Tucson native Sam Fox sold his locally born chain of boutique restaurants to the Cheesecake Factory for as much as $440 million in a deal made public Wednesday.
The Cheesecake Factory will pay $308 million cash when the deal closes in the fall and an additional “earn-out” payment over the next three years of up to $45 million based on how well Fox’s restaurants outside of North Italia and Flower Child perform, according to documents the Cheesecake Factory provided to its investors.
The Cheesecake Factory already has invested $88 million in Fox’s North Italia and Flower Child concepts in a partnership formed in 2016.
“We like to call it ‘dating before dancing,’” said Cheesecake Factory President David Gordon, who said the company has been a fan of Fox’s for years. The company operates several restaurants in Arizona including a Cheesecake Factory at the Tucson Mall.
“Sam is a true restaurateur,” Gordon said in a conference call with Fox and the Arizona Daily Star Wednesday afternoon. “We saw the potential in North … and we thought we could help grow the concept.”
Gordon said his company plans to open hundreds of North Italia locations nationwide including five to seven locations in the next year.
Sam Fox, shown with his pastry chef Edie Peterson, sold his Fox Restaurant Concepts to Cheesecake Factory for as much as $440 million. The deal is set to close in the fall.
“We think North absolutely could be a national brand,” he said. “It’s a proven concept outside the state of Arizona and California. We believe there could be hundreds of Norths nationwide.”
There are 20 North Italia restaurants in a dozen states including in Reston, Virginia, near Washington that opened this week and a location in Nashville that should open this month, Fox said. In addition to its locations in Tucson and the Phoenix area, North also has five sites in Texas and five in California, where the Cheesecake Factory is headquartered.
Gordon said they will immediately move North’s corporate operations to Calabasas Hills, California, but Fox will continue operating the remaining Fox Restaurant Concepts out of Phoenix, where he set up shop in 2001.
Fox said he never imagined when he first opened North Modern Italian Cuisine in 2003 that it would become one of his most popular concepts.
“Not in my wildest dreams,” he said. “It was never a thought, and it’s amazing to see the success that the brand has had.”
In 2012, Fox reinvented North as the more casual Italian farmhouse-inspired North Italia. That August, he invested $800,000 into completely remaking the concept, from the menu of handcrafted artisan pizzas, pastas and hand-cured meats, to the decidedly homey environment with an exhibition kitchen and block-style wood tables and chairs.
The Cheesecake Factory deal has been in the works for the past six months as conversations about “what the future would look like” became more focused, Gordon said.
But the idea of the Cheesecake Factory expanding its role in North was planted not long after Fox entered into his partnership with the company in 2016 and he and Gordon realized their restaurant philosophies meshed.
“Because of the relationship we already had, it let us get to this point much quicker,” Gordon said.
Sam Fox’s first restaurant was Wildflower American Cuisine in Casas Adobes Plaza on North Oracle Road in Tucson.
Fox launched his restaurant empire in Tucson with Wildflower American Cuisine on North Oracle Road in spring 1998.
Over the next decade, that single restaurant blossomed into a stable of as many as 16 boutique restaurant concepts including Zinburger and Blanco Tacos + Tequila; that number is now 11.
In 2015, Fox sold his fast-casual pizza concept Sauce to Scott Kilpatrick and Todd Belfer for an undisclosed sum. The pair grew the concept from nine locations — including three in Tucson — to 17, including a dozen in Arizona — four of them in Tucson — and restaurants in New Mexico and Texas.
Fox said selling Fox Restaurant Concepts will allow him to concentrate on growing the brands, including expanding some to other markets. He said he is continuing to explore Tucson locations for a Flower Child restaurant.
The last new Fox restaurant in Tucson was Culinary Dropout, which he opened in September 2017 at the old Grant Road Lumber Yard. The price tag for the 19,000-square-foot project at 2543 E. Grant Road was nearly $11 million — at the time his most expensive restaurant project.
Culinary Dropout at the Grand Road Lumber Yard, 2543 E. Grant Road, is the latest Fox Restaurant concepts in Tucson.
Related: New restaurants that have opened in Tucson in 2019
70 restaurants and coffee shops that opened in Tucson in 2019
Here's a look at restaurants that opened in the Tucson area in 2019
UpdatedReporting by Andi Berlin, Cathalena E. Burch and Gerald Gay.
ATL Wings — 802 N. Fourth Ave.
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A recent dinner at ATL Wings included (from top left) Cajun barbecue boneless wings, deep fried biscuits, lemon pepper wings, ranch dip, ATL style fries and medium hot wings.
Ralph and Velveia Bankhead like to think a little heavenly intervention led them to the 1950s-era gas station-turned restaurant on the corner of North Fourth Avenue and East University.
It all started with a business networking meeting at their Phoenix church three years ago. Velveia Bankhead was the keynote speaker, and one of the guests, fellow church member Cianna Kirksey, pitched her and her husband Mike’s ATL Wings restaurant chain.
Not long afterward, the Bankheads visited the restaurant in west Phoenix — there are eight locations in the Valley — and discovered something Ralph Bankhead called life-changing.
