Author: Jess Harter

🍗 Maynard James Keenan, owner of The Merkin Vineyards and Caduceus Cellars, opens a new restaurant concept – Four 8 Fried Chicken by Four 8 Wineworks – today in Old Town Cottonwood. It takes over the space formerly occupied by

🍺 OHSO Brewery & Distillery launches its fifth Valley location today – along with the third location of its sibling concept Little O’s – on the east side of Central about halfway between Northern and Dunlap in north central Phoenix.

🍜 Silverlake Ramen,a very popular Los Angeles-based chain of fast-casual Asian restaurants, has soft-opened its first Arizona location at Cornerstone on the northeast corner of University and Rural in Tempe. What’s on the menu? Eight kinds of ramen ($17.99-$20.39), rice

🌮 Federico’s Mexican Food, a Phoenix-based chain of fast-casual restaurants, has opened its 29th Valley location on the southeast corner of Pebble Creek and Encanto in Goodyear. What’s on the menu? Burritos ($6.69-$14.49), tacos ($4.49-$6.69), enchiladas (two for $8.49), tortas

🌮 Taco Night & Tequila, a counter-service Mexican restaurant and bar, has opened in the former Chronic Tacos space on the southeast corner of Peoria and 31st Avenue in west Phoenix. What’s on the menu? Thirteen burritos ($6.99-$12.99), nine street

🍝 Mama Linda’s Italian Kitchen, a restaurant and bar offering classic Italian dishes and flatbread pizzas, has opened on the south side of Main Street, about halfway between Greenfield and Higley in east Mesa. What’s on the menu? Entrees such

🍸 Lola’s Liquors, a trendy cocktail bar with a small food menu, has opened next to Murphy’s Law Irish Pub near the northwest corner of San Marcos and Boston in downtown Chandler. It’s the latest concept from Liquid Sunshine Projects,

🌮 Pinche’s Tacos Al Carbon, a small counter-service taco shop, has opened in a strip mall on the northeast corner of Union Hills and Seventh Avenue in north Phoenix. What’s on the menu? Burritos ($10.99), tacos ($3.29), quesadillas ($2.99-$9.99), and

🎉 Backyard, an 8,000-square-foot indoor/outdoor bar and grill, opens today in the former Sandbar Mexican Grill building at Desert Ridge Marketplace in northeast Phoenix. Both Backyard and Sandbar are concepts from Scottsdale-based Evening Entertainment Group, which also includes Bottled Blonde,

🇻🇳 Pho Ngoc, a family-owned Vietnamese restaurant, has opened in the Safeway shopping center on the northwest corner of Alma School and Chandler Heights in south Chandler. What’s on the menu? Appetizers ($6.99-$9.99), pho ($14.99-$15.99), stir fry dishes ($14.99), broken

🏨 After a covid-induced four-year delay, the Caesars Republic Scottsdale hotel opens today on the northeast corner of Goldwater and Highland on the north side of Scottsdale Fashion Square. The 11-story hotel has three restaurants – Luna by Giada, Pronto

🐕 Scottsdale-based Echo Coffee opens its second location Wednesday inside the Arizona Humane Society’s new state-of-the-art Rob & Melani Walton Papago Park Campus on the southwest corner of Van Buren and 55th Street in east Phoenix. Echo Coffee owner Rob

🥪 C&C Fresh-N-Tasty Subs, a small independent sandwich shop that describes itself as ‘‘the best thing since sliced bread,’’ has opened in the former Wide Daddy’s strip-mall space on the northwest corner of Lindsay and University in east Mesa. What’s

🥂 Mon Cheri, a female-focused champagne café and charcuterie bar, has opened in the former Arcadia Farms Cafe space near the northeast corner of Goldwater and First Avenue in Old Town Scottsdale. Arcadia Farms sold the longtime property in 2022

🌺 Hawaiian Bros. Island Grill, a quick-service chain actually based in Kansas City, Mo., opens its third Valley restaurant at 11 a.m. today on the northwest corner of Bell and 73rd Avenue in northwest Phoenix. What’s on the menu? Plate

🍺 Barrio Brewing Co., Arizona’s oldest brewery, has opened its second licensed location in the Valley at the Deer Valley Airport at Seventh Avenue and Deer Valley Road in north Phoenix. The brewery, which debuted in Tucson in 1991, has

🥦 Early Bird Vegan, a 100% vegan brunch eatery that opened in south Phoenix in 2020, has launched a second location in the lobby of the Sonoran University of Health Sciences medical office building on the northwest corner of the

