By Jess Harter
•
Wednesday, July 27, 2022
By Jess Harter
•
Friday, May 29, 2020
The Dash Inn has been closed since 1994, but the iconic Tempe hangout is making a comeback of sorts.
Valley restaurateur Dave Andrea, who briefly owned The Dash Inn before its closure, has converted a room at his Brat Haus in Old Town Scottsdale into an homage to the Mexican restaurant and bar.
It features a limited menu of Dash dishes and its ‘‘secret recipe ’’ margaritas. Photos from the original location decorate the walls. A big-screen TV shows vintage MTV videos.
‘‘Luckily, I had kept all of the old recipes and plenty of pictures to help replicate the details of design, smallware and furniture,’’ Andrea says.
‘‘The Dash played an important role in thousands of peoples happy memories of a simpler time and college life in the ’70s and ’80s. It’s been so much fun listening to all their stories as we bring it back.”
Dee and Hash Nelson opened The Dash Inn – combining their first names – near the southwest corner of Apache and Rural in 1967.
With its inexpensive food and cheap beer, it quickly became a popular destination with ASU students, who coined the phrase, ‘‘Dash Inn, stumble out.’’
The Dash Inn at Brat Haus is open 4 p.m.-close Wednesday-Friday and 11 a.m.-close Saturday-Sunday. The room is available for private parties on Mondays and Tuesdays.
📩 Don't want to miss out on the latest Valley food and drink news? Click here to subscribe to MXSW's free daily email newsletter.
By Jess Harter
•
Monday, November 27, 2017
That didn’t take long. It was little more than 100 days ago that neighborhood favorite Riazzi’s Italian Garden announced it was closing after a 72-year run.
Last week, Quartiere had its soft opening in the revamped 5,000-square-foot building on Mill Avenue, halfway between Broadway and Southern, in Tempe.
The new owner is Erick Geryol, who already has three successful East Valley restaurants – Boulders on Broadway and Spokes on Southern in Tempe and Boulders on Southern in Mesa.
Unlike those cycling-and-climbing-themed establishments, however, Quartiere will remain true to its Riazzi’s heritage. In fact, Quartiere means ‘‘neighborhood’’ in Italian.
The reworked menu features salads ($7.99-$9.99), sandwiches ($9.99-$11.49), pasta ($11.99-$18.99), pizzas ($12.99-$15.99), and entrees ($15.99-$17.99).
See the full menu: Page 1 | Page 2
Hours are 11 a.m.-midnight weekdays and 10 a.m.-midnight Saturday and Sunday.
📩 Don't want to miss out on the latest Valley food and drink news? Click here to subscribe to MXSW's free daily email newsletter.
By Jess Harter
•
Wednesday, June 28, 2017
At a time when many Valley restaurants are struggling to survive, Sal’s Gilbert Pizza is expanding.
The 11-year-old neighborhood favorite in Gilbert Town Square – on the west side of Gilbert Road halfway between Warner and Ray – is taking over the strip-mall space next door recently vacated by Mike’s Burger’s & Cheesesteaks.
It will be the second such expansion for Sal’s, which began as a 2,000-square-foot space and added an 800-square-foot dining area six years ago.
The addition of the former Mike’s space will bring Sal’s total interior to 4,000 square feet.
The family-run pizzeria is well-known for its specialty pizzas, including such unusual offerings as a baked ziti pizza, a spaghetti and meatballs pizza, and a lasagna pizza.
Construction work already is underway on the new addition, which will become home to the bar, the pizza case, and the main entrance. It also has a small east-facing patio that is being enlarged.
The original section of the pizzeria remains open for business during the construction next door. Eventually, though, the old flooring will be replaced to match the flooring in the new addition.
Construction is scheduled to be completed by the end of July.
📩 Don't want to miss out on the latest Valley food and drink news? Click here to subscribe to MXSW's free daily email newsletter.
By Jess Harter
•
Tuesday, June 27, 2017
While Chicago deep-dish pizza icons Lou Malnati’s, Gino’s East, and Giordano’s are slugging it out in Phoenix and the West Valley, Buddyz A Chicago Pizzeria is quickly taking over the East Valley.
Buddyz, which kicked off the recent surge of Windy City pizza imports when it opened in Queen Creek in 2013, opened a second location on the southeast corner of Val Vista and Baseline in Gilbert in December 2016.
Now Buddyz has applied for a liquor license for a third location: The former Unwined wine bar space on the northeast corner of Desert Foothills Parkway and Chandler Boulevard in Ahwatukee.
Unwined, you may remember, closed in November 2016 when owners Jeff and Karen Stefl, along with their two sons, opened Twisted Cactus Brewing Company in Tempe.
No opening date has been announced for Buddyz Ahwatukee, but late October would be my guess.
📩 Don't want to miss out on the latest Valley food and drink news? Click here to subscribe to MXSW's free daily email newsletter.
Ty Largo, one of the best-known marketing and public relations reps for Valley restaurants and bars, has died at age 40. The stunning announcement was made on social media this afternoon by Awe Collective, the Tempe-based agency he created. Largo passed away after ‘‘a private battle with his health,’’ it said. Largo and Awe Collective have provided marketing services for a who’s who of the Valley culinary world, including more than 100 restaurants, as well as other businesses. Plans for a celebration of life are pending.