“These wings do something to you,” he said, sounding like a preacher about to hit that fever pitch of his sermon. “When people eat our wings, they love our wings.”
With so many locations in the Phoenix area, the Bankheads, who own the restaurant with Angela and Alphonso Tyson, turned their attention to Tucson and that 2,000-square-foot former filling station at 802 N. Fourth Ave. that had been converted into a restaurant in 2017.
Read more here.
Alexandria's Pearl — 1535 N. Stone Ave.
UpdatedAlexandria's Pearl serves up Egyptian food, with a full menu and a buffet.
The menu includes traditional fatta, kabsa and koshari.
August Rhodes Market — 3073 N. Campbell Ave.
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The grinder, $11, at August Rhodes Market has capicola ham, pepperoni, salami and more.
Prep & Pastry may have moved down the street, but the owners quickly turned the original space into a trendy lunch spot.
Named after chef Kyle Nottingham's son, August Rhodes Market specializes in gourmet salads and sandwiches on housemade baguettes.
Read more about Prep & Pastry's move here.
Bacio Italiano — 943 E. University Blvd.
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The former restaurant Red’s Smokehouse & Tap Room is being remodeled to become Bacio, 943 E. University Blvd. Bacio, an Italian restaurant, and The Blind Pig are expected to open by Aug. 1 in time for the new semester at the UA.
Italian restaurant Bacio Italiano took over the 2,800-square-foot space that for two years housed Red’s Smokehouse & Tap Room, which closed last year.
Among the items on the menu, Bacio Italiano serves Neapolitan style pizzas with a New York flair. The dining room is airy and minimalist, fashioned around a massive domed pizza oven imported from Italy.
Baja Mar — 3541 S. 12th Ave.
UpdatedIn 2019, Baja Mar expanded with an additional location on South 12th Avenue.
The seafood restaurant also serves as a market. Plus, kids eat free on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Barro's Pizza — 410 N. Wilmot Rd.
UpdatedBarro's Pizza opened its second Tucson-area location in January.
The first location opened in 2017 in Marana, at 5884 W. Arizona Pavilions Dr. It was the Phoenix chain's first location south of Casa Grande.
The chain now has more than 40 locations, most in the greater Phoenix area.
The menu includes classic dishes such as pizza, pasta, salads and subs.
Black Standard Coffee
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Jake, the Kish’s black standard poodle, is the mascot for the family’s Black Standard Roasters coffee business.
Black Standard Coffee is a new coffee subscription business owned by Tucson couple Jason and Rachel Kish.
Black Standard Coffee is a direct-trade business that purchases their beans through "farm gate," which means that the buyer negotiates directly with the coffee farmer.
They sell their freshly-roasted beans wholesale, through subscription or by the bag on their website blackstandardcoffee.com.
The coffee is also served at Dogs-n-Donuts, an east-side bakery that specializes in sweet treats for dogs.
Read more here.
The Blind Pig — 943 E. University Blvd.
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The Blind Pig, which will focus on dry-rubbed and Cajun barbecue and seafood, will move into what was once The Fix restaurant.
The Blind Pig focuses on dry-rubbed and Cajun barbecue and seafood.
The restaurant sits in the spot that was home for nearly seven years to The Fix, which served mac and cheese. That restaurant closed in early May.
Read more here.
Bowld — 13160 E. Colossal Cave Rd.
UpdatedBowld was recently welcomed to the Vail area.
The restaurant boasts meal prepping and catering services, in addition to a menu of bowls and "rowls," which are veggies, meat or cheese wrapped in a different kind of meat or tortilla. They're available grilled or breaded and fried.
The menu also includes salads and burgers.
The Boxyard — 238 N. Fourth Ave.
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After more than two years of waiting, The Boxyard, a shipping container food hall on Fourth Avenue, officially opened in January.
The bar portion has 15 beers on tap. For food, you can nosh on Sonoran dogs, Vietnamese food and barbecue.
Read more here.
Brooklyn Rolls — 1628 E. Sixth St.
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Brooklyn Rolls is expected to open in the old home of Abe's Place by mid-July.
A New York City native brought his favorite Brooklyn flavors to a spot just south of the University of Arizona stadium.
John Ryan launched his New York-style deli, dubbed Brooklyn Rolls, at 1628 E. Sixth St., in the old home of Abe’s Place, in July.
Ryan was born in Canarsie, Brooklyn, grew up in Midwood, not far from where Ebbets Field once stood, and is a New York University alum.
A bout of homesickness led to the creation of Brooklyn Rolls.
“I missed Brooklyn,” Ryan said. “I missed the food, the people.”
Read more here.
Buffalo Wings — 485 N. Grande Ave.
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At this new restaurant called Buffalo Wings, you can eat spicy wings and cool it down with a taro boba slush.
Buffalo Wings' menu is fairly simple, with wings, appetizers such as potato skins and jalapeno poppers, and sides including buffalo fries and potato salad.
Plus, our food reporter Andi Berlin said it's the only place she knows of in Tucson that sells both buffalo wings and boba slushes.
BZ's Pizza — 7856 E. Wrightstown Rd.
UpdatedThe east side restaurant BZ's Pizza closed in the summer of 2017 after its shopping center's anchor Safeway pulled out.
But now it's back on the southwest corner of Pantano and Wrightstown. The new spot has 30 draft beers and a menu that includes pasta and seafood entrees like cioppino and lobster ravioli along with the signature thin crust pizzas.
Carnitas Estilo Michoacán Los Gordos — 4545 E. 22nd St.
UpdatedIt’s hard to miss Carnitas Estilo Michoacán Los Gordos as you travel down East 22nd Street in midtown Tucson.
The mobile eatery is housed in a former school bus, painted bright pink. It sets up in the middle of a large dirt lot amid several car dealerships, between South Swan Road and South Columbus Boulevard.
Its interior has been custom altered to resemble a diner rather than your kids’ ride to middle school.
Long metal tables stretch along either wall, giving each customer a view of neighboring businesses and the traffic on 22nd.
The rear of the bus serves as the counter and kitchen, where 20-year-old Jackie Aguilar takes orders and her brother, Alex Quezada, 36, creates carnitas dishes using family recipes, born in Michoacán, Mexico, and passed down through generations.
Read more here.
Ceres Pasta + Bread — 77 W. Washington St.
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Toppings are sparse at Ceres, but that’s because you want to concentrate on the delightful texture of the fresh pasta.
Located in the old Fanny's space across from La Cocina, Ceres Pasta + Bread is a cafe that serves handmade pasta.
Working with a small team of mostly women, Carolyn O'Connor arrives at 5:30 every morning to make at least 20 pounds of fresh pasta. She prepares a small but rotating selection of pasta styles, available for take-home cooking or freshly-prepared during the daily lunch service. The two main varieties are thin tagliolini and wide tagliatelle, both egg noodles popular in Northern Italy. You choose a noodle, and then choose whether you want tomato basil, pesto, cacio e pepe or meaty Bolognese sauce.
Read more here.
Charred Pie — 12125 N. Oracle Rd.
UpdatedCharred Pie serves up wood-fired pizza, in addition to salads, pasta and sandwiches.
Charro del Rey — 178 E. Broadway
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The seafood-centric restaurant Charro del Rey was opened by the Flores family — the same family behind the popular El Charro Cafe.
Charro del Rey sits at 178 E. Broadway, next door to the Flores family's 2-year-old Charro Steak, 188 E. Broadway.
El Charro President Ray Flores told the Star in October 2018 that the restaurant pays homage to his father, Ray Sr. whose name was often misspelled “Rey.”
Read more here.
Charrovida — 7109 N. Oracle Rd.
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El menú de Charrovida se centra en lo fresco y sustentable, fusionando los patrimonios mediterráneo, europeo y sonorense en un menú que se centra en "alimentos para la longevidad y la sostenibilidad", según una descripción en el sitio web del restaurante.
The Mediterranean-inspired Charrovida, the newest restaurant from the El Charro family, opened in May.
It is the third new concept that the Flores family has launched in three years.
Charrovida, 7109 N. Oracle Road, is a Mediterranean-Sonoran fusion restaurant that borrows from plant-based and sustainable-foods philosophies, a passion for Flores family matriarch Carlotta Flores. The emphasis is on healthy, but with an El Charro focus on flavor and innovation.
Read more here.
Chef Chic — 1104 S. Wilmot Rd.
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Wendy Gauthier, chef and owner of Chef Chic, poses for a portrait at her new restaurant on 1104 S. Wilmot Road in Tucson. Gauthier has been running the cafe at the Arizona Daily Star for the past 20 years.
Tucson’s newest Iron Chef took the plunge and opened her own restaurant.
Technically, it’s the second iteration of the restaurant if you count the eight years Wendy Gauthier had been running Chef Chic out of the commercial kitchen/cafeteria of the Arizona Daily Star’s south side plant.
“I think it’s time,” Gauthier said in November from the dining room of the Star’s Carla Gamez Cafeteria where Gauthier and her staff serve a menu of handcrafted sandwiches, soups and breakfast specialities to Star employees. “I think we’ve gotten enough of a following that it’s time to broaden out and do more and show people what we can do.”
Read more here.
Chef Wang — 356 E. Grant Rd.
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Dong-Bei cold noodles, $10.98, at Chef Wang featured wheat noodles in in a sweet pork broth.
The menu at Chef Wang is so large, it takes a four-ring binder to list everything they serve — including many dishes you may not have seen before.
Chef Wang, or Zhuang Yuan Lou if you speak Mandarin, is essentially a Northeastern Chinese restaurant. The spot is a partnership between Baoge Chen and Chef Hongquan Wang, who are from the city of Shenyang in the Dongbei region of China.
The restaurant is inside an old Mariscos Chihuahua on Grant Road, and has a suburban vibe that led This Is Tucson's food writer Andi Berlin's lunch partner to call it "The Cheesecake Factory of Chinese food."
Read more here.
Churrasco de Brasil — 150 W. Wetmore Rd.
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Churrasco de Brasil, a Brazilian steakhouse that will serve 12-15 different types of lamb, pork, chicken and beef, is slated to open at the Tucson Mall in October.
Opened in the 8,700-square-foot building that used to house Twigs Bistro and Martini Bar at the Tucson Mall, Churrasco de Brasil is similar to the successful Fogo concept.
Diners pay a fixed price which includes trips to the 30-item salad bar and as much meat as you can handle. Diners will flip over a red card to display a green color when they are ready to begin, signaling the meat servers to come to their table.
Servers offer up 12 to 15 different types of lamb, pork, chicken and beef. This includes the iconic picanha or sirloin cap, which comes out in half-ovals topped with a thick layer of fat.
Read more here.
Crema Coffee — 3725 W. Ina Rd.
UpdatedCrema Coffee opened in Marana in the beginning of April. In addition to coffee, the shop offers pastries in partnership with Sweetster's Bakery, according to their Facebook page.
Desert Dream Ice Creamery — 210 N. Fourth Ave.
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Zech Bergeron of Desert Dream Ice Creamery holds up a cone with (from top) Blue Dream ice cream, strawberry and Grasshopper.
Although Isabella's Ice Cream moved out of their Fourth Avenue location in 2018, ice cream hasn't left the street.
Brothers Zech and Noah Bergeron took over Desert Dream Ice Creamery, after closing its former location on Speedway and Campbell Avenue.
Now in Isabella's former location on Fourth, the Bergerons make their own ice cream flavors like Coyote Tracks and Elvis Pretzel with help from the original owner.
Divine Bovine — 1021 N. Wilmot Rd.
Updated
At Divine Bovine, you can substitute a fried chicken breast for any of the burgers on the menu. A natural choice here is the Flying Buffalo, $10.
The former La Salsa building on North Wilmot Road and East Speedway is now home to a local purveyor of high-quality hamburgers.
Ben Rine, who co-owned and operated BrushFire BBQ for ten years, launched Divine Bovine Burgers in the 2,000-square-foot space in February.
Rine was looking for a new opportunity in the food service industry since selling BrushFire's two locations more than a year ago.
“I took a year off because you only get one life and I wanted to spend time with my kids,” Rine said. “But we’ve all got bills to pay. I didn’t sell 25 BrushFires, and I’ve wanted a burger restaurant for a while.”
Rine said Divine Bovine offers 15 different types of burgers, all made with “ridiculously high-end ingredients.”
Each burger patty consists of a blend of “brisket, chuck and short rib that’s really, really naughty,” he said.
Read more here.
Dutch Bros. Coffee — 10105 E. Old Vail Rd., 9330 E. Golf Links Rd., 1971 W. Valencia Rd.
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Dutch Bros. Coffee is hosting a grand opening Tuesday, Oct. 9, for its shop at South Wilmot Road and East Broadway.
Dutch Bros. Coffee, the Oregon-born, hip and happening coffee shop with the sugar-sweet nice baristas, expanded its reach in Tucson.
Dutch Bros. introduced itself to Tucson with its first location last October at 120 S. Wilmot Road.
El Antojo Poblano — 1114 W. St. Mary's Rd.
Updated
A cemita is a popular Mexican sandwich from Puebla. It’s known for having a sesame bun with different fillings like queso Oaxaca, ham and fried milanesa.
El Antojo Poblano refers to the city and state of Pueblo, southeast of Mexico city.
You can find huaraches, cemitas and delicate molote pockets of fried corn masa at El Antojo Poblano — Tucson's new food truck that parks in a vacant lot at St. Mary's near Interstate 10.
Read more here.
El Chinito Gordo — 2920 N. Oracle Rd.
UpdatedAccording to the restaurant's website, El Chinito Gordo's menu is inspired by Central Mexican recipes passed down through generations.
The menu includes enchiladas, tacos, a chorizo burger, chile rellenos and more.
El Torero — 231 E. 26th St.
Updated
El Torero, at 231 E. 26th St. in South Tucson, has reopened with limited hours.
Fonda la Hermanita — 198 W. Cushing St.
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Chef Erika Bostick has previously worked for The Coronet and now heads up the kitchen at its sister restaurant Fonda la Hermanita.
The quaint cafe is tucked back behind The Coronet, which moved into the historic Cushing Street building near the Tucson Convention Center.
Chef Erika Bostick has created a small but colorful menu that showcases the fresh produce of Southern Arizona. Since the tiny kitchen doesn't have a flattop, she craftily prepares scrambled eggs using a sous vide machine and serves an array of "platos" like fresh corn masa gorditas with baby greens and black bean spread.
Read more here.
Fried Rice Hut — 1655 S. Alvernon Way
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The tempura choice combo with shrimp fried rice and chicken tempura, $6.99 at Fried Rice Hut.
Fried Rice Hut is an unassuming dinner spot near Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.
Yuko Takatori's menu is almost entirely made up of fried rice and deep-fried meats, but that doesn't mean the food is greasy. They also have tasty apple and cinnamon hand-pies that look like sugary egg rolls from the outside.
Heemee Coffee and Bakery — 20 E. Congress St.
Updated
This Korean shaved ice, or bingsoo, at Heemee Coffee + Bakery is topped with matcha powder and green tea ice cream, $7.50.
Tucked into a little nook on Congress Street, Heemee Coffee and Bakery has a minimalist aesthetic with white clean walls and a pastry case full of whimsical treats. But back in the kitchen, there's a veritable assembly line of people busting butt.
This new downtown cafe makes its own baguettes, cupcakes, sweet buns and Japanese cream puffs from scratch. The pastries are a mix of American and French cafe staples with unique creations from Korea and Japan.
Read more here.
Hop Street Lounge — 7215 E. 22nd St.
Updated
Tucson's east side just got another destination for locally produced craft beer and wine.
Hop Street Lounge is located in the Palo Verde Plaza shopping center at 7215 E. 22nd Street, halfway between Arizona Beer House at South Kolb Road and East Broadway and BlackRock Brewers at East 22nd and South Pantano Road.
The new venture offers up to 35 beers on tap, eight wines, coffee, kombucha and more than 600 bottles in coolers.
Eight television sets show the sporting events of the day, and seating in the space includes couches.
“I want people to be super comfortable,” owner Damion Jenkins said. “It is going to have a loungy feel.”
Read more here.
Irene's Holy Donuts — 340 N. 4th Ave.
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Midsize doughnuts range in price from $1.55 to $3.25.
Irene Heiman was selling real estate in her childhood home of Hawaii and she was doing pretty well, making money while making a name for herself.
But she would go to sleep every night with this gnawing feeling that she wasn’t doing what she was meant to do in this world. Around 2014, the mother of three said she heard a voice that told her to open a doughnut shop.
She spent a year of trial and error, experimenting with glazes, yeasts, fillings and doughs, and was told by some folks honest enough to deliver bad news that her doughnuts were pretty awful.
She admits she was discouraged, but her husband wasn’t. He told her that once she had the proper equipment and space, those doughnuts would be just fine. And when they opened Holy Donuts in the mall of their small hometown of Kailua-Kona in 2015, he was proven right. People loved them.
Irene Heiman was confident people in Tucson would feel the same way.
Read more here.
Istanbul — 2945 E. Speedway
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Istanbul Mediterranean Cuisine and Bar is in the former location of Mays Counter Chicken & Waffles at 2945 E. Speedway.
A Turkish restaurant is taking up residence in the old May’s Counter Chicken & Waffles space on East Speedway nearly 10 months after the popular UA-area restaurant closed.
Istanbul serves a menu of kebabs, wraps, sandwiches and other Turkish and Mediterranean-inspired dishes, said chef-owner Kamran Esar.
Esar’s resume includes cooking at the original Opa Greek restaurant on Campbell Avenue that closed in spring 2018 and Opa Time at South Fourth Avenue’s American Eat Co. He said his siblings, parents and friends will be involved in his restaurant — a first for the family.
Read more here.
Ja Ramen — 2643 N Campbell Ave.
Updated
For the first 10 days, from opening day through Sept. 22, everything at new restaurant Ja Ramen will be half-priced.
Ja Ramen opened in the former home of the restaurant Hoki Poki, which closed in July.
Chef-owner Ja Le said his focus is on curry dishes and ramen, the noodle soup that has gained in popularity over the past few years.
One of his specialties is ramen served with slow-cooked, chashu-braised pork belly or pork shoulder.
“I like to cook ramen,” said Le, a Vietnam native who has been in Arizona about a decade.
Read more here.
Jewel's Noodle Kitchen — 5683 E. Speedway
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The pork with scallion pie, $9.99, at Jewel’s Noodle Kitchen is basically a handmade bun with dumpling filling.
Jewel's Noodle Kitchen is owned by Ronghua Zhu who hails from Beijing and has filled her small menu with Northern Chinese specialties like dumplings and housemade wheat noodles.
John Henry's — 117 N. Sixth Ave.
Updated
This building at 117 N. Sixth Ave. will soon be home to John Henry’s, a neighborhood bar opening on the north end of downtown. Co-owner Brenndon Scott said they are “rebuilding a lot of this place from the ground up” by giving it new utilities.
John Henry’s fills the space most recently occupied by the comic-book-inspired gallery Constant Con, just north of the East Pennington Street intersection.
Co-owner Brenndon Scott’s original vision was to launch a dive bar downtown in the same vein as The District Tavern, which held court on East Congress Street for a decade before being pushed out by rising rent costs in 2015.
Plans changed.
Scott, who also co-owns the Bashful Bandit on East Speedway and The Boxyard on North Fourth Avenue, instead shot for a neighborhood bar vibe.
Read more here.
Just Kabab — 10420 N. La Cañada Drive
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The beef kubideh, $8.99, at Just Kabab is made up of ground beef balls that are seasoned with onions and spices. We also ordered some hummus and falafel to go with.
The new Oro Valley restaurant brought the art of the Persian kebab to a casual setting, with counter service and an open kitchen where you can see your meat being grilled.
Start with a classic skewer of ground beef kubideh and go from there. They also plan to serve traditional stews such as ghetme and ghorme sabzi.
Just Noodles — 2545 E. Speedway
UpdatedLocated inside Alibaba Restaurant, Just Noodles serves up a menu filled with noodles.
The menu includes wonton noodle, tomato egg, chili spice, chicken with sesame, and more.
Kukai — 267 S. Avenida del Convento
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You may recognize The Mt. Fuji Don, $13, from Kukai's sister restaurant Samurai on Oracle Road. The rice bowl has spicy tuna, cucumer, avocado, masago and more.
Kukai opened quietly in February at the Mercado Annex, making it the second food vendor in the shopping area.
And you may recognize the familiar face of Setsuko Mochizuki inside the shipping container kitchen. Her husband Kazuo Senda is the owner of Samurai on Oracle Road, which has been Tucson's go-to rice bowl joint for more than 30 years.
Kazuo is partnering with his son-in-law Michael McCormack at Kukai, crafting a menu that feels like Samurai meets Instagram. They're making everything from onigiri rice balls and ramen to those takoyaki octopus balls you may have lined up for at Tucson Meet Yourself.
Read more here.
Le Buzz Caffe — 2930 N. Swan Rd.
Updated
Le Buzz's new location at Plaza Palomino used to house Cafe Francais and Patisserie.
Le Buzz Caffe opened its second location in December.
The new location sits in the Palomino shopping center, near Fort Lowell Road. The first location is at 9121 E. Tanque Verde Rd., near Catalina Highway.
The menu is the same as the original location for now, so look out for those European pastries and fluffy omelettes.
Lemonshark Poke — 2501 E. Grant Rd.
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The Maui Heat Wave bowl at Lemonshark Poke has spicy tuna and salmon, cucumber salad, avocado and a whole lotta sauces.
Lemonshark Poke is owned by guitarist Tobi Miller of the The Wallflowers.
Who is this man? He's formerly a semi-famous rockstar and currently a businessman in California who's opened a franchise of poke restaurants.
At Lemonshark Poke, diners can make their own poke bowl, or get one of the house combinations like the Maui Heat Wave pictured here with spicy salmon and spicy tuna.
The Libertine — 402 E. 9th St.
UpdatedThe Libertine opened in June in the spot that once housed The Coronet.
Ran by the The Coronet's owner, The Libertine is a casual bar with a kitchen serving small plates.
The Coronet moved out of the Ninth Street space and reopened in the location that was once home to Cushing Street Bar and Restaurant.
Read more here.
Longhorn Grill & Saloon — 28851 S. Nogales Hwy in Amado
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New owners Greg, right, and Amy Hansen pose in front of the iconic cattle skull outside the Longhorn Grill and Saloon, 28851 S. Nogales Highway in Amado, south of Tucson. Many travelers to and from the border visited the roadside attraction for many years.
A long-closed restaurant whose steer skull façade has served as a roadside attraction for generations of travelers heading to and from Mexico recently reopened.
The Longhorn Grill and Saloon opened in late May in Amado.
The property's new owners Greg and Amy Hansen, no relation to Star sports columnist Greg Hansen, purchased the Longhorn in 2018 in hopes of turning it into a destination steak house, catering to tourists, Tucsonans and residents from the surrounding communities of Green Valley, Tubac, Rio Rico, Nogales and Arivaca.
The Longhorn serves everything from high-end steaks and fish plates to burgers, sandwiches and salads.
Read more here.
Mama Carey's Kitchen — 501 N. Park Ave.
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Tisha Atkins Carey runs Mama Carey’s Kitchen, which is inside the Metro Wildcat convenience store at North Park Avenue and East Sixth Street. The menu includes her son’s favorite, the KC #25 Xtreme double bacon cheeseburger.
Tisha Atkins Carey had a hard time feeding her son Ka’Deem when he was growing up.
The football coaches at Canyon del Oro High School and later the University of Arizona would reach out to her when her 5-foot-10 running back son would nibble his way through team meals.
“He was a real picky eater,” she recalled. “I would get calls from the high school and UA asking me for advice.”
Her best advice: Mama’s cooking — homemade broccoli and cheese with rice; hot links and hot wings; mac and cheese; fried chicken; and Philly cheesesteaks like the ones she ate as a child growing up in Trenton, New Jersey.
“That’s the food I grew up with, the food that made me who I am today,” said Ka’Deem Carey, opened a restaurant, Mama Carey’s Kitchen, with his mom.
Read more here.
Maru Japanese Noodle Shop — 1370 N. Silverbell Rd.
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I dressed up my curry udon at Maru Japanese Noodle Shop, $8.50, with ingredients from the toppings bar, like dried seaweed, pickled ginger and more.
More Japanese food has graced Tucson's west side.
Maru Japanese Noodle Shop is a casual counter-service spot from the people behind Yoshimatsu, just with an emphasis on ramen and udon noodles.
In addition to the familiar beef and curry udons, the restaurant also does a spicy tantan udon, sweet tofu kitsune udon and a cream udon with a sauce similar to fettuccine alfredo.
Small snacks, such as takoyaki balls and onigiri, are also offered.
Mendez Bakery — 1219 S. Sixth Ave
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The building that used to house Le Cave’s Bakery has undergone multiple renovations to house the new Mendez Bakery and Tortillas.
Nearly two years after Le Cave’s closed amid a flurry of failed health department inspections, Fernando Mendez opened Mendez Bakery and Tortillas at 1219 S. Sixth Ave.
Mendez said that from the time they set out the “now open” sign on June 12, they had customers from the neighborhood trickling in, many of them curious to see how Mendez has cleaned up the place and to catch a glimpse of the display cases filled with empanadas, tortillas and fresh baked rolls.
“We started from the bottom and cleaned everything,” Mendez said Thursday afternoon, ticking off a laundry list of repairs that included replacing the plumbing and electrical and repairing the flooring in the kitchen that stretched the length of the 100-year-old building.
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Mestizos — 1118 W. St. Mary's Rd.
Updated
Mestizos is located in the former Manna from Heaven space at St. Mary's and Grande.
The old Manna From Heaven fry bread spot on St. Mary's Road is getting new life as a contemporary Mexican restaurant.
Mestizos is the product of Patricia Gomez of Nogales, Sonora, who's cooking a mixture of Sonoran and Sinaloan mariscos dishes, as well as recipes from farther south in Mexico. The menu is still being built out, but Patricia recommended the blue corn quesadillas and the Tacos Mestizos, which are actually more like empanadas.
Mian Sichuan — 4695 N. Oracle Rd.
UpdatedThe main draw at Mian Sichuan (not to be confused with the former MiAn sushi downtown) is volcano noodle soup with Sichuan peppercorns and American cheese.
This new shop in the Tucson Mall area has a small menu of spicy noodle dishes and soups.
Mission Coffee Imports — 606 N. Fourth Ave.
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Mission Coffee Imports opened for business on Thursday, serving small-batch roasted artisan coffee by the cup or bag.
For the past four years, Brian Jerome Peterson and his partners have peddled their fresh-roasted coffee at area farmers markets.
But those nomad days are behind them.
In late January, Peterson and his partners John Howard and Matthew DeVore opened Mission Coffee Imports in the small street-front space at 606 N. Fourth Ave. that was home for nearly a decade to Revolutionary Grounds Books & Coffee.
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Momo's — 1838 E. Sixth St.
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Very glad that somebody is back on the the southwest corner of Grant and Campbell. It's been awhile!
The old Rosati's Pizza on Sixth Street and Campbell is now a Mexican restaurant called Momo's.
Owner Mauricio Racano has crafted a menu of Sonoran staples as well as dishes from Mexico City, where he's from. In addition to tacos, nachos and Sonoran hot dogs, you'll find a whole section of enchiladas with uncommon fillings like shrimp and Mahi Mahi.
There are also burrito bowls and tortas, which you can get with something called Cabo meat: a mixture of chorizo, ground beef and green chile. They also serve beer, and make their own aguas frescas.
Monster Sonoran Hot Dogs — Near 1000 W. Congress St.
UpdatedThis new food truck takes Sonoran hot dogs into uncharted territory.
Not only are they wrapped in bacon, but they're also slathered in a juicy mound of birria. Monster Sonoran Hot Dogs makes two sizes, a six-inch and a footlong Big Monster Dog, which is tucked into a bright red bun from Alejandro's Tortilla Factory.
Original Cuisine — 1800 E. Fort Lowell Rd.
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This spicy chicken and crispy pepper dish, $15.99, is the star of the show at both the Mesa restaurant and the Tucson location.
The Arizona Republic speculated that this may be the best Chinese food in the Phoenix area. Lucky for Tucsonans, a location opened up in the Old Pueblo.
The Sichuan menu caters to adventurous eaters who enjoy dishes such as rabbit with pickled pepper and baby ginger.
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Pescaderia y Taqueria Yami — 1926 S. Fourth Ave.
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We enjoyed these shrimp tacos, $2.99 apiece, at the new Pescaderia y Taqueria Yami on South Fourth Avenue.
This casual mariscos spot on South Fourth Avenue serves food from the coastal town of Guaymas, Sonora. This means you'll find shrimp cocktails, ceviche, various tostadas with octopus, crab and more.
Pescaderia y Taqueria Yami also has a small market up at the front where you can purchase seafood to-go.
Pirata Luchi — 4602 E. 29th St.
UpdatedPirata Luchi opened in December, serving up seafood, from enchiladas to tostadas.
Plaza Eats at Hotel Congress — 311 Congress St.
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Cashier Betsie Dries watches from the Plaza Eats food trailer as hotel employees enjoy a serving of french fries during the soft opening of the new eatery, which will offer many of the same items available at Hotel Congress’ Cup Cafe.
Downtown weekend revelers with late-night hunger pangs have a new dining option, located within the plaza area at Hotel Congress.
The historic hotel, which is celebrating its 100th year in 2019, recently installed a food trailer meant to accommodate evening traffic, including bar hoppers and post-concert crowds, until 2 a.m., Thursdays through Saturdays.
Dubbed Plaza Eats, the trailer offers a mix of favorites from the hotel’s Cup Café — menu items like the Picacho nachos, lettuce wraps and a plant-based Beyond Burger – and classic international street foods.
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Potwhale — 3620 N. First Ave.
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The spicy and numbing beef, $12, at Potwhale is quite an experience. The dried peppers have a crazy mouth burn to them.
At Potwhale, guests cooks their own meats, noodles and veggies in a pot of boiling broth at the center of the table.
Potwhale swims an extra mile by letting you choose from several different broths.
Purple Penguin Candy Emporium — 3392 E. 22nd St.
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Dino Volpi is the owner of The Purple Penguin Emporium, located at 3392 E 22nd Street. He opened the candy store earlier this year for the primary goal of making people happy. He poses for a photo on September 5, 2019.
When Dino Volpi opened his Purple Penguin Candy Emporium on East 22nd Street earlier this year, he was hoping his independent sweets shop would bring back memories for Tucsonans.
The store specializes in selling the candies, chocolates and craft sodas from your youth, no matter what part of the country you hail from.
Grow up in the Pacific Northwest? Have an Idaho Spud with all of its cocoa-marshmallow, soft chew goodness.
Midwest residents can pick up a Cherry Mash, a chocolate shell with cherry-flavored filling, still made in the small Missouri town where it was created in 1918.
If you’re a transplant from Pennsylvania, a few bottles of Pennsylvania Dutch Birch Beer might satisfy your thirst for home.
The store works with 16 suppliers across the country for inventory.
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Red Light Lounge at the Downtown Clifton — 485 S. Stone Ave.
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The Red Light Lounge is manned by Donald Murray, formerly of The Dusty Monk.
He's doing interesting cocktails Red Light Lounge, including a Bacanora margarita and drink with Tequila and Pimm's called the Inglaterra.
Rush Bowls — 1058 N. Campbell Ave.
UpdatedRush Bowls, a Colorado-based smoothie shop, opened in the former Desert Dream Ice Cream on Speedway and Campbell Avenue.
Rush Bowls offers a range of frozen yogurt, granola and acaí bowls and even has something for your dog, according to the website.
Selena's Salvadorian Restaurant — 2513 N. Campbell Ave.
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Selena’s pupusas are made from fresh corn masa and stuffed with cheese, beans, loroco flowers and more.
Luis Gonzalez and his family started making pupusas about five years ago at food festivals like Tucson Meet Yourself, and gradually worked their way up to evening and weekend farmers markets.
By the end of summer, they opened a brick and mortar restaurant in the former Desert Island Eatery, which closed in July after the owners announced on Facebook that they're moving to Phoenix.
Luis said he plans to serve a full Salvadorian menu in addition to the seven varieties of pupusas that he already makes out of his food stand. If you've never had a pupusa before, that's very okay, because they're actually almost impossible to find outside of the Tohono O'Odham Swapmeet on Drexel Road.
The national dish of El Salvador, a pupusa is basically a thick patty of corn masa that's been stuffed with cheese, beans, chicharrones and/or a Central American flower called loroco. The ingredients are cooked together with the fresh masa on a comal, kind of like how you'd make an omelette. Then they're generally eaten with smooth tomato salsa and the pickled cabbage slaw curtido.
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Sentinel Peak East — 9155 E. Tanque Verde Rd.
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Waitress Sean Harley, left, pours a beer for a customer at Sentinel Peak Brewing Company, 4746 E. Grant Road. A letter writer is opposed to a government plan to possibly rescind an Obama-era ban on tip pooling.
Sentinel Peak Brewing Company headed east with a second location.
The midtown craft brewer took over the Stillhouse Grill and Bar which was rebranded Sentinel Peak East, said Jeremy Hilderbrand, who co-owns the 5-year-old craft brewery with two fellow firefighters.
The Stillhouse menu will eventually be incorporated into Sentinel Peak's menu of barbecue and smoked meats and burgers, but to what extent will be determined after Hilderbrand's staff has had a chance to settle in and chat with customers.
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Sonoran Brunch Company — 1060 S. Kolb Rd.
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A mural by local artist Jessica Gonzales covers the wall of the new Sonoran Brunch Company on South Kolb Road, just north of East 22nd Street.
The original Poco and Mom's space on Kolb Road has gotten a refresh, complete with a license plate ceiling and Danny Martin and Jessica Gonzales murals brightening up the space.
The menu at Sonoran Brunch Company goes for an eclectic Tucson hip vibe, with bright takes on huevos rancheros, chorizo skillet pie and more.
Sweetscape Desserts at Casino del Sol — 5655 W. Valencia Rd.