🥗 Cafe Zupas, a Utah-based chain of soup-and-sandwich eateries, has opened its 11th Valley location near the southeast corner of Peoria and 35th Avenue in west Phoenix. What’s on the menu? Sandwiches (each comes with a chocolate-dipped strawberry), bowls, salads,

🏎️ Andretti Indoor Karting & Games, a 95,000-square-foot family entertainment center with a restaurant and bar, opens today on the southwest corner of the Loop 202 and Cooper in south Chandler. What’s on the menu? Appetizers, salads, brick-oven pizzas, burgers,

🍔 Phoenix Sins, a ghost kitchen concept offering burgers named for the seven deadly sins, has opened at the Tempe Food Court on the northeast corner of Perry Lane and Fifth Street, just south of Tempe Marketplace. What’s on the

🥟 Lovesack Dumpling, a storefront offering boxes of Asian-style dumplings to go, has opened on the northwest corner of Roosevelt and Second streets on Roosevelt Row in downtown Phoenix. What’s on the menu? Customers choose one of three bases: Rice,

🥣 Nautical Bowls, a Minnesota-based chain specializing in açai and other superfood bowls, has opened its fourth Valley location at Novus Place near the northwest corner of Rural and University in Tempe. What’s on the menu? Twelve signature bowls, as

🍹 Pretty Penny, a neighborhood cocktail bar with a menu of elevated small plates, has opened in the former Pour Bastards space on the northeast corner of Roosevelt and Fifth streets in downtown Phoenix. Pour Bastard Hospitality is the parent

🥙 Cairo’s Gyros, a locally ownedfast-casualMediterranean eatery, has opened in the former NoRa Asian Fresh strip-mall space on the southeast corner of Cooper and Baseline in Gilbert. What’s on the menu? Gyros, kebabs, shawarma, falafel, Greek burgers, Greek salads, baba

🥧 Little Snitch Brunch & Cocktails, an elevated coffee shop with a bakery counter and full bar, has opened on the northwest corner of Pima and Pinnacle Peak in north Scottsdale. What’s on the menu? The bakery counter offers scones,

🍔 Eureka!, a California-based chain of two dozen American gastropubs, has made its Arizona debut at Novus Place, the new entertainment district at the Novus Innovation Corridor, near the northwest corner of University and Rural on the east side of

🌮 Carbon & Salt Taco Shop, an eatery specializing in charcoal-grilled street tacos, has opened on the northwest corner of Greenway and 19th Avenue in west Phoenix. What’s on the menu? Ten kinds of tacos, including cabeza (cow’s head), lengua

🥗 Beginner’s Luck, a laid-back comfort food restaurant from chef Bernie Kantak and Andrew Fritz (the guys behind Citizen Public House and The Gladly), has opened near the northwest corner of Main and Brown in Old Town Scottsdale. Menu highlights

🍳 The Counter by Morning Squeeze, a no-frills diner-like space, has opened at local brunch concept Morning Squeeze’s catering commissary on the southeast corner of University and 52nd Street in west Tempe. What’s on the menu? The limited menu focuses

🍜 Noodles & Company, a fast-casual chain based in Broomfield, Colo., opens its seventh Valley restaurant today on the southwest corner of Camelback and 22nd Street in Phoenix’s Biltmore neighborhood. What’s on the menu? A wide variety of pasta dishes,

🍕 Ambrogio15, which has been voted the best pizza in San Diego by several publications, has opened its first out-of-state location at the Biltmore Fashion Park on the northeast corner of Camelback and 24th Street in Phoenix. What’s on the

🍔 5th Street Burger & Fries, which began as a delivery-only ghost kitchen and then opened a Tempe restaurant in 2021, has launched a second restaurant near the southeast corner of Power and Baseline in east Mesa. What’s on the

🔥 Santo Arcadia, a grill-focused modern Mexican restaurant from Espiritu chef Roberto Centeno and Tacos Chiwas co-owner Armando Hernandez, has opened on the northeast corner of 44th Street and Osborn in east Phoenix. What’s on the menu? Santo, which is

☕️ Better Buzz Coffee, a San Diego-based chain with 22 locations in California, opens its first out-of-state location today on the southeast corner of Glendale and Seventh Street in north Phoenix. What’s on the menu? Hot and cold coffee drinks,

🍛 Vayal’s Indian Kitchen, a former food truck and caterer offering dishes from both northern and southern India, has opened a strip-mall space on the southwest corner of Thomas and Fifth Avenue in midtown Phoenix. What’s on the menu? Specialties

🥪 Mr. Pickle’s Sandwich Shop, a chain that started in California but moved its headquarters to Scottsdale in 2022, has opened its sixth Arizona location on the northwest corner of Gantzel and Combs in Queen Creek. What’s on the menu?

🌮 Tacos & Craft, a new quick-casual concept offering 16 kinds of tacos and 10 beers on tap, has opened near the northeast corner of Rural and Baseline in south Tempe. What’s on the menu? The tacos – eight ‘‘house’’

Tempe Eats, a food hall featuring 10 concepts under one roof with a drive-through, a pickup window, and curbside service, has opened in the former Pet Club building on the southeast corner of Mill and Southern in Tempe. It’s the

🧁 Frosted Bakehouse, a bakery and coffee house from Kristina Diaz (former owner of KD Cakes in Chandler) and Celeste Figueroa (former owner of Celly’s Sweets in Mesa), has opened on the southwest corner of Elliot and 51st Street in

👨🏼‍🎨 The Starving Artist, a new ‘‘neighborhood dive bar meets cocktail lounge’’ concept from OHSO Brewery & Distillery, has opened in the former Helton Brewing building on the northwest corner of Indian School and 22nd Street in Phoenix. What’s on

🍩 Duck Donuts, a Pennsylvania-based chain offering made-to-order cake doughnuts, has opened its third Arizona location on the northeast corner of Signal Butte and Ocotillo in Queen Creek. What’s on the menu? More than two dozen gourmet doughnuts, breakfast sandwiches,

🍔 Famous 66 American Tavern, a roadhouse-style restaurant and bar honoring iconic highway Route 66, soft-opens at 3 p.m. today at Gilbert Town Square on Gilbert Road between Warner and Ray roads. Who’s behind it? Scottsdale-based Square One Concepts, whose

🍕 Mountain Mike’s Pizza, a California-based chain known for its signature ‘‘crispy curly’’ pepperoni, has opened its third Valley location on the northwest corner of Bell and U.S. 60 in Surprise. What’s on the menu? Eleven specialty pizzas, build-your-own pizzas, oven-baked

🍣 A Sushi & Grill, an all-you-can-eat Japanese restaurant, has opened in the former China Town Buffet space on the southeast corner of McClintock and Baseline in south Tempe. What’s on the menu? Forty-five sushi rolls, plus sashimi and nigiri.

🍕 Andiamo Pizzeria, an Italian restaurant specializing in 20-inch pizzas with premium cheeses and meats imported from Italy, has opened on the northwest corner of Scottsdale and Shea in central Scottsdale. What’s on the menu? Twenty-two specialty pizzas, such as

🇻🇳 Paris Banh Mi Cafe & Bakery, a Florida-based chain of Vietnamese sandwich and coffee shops, has made its Arizona debut next to Carraba’s Italian Grill on the northeast corner of Bell and 57th Avenue in Glendale. What’s on the

🍜 Izakaya Ramen, chef Jared Lupin’s latest venture dedicated to the Japanese noodle dish, has opened on the southeast corner of Thunderbird and Seventh Street in north Phoenix’s Moon Valley neighborhood. What’s on the menu? Five ramen bowls: Shin Ramyun

🍕 Jet’s Pizza, a national takeout/delivery chain specializing in Detroit-style deep dish pizzas, has opened its fifth Valley location behind Safeway on the southwest corner of Higley and Baseline in Gilbert. The menu also offers hand-tossed, thin crust, New York-style,

🍖 Caldwell County BBQ, one of the Valley’s top barbecue joints since opening in southeast Gilbert in 2018, has launched its long-awaited second location at Pecan Lake near the northwest corner of Riggs and Ellsworth in Queen Creek. What’s Pecan

🍽️ Sage & Barrel Craft Eatery, a restaurant and bar with a globally inspired menu, has opened in the former Bar Venedo space near the southeast corner of Power and Pecos in Queen Creek. What’s on the menu? Appetizers, entree

🥣 Açai Republic, a California-based chain of Brazilian juice bars specializing in açai bowls, has opened its second Arizona location on the northeast corner of Alma School and Chandler Heights in south Chandler. What’s on the menu? Açaí bowls, chia

🍪 Eclipse Cookies & Coffee Bar, a bricks-and-mortar spinoff of the Droosserts Cookies & More food truck, has opened – with overnight hours! – near the southeast corner of Country Club and McKellips in Mesa. What’s on the menu? Eclipse

🍣 Sushi Island, a Japanese eatery that also offers a few teriyaki and noodle dishes, has opened in the Bell Tower Plaza on the northwest corner of Bell and 63rd Avenue in Glendale. What’s on the menu? Forty-three sushi rolls,