. Thursday in south Tempe. The store, which has a double drive-through, is located on the northwest corner of Kyrene and Elliot roads. Besides hot and cold coffee

Krazy Cajun Seafood & Hibachi, which debuted in Phoenix in 2021, has opened a second location in the Fry’s plaza on the northwest corner of Rural and Ray roads in south Tempe. Previous occupants of the space included Asian

The Guadalupe on Main, a modern Southwest restaurant with a focus on Jalisco-style dishes, has opened in central Mesa. It takes over the building formerly home to Casa Ramos Redux, which closed last month, on the north side of

Little Ray’s Pizzeria, a family-owned Italian restaurant, has opened on the northeast corner of Beardsley Road and 59th Avenue in Glendale. New York-style pizzas range from traditional thin-crust to Sicilian thick-crust (pictured). In addition to pizzas and calzones, the

Indian Curry Bowls – a restaurant with two co-owners, one from northern India and the other from southern India – has opened on the southwest corner of Estrella Parkway and Elwood Street in Goodyear. The co-owners have resided in

Paris Banh Mi Cafe & Bakery, a Florida-based chain of Vietnamese sandwich and coffee shops, opens its second Arizona location today in Chandler. It takes over the former Barro’s Pizza space on the northwest corner of Alma School and

Silo, a year-old pop-up from the team behind The Larry and the now-closed Kaizen in Phoenix, has moved into its permanent space at the Hayden Ferry Lakeside office campus on the northeast corner of Mill Avenue and Rio Salado

 Randy’s Donuts, the iconic Los Angeles doughnut shop featured in dozens of movies and TV shows, has opened its second Arizona location in Chandler. It’s located inside the new Pilot Travel Center on the southwest corner of 40th Street and

The Taco Spot, a fast-growing local chain launched by brothers Jorge and Jesus Ruiz out of a Chandler barbershop in 2020, has opened its 11th Valley location in Gilbert. It takes over the short-lived Taco H space on the

Vietnamese restaurant Camelback Pho has taken over the former PT Pho Express space on the northwest corner of Camelback Road and Seventh Avenue in uptown Phoenix. Besides nine kinds of pho, the menu features banh mi, vermicelli bowls, and

Ginza Sushi Fusion Cuisine, which recently closed after a five-year run in north Phoenix, has reopened in Gold Canyon in the far East Valley. It takes over the former Wahoo’s Restaurant & Bar building near the northeast corner of

Scottsdale-based Eggstasy, a breakfast and lunch concept that debuted in 2014, has opened its seventh Valley location at The Colony in uptown Phoenix. It takes over the space formerly home to Tucson-based Fuku Sushi (and, before that, Pure Sushi)

Sushiholic, a nine-year-old modern Japanese restaurant in Arcadia, has launched a second location at SkySong in south Scottsdale. It takes over the space formerly home to Bitters Cocktail Bar & Food on the southeast corner of Scottsdale and McDowell