Category: MXSW Newsletter

🏆 Amanda Gunderson and Travis Nass (pictured) are bringing home some serious cocktail hardware. The co-founders of Another Round Another Rally were named Best U.S. Bar Mentor at Thursday night’s 20th annual Spirited Awards, the industry’s highest honors, presented at

👨‍🍳 Old Town Scottsdale’s Anhelo – one of the Valley’s top fine-dining restaurants – is asking the community to return a little of the generosity its chef has given for years. Chef Ivan Jacobo (pictured), known for quietly donating dinners,

🍩 Outcast Doughnuts is closing up shop after three years in downtown Mesa. The doughnut and coffee spot, known for its layered doughnuts and Dopecones – doughnut-dough ice cream cones – opened next to sibling Level 1 Arcade Bar in

🐓 Bojangles officially opened its debut Arizona location Monday on the northeast corner of Val Vista and Melrose just south of Mercy Gilbert Medical Center, part of a planned 20-restaurant rollout across the Valley. Doors opened at 5 a.m. sharp,

🚫 Rebel Wine Lounge, which opened two years ago on the northwest corner of Main and MacDonald in downtown Mesa, is closing its doors, with a farewell celebration running through Friday. In a social media announcement, the wine bar said

🍕 There’s a new player on the northeast corner of McClintock and Ray, and it’s bringing an unexpected twist to the west Chandler pizza scene: Indian-fusion pies alongside the classics. Curry Pizza House splits its menu into familiar Italian-American favorite

🍕 Spinato’s Pizzeria & Family Kitchen is giving its north Phoenix location a fresh start, relocating to the southwest corner of 12th Street and Bell Road today. The bigger, more modern digs bring an indoor/outdoor bar, an enclosed patio with

🍕 After years of delays tied to construction setbacks at The Grid, Crust Simply Italian has opened its fifth Valley location – a long-awaited downtown Mesa outpost. The East Coast-style Italian concept, founded by Michael Merendino in 2007, has landed

🍽️ Tempe Tourism is bringing back Taste in Tempe this Sunday, giving diners two weeks to explore the city’s restaurant scene through specially curated prix-fixe menus priced between $25 and $55 per person. This year’s lineup spans 25 restaurants, covering

🫖 Taiwan’s celebrated tea house Chicha SanChen has quietly begun serving drinks at its debut Arizona location, tucked into the southwest corner of Loop 101 and Chandler Boulevard, right in front of Chandler Fashion Center. The soft opening gives Valley

🥙 Change is afoot behind Chandler Fashion Center, where Maza Mediterranean Cuisine quietly has opened. The family-owned halal spot took over the space formerly home to Faava, the Michelin-chef-backed concept from Madhavi Reddy that debuted in March 2025. Reddy, of

🚧 Arcadia’s acclaimed Latin-inspired spot Vecina, which opened in 2019 and was a James Beard semifinalist for the country’s Best New Restaurant, is finally launching a second location. Chef James Fox confirmed to the Arizona Republic that Vecina will open

🍔 Queen Creek Public House has opened on the southwest corner of Ellsworth and Ocotillo roads, taking over the space that was home to Badlands Bar & Grill since 2024. The gastropub was sold in May to a group headed

Starting next week, you’ll see some changes to the MXSW newsletter. One of the biggest: It may no longer be published every weekday. I know that may be a little disappointing to some – many of you have told me