Author: Jess Harter

🦩 Yumbar, a casual restaurant and bar from the former owner of Fez, has opened at The Royale on the southeast corner of Seventh and Glenrosa avenues in Phoenix’s Melrose District. What’s The Royale? The new community-centric complex, which houses

🐓 Twenty people will win free Raising Cane’s for a year when the Louisiana-based fast-food chicken chain opens its 30th Valley location Tuesday on the northwest corner of Indian School and Seventh Street in Phoenix. People can enter a drawing between 7:30

🍨 Jake’s Sweet Shoppe, the ice cream shop at Jake’s Unlimited family entertainment center in Mesa, has opened its first franchise location near the northwest corner of Arizona and Buffalo in downtown Chandler. The menu Jake’s offers a variety of

🤠 Foley Ranch Boots & BBQ, a large country bar with live music and dancing, opens today in the former Sweet Tomatoes building at Desert Ridge Marketplace on the northeast corner of Tatum and the Loop 101 in northeast Phoenix.

☕️ Oregon-based Black Rock Coffee Bar will open its eighth Mesa location at 5 a.m. Friday near the northwest corner of Signal Butte and Elliot. The new location will offer $2 medium drinks all day Friday, plus various deals during the

🍣 Uchi, a modern Japanese concept from James Beard Award-winning chef Tyson Cole (pictured), makes its Arizona debut tonight with the start of a week-long soft opening on the northeast corner of Scottsdale and First Street in Old Town Scottsdale.

🌮 The Taco Spot, which has four East Valley counter-service restaurants, has made its West Valley debut on the southeast corner of Greenway and Dysart in El Mirage. The food Birria tacos and birria ramen are the house specialities, but

🥢 Szechwan Kitchen, specializing in spicy dishes from southwest China, has opened on the northwest corner of Seventh Avenue and Turney in the Melrose District of Phoenix. The food Stir-fries, noodle dishes, fried rice, and dumplings. House specialties include Chongqing

🌮 Macayo’s Mexican Food, a local institution since 1946, has opened its 13th Valley location on the northeast corner of Ocotillo and SIgnal Butte in Queen Creek. The food Tacos, chimichangas, enchiladas, tacos, burros, salads, fajitas, and specialties like green

🏨 The Scottsdale Resort & Spa, located on McCormick Parkway between Scottsdale and Hayden, opened four new restaurants Monday as part of a $40 million renovation, the largest in the resort’s 50-year history. The restaurants La Fogata: The resort’s signature restaurant

🍣 El Tataki Sushi Fusion, a locally owned concept specializing in a mix of traditional Japanese and Mexican-inspired sushi, has opened its third Valley location in the former Sweet Tomatoes building near the northwest corner of McClintock and Southern in

🌶️ El Patron New Mexican Restaurant & Cantina, which has two well-regarded locations in Albuquerque, N.M., has made its Arizona debut in the former Bandolero Cocina de Mexico space at The Shops at Gainey Ranch in central Scottsdale. What’s on

🍵 Cupbop, a fast-growing Utah-based chain of Korean-BBQ-in-a-cup eateries, has opened on the southeast corner of Gilbert and Warner in Gilbert. What’s on the menu? You choose from 12 entrees (such as Korean fried chicken, BBQ pork, or potstickers), which

🌮 Tempe Taco Supply, the first out-of-state location for Colorado-based McDevitt Taco Supply, has opened in the lobby of the boutique Vib Hotel on the southeast corner of Fifth Street and Farmer in downtown Tempe. What’s on the menu? Appetizers

🌮 Taco Boys, a Sonoran-style taqueria launched in downtown Phoenix in 2019, has opened its fifth Valley location in a former CIrcle K building on the northeast corner of Thomas and 32nd Street in Phoenix. What’s on the menu? Tacos,

🏨 Théa Mediterranean Rooftop, the fifth and final restaurant to debut at Sam Fox’s new food-first luxury hotel The Global Ambassador, opens today on the northwest corner of Camelback and 44th Street in east Phoenix. What’s on the menu? 🐟

🍋 Happy Lemon, a Taiwan-based bubble tea concept with more than 350 locations in the U.S., has opened at the 99 Ranch Market plaza on the northeast corner of Chandler and Dobson in Chandler. What’s on the menu? More than

🍔 Wayback Burgers, a Connecticut-based fast-casual chain, has made its Arizona debut next to Orangetheory Fitness and Chipotle at Gilbert Town Square on Gilbert Road between Warner and Ray. What’s on the menu? Originally called Jake’s Hamburgers, its menu features

🇻🇳 La Sen Vietnamese Cuisine opens today in the former modern American gastropub Double Dutch Kitchen & Cocktails space on the northeast corner of Dobson and Germann in south Chandler. The building’s original occupant was Thai restaurant Chao from 2013-14,

Thundercat Lounge, a 1980s- and ’90s-inspired dance club from the creators of the Thunderbird Lounge, opens today on the southeast corner of Van Buren and Ninth Avenue in downtown Phoenix. What clubgoers will find in the refurbished Art Deco building

☕️ Oregon-based Black Rock Coffee Bar will open its second Queen Creek location at 5 a.m. Friday on the northeast corner of Signal Butte and Ocotillo. Per the chain’s tradition, the new location will offer $2 medium drinks all day Friday,

🍹 Aaron and Jared Pool, the founders of Gadzooks Enchiladas & Soup, have launched a new concept in downtown Phoenix. Hugo’s, an Ibiza-inspired cantina, has soft-opened in the 1930s-era building formerly home to Sin Muerte, which closed in August, on

Jai Thai has opened in the former King Red Crawfish & Pho space on the southeast corner of Bell and 99th Avenue in Sun City. Signature dishes include Seafood Crispy Noodle, Massaman Stew Beef, and Choo Chee Salmon Curry. (Pictured:

🍕 Gio’s Chicago Pizza, a strip-mall eatery specializing in a variety of Windy City favorites, has opened on the northwest corner of Peoria and 43rd Avenue in Glendale. Tavern-style pizzas come in 14- and 16-inch sizes and include the Gio’s

🥩 Kasai, a Japanese steakhouse and teppanyaki restaurant in north Scottsdale, has expanded with a second location at Park West on the northeast corner of Northern and 99th Avenue in Peoria. In addition to steaks and seafood, the steakhouse menu

🌯 Someburros, a Chandler-based chain of fast-casual Mexican restaurants, has opened its 15th location on the northwest corner of Jomax and Norterra Parkway in north Phoenix. The menu offers 15 burritos – including its best-selling Pollo Fundido – as well

🌮 Taco Papi, a fast-casual Mexican restaurant with some global influences, has opened on the northeast corner of Northsight and Raintree in north Scottsdale. Besides traditional tacos, burros, and quesadillas, the menu will offer some unusual options – such as

🍺🇲🇽 Buqui Bichi Brewery, a Mexican craft brewery based in Hermosillo, Sonora, has opened its second Valley taproom on the southeast corner of Van Buren and First Avenue in downtown Phoenix. Founded in 2016, Buqui Bichi was named the country’s

🥖 Cheba Hut, a national chain of cannabis-themed sub shops that began in Tempe, has opened its seventh Valley location on the northeast corner of Tatum and Shea in Scottsdale. The menu offers a variety of ‘‘toasted’’ subs with tongue-in-cheek

🇻🇳 Viet Fusion, a Vietnamese-focused Asian kitchen, has opened in a strip mall near the southwest corner of Arizona and Warner in Chandler. It’s sandwiched between Hoosier’s Cafe and Pho Mai, another Vietnamese eatery. Viet Fusion’s menu features egg noodle

🥘 Born & Bred, a new casual sibling of popular New American restaurant Aftermath in north Phoenix, has made its debut in downtown Chandler. It takes over the space on the northwest corner of Arizona and Buffalo that formerly was

☕️ Skoden Coffee & Tea, a coffee shop from the Navajo Nation, has taken over the former Kream Coffee space at For the People, a furniture and design store in the uptown Phoenix. The menu offers coffees, teas, lemonades, and

🥩 Charlotte, N.C.-based Firebirds Wood Fired Grill launches its fourth Valley location Wednesday at the new Village at Prasada on the southeast corner of the Loop 303 and Waddell in Surprise. The menu features steaks, ribs, seafood, chicken, burgers, pasta,

🥞 First Watch, a Bradenton, Fla.-based chain of breakfast and lunch cafes, has opened its 30th Valley location on the northeast corner of Stapley and Baseline in Mesa. Its menu offers eggs, pancakes, and waffles for breakfast, and salads and

🥨 The Salted Knot, a regular vendor at the Gilbert and Uptown Phoenix farmers markets, has opened a bricks-and-mortar store in downtown Mesa. It takes over the former Main St. Sweets space on the south side of Main between Drew

🥢 Mimi Kitchen, a self-described ‘‘authentic Shanghai diner,’’ has soft-opened in the former Teriyaki Kitchen building on the northwest corner of Dobson and Guadalupe in southwest Mesa. The highlights of the temporary menu are house-made egg noodles, available in bone

🍪 Urban Cookies, a family-run bakeshop offering gourmet cupcakes, cookies, bars, and cakes, has opened a second location on the northwest corner of Shea and the Loop 101 in Scottsdale. It takes over the strip-mall space formerly home to a

🧁 Cafe 86, a California-based chain of Filipino tea, coffee, and dessert shops, makes its Arizona debut from 6-10 p.m. Saturday on the northwest corner of Alma School and Ray in Chandler. It takes over the strip-mall space formerly home

🍖 The Rosticceria, a restaurant specializing in wood-fired meats with an Italian twist, opens its doors at 3 p.m. Friday near the northeast corner of Tatum and Cactus in northeast Phoenix. It’s the latest concept from The Maggiore Group, joining

🌮🍹 Copper & Sage, a refined comfort food restaurant with a neighboring speakeasy, has opened in the former Los Sombreros/SunUp Brewing buildings on the northeast corner of Camelback and Third Street in Phoenix. Menu influences range from Southern (bayou mussels

🌮 Several months ago, I broke the news that Bacanora chef and co-owner Rene Andrade was quietly planning a new taco shop called Huarachis in downtown Phoenix. That restaurant just opened in the former Rodiberto’s Mexican Food space on the

☕️ Scooter’s Coffee, a chain based out of Omaha, Neb., has opened its fourth Valley location on the northwest corner of Higley and Queen Creek in Gilbert. In addition in coffee, tea, and smoothies, the menu features breakfast burritos, bagel

🥟🍜 7 Garden Dumpling & Noodle House, a small and unadorned Asian restaurant, has opened near the northeast corner of Dobson and Baseline in southwest Mesa. It takes over the strip-mall space formerly home to Alfonso’s Tacos, which closed in

🍝 Italian-American fast-casual chain Fazoli’s opens its first non-airport Arizona location at 10:30 a.m. today just north of the Walmart Supercenter at Mesa Riverview on the southeast corner of the Loop 202 and Dobson. After a 14-year absence from Arizona,

🌮 Barrio Queen, an elevated Mexican restaurant founded in Old Town Scottsdale in 2011, has opened its eighth Valley location at the Village at Prasada on the southeast corner of the Loop 303 and Waddell in Surprise. The concept was

🌮 Gordos Tacos, a year-old taqueria in central Scottsdale, has launched a second location near the northwest corner of Chandler and 44th Street in Ahwatukee. The family-run business takes over the former Mr. Chao’s Asia Bistro strip-mall space next to

🍱 Bang Bang, an Asian fusion restaurant and upscale-casual nightclub in San Diego, has opened its second location in the former Gordon Biersch Brewing second-floor space on the northwest corner of Mill and Fifth Street in downtown Tempe. The concept

🍜 Chef Angelo Sosa, best known for his three seasons on TV’s ‘‘Top Chef,’’ opens a new restaurant, Kembarra, today at the JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa in northeast Phoenix. The menu is inspired by the boldly

🏨 The Global Ambassador, a luxury hotel from famed Arizona restaurateur Sam Fox, and four of its five restaurants open today on the northwest corner of 44th Street and Camelback in Phoenix. Fox, a 12-time James Beard Award nominee, sold Fox