Category: Restaurant Scouting

Back in March, MXSW reported James Beard Award-winning chef Alex Stratta was retooling his short-lived Stratta Kitchen in Scottsdale into a concept called Campo Italian. What we didn’t know at the time was the restaurant would be part of Genuine

The group behind high-end surf and turf restaurant Maple & Ash is bringing another concept to Scottsdale. Etta, a restaurant specializing in wood-fired pizzas and pastas, is taking over the former Brio Tuscan Grille space at the Scottsdale Quarter. Chicago-based

99 Ranch Market, a Taiwanese-American supermarket chain based in Buena Park, Calif., will make its Arizona debut as the anchor of a newly renovated shopping center on the northeast corner of Chandler and Dobson in Chandler. The 117,000-square-foot retail center,

El Charro Restaurant & Cocktail Lounge, a Mesa icon for almost 60 years, isn’t dead after all. The family-run Mexican restaurant, closed for four years, will reopen next week. The restaurant began life as El Charro Cafe on Main Street

Mesa-base Angry Crab Shack will open its first Scottsdale restaurant near the southeast corner of Pima and Indian Bend this spring. It will be the concept’s 13th restaurant in Arizona and 15th overall. The menu will feature Angry Crab Shack’s

Naked BBQ, one of the Valley’s top barbecue joints, is expanding again – this time with a location at the Westgate Entertainment District in Glendale. Oren Hartman launched his first Naked BBQ in north Phoenix in 2015. As the smokehouse’s

The Ainsworth, a New York-based upscale sports bar and restaurant, is taking over the former Hard Rock Cafe building on the northeast corner of Second Street and Jefferson – just north of Talking Stick Resort Arena – in downtown Phoenix.

Texas-based Whataburger is building its first Gilbert restaurant near San Tan Village. It’ll be on the west side of Market Street just south of Williams Field. That’s right across the street from Chick-fil-A and Someburros, and not too far from

Harbor Seafood Cajun House, which just debuted in October in southwest Phoenix, is expanding into the East Valley. The concept, similar to the Valley’s much larger Angry Crab Shack chain, is working on two new locations: The former Korean BBQ

Mr Brews Taphouse, a Wisconsin-based chain of burger-and-beer eateries, will take a second try at the Arizona market with a location that just started construction on the northeast corner of Signal Butte and Southern in east Mesa. The concept made

Buck & Rider, LGO Hospitality’s 5-year-old seafood restaurant in Arcadia, is opening a second location next year in north Scottsdale. It will be located in the Shops at Chauncey Ranch on the southeast corner of Scottsdale and Mayo. Buck &

James Beard Award-winning chef Alex Stratta has closed his Stratta Kitchen after eight months on the northwest corner of Hayden and Via de Ventura in Scottsdale. Stratta is retooling the Mediterranean seafood-focused restaurant into an Italian concept to be called

Eat My Taco, a Day of the Dead themed taco shop, is opening soon on the southeast corner of Rural and University in Tempe. It’s taking over the small building whose previous occupants include Pita University and Urban Campfire. Look

It’ll be another three weeks or so until The Perch Pub & Brewery unveils its amazing rooftop patio expansion. In the meantime, though, the downtown Chandler hotspot is preparing to launch another project. The Aviary, a shaded beer garden (artist’s

By the Bucket – a Payson restaurant that sells to-go spaghetti, just as its name says, by the bucket – is coming to the East Valley. It’s opening its first Valley location in front of Safeway on the northeast corner of

Construction has begun on Eegee’s first Valley location, which is taking over the former Arby’s near the southwest corner of Val Vista and Baseline in Gilbert. The iconic Tucson-based chain announced in October it would open a total of five

Tempe-based Pedal Haus Brewery, which expanded to downtown Chandler last year, now is joining the burgeoning craft beer scene in downtown Mesa. The brewpub will open its third satellite location in the former Pit Stop auto body shop on the

North Phoenix’s Pork on a Fork, one of the Valley’s top barbecue joints, is coming to the East Valley. It’s opening a second restaurant in the long-closed Carl’s Jr. building near the southwest corner of Alma School and Warner in

Vero Chicago Pizza, the local group of pizzerias formerly known as Buddyz, is expanding into south Chandler. It just signed a lease for a space behind AutoZone on the southwest corner of Gilbert and Chandler Heights. Chicago native JoeScarnato brought

Austin, Texas-based Torchy’s Tacos – a “craft casual” brand that offers tacos, queso, and margaritas – will make its Arizona debut in Gilbert. It will move into one of three buildings on a currently empty 3.9-acre lot on the northwest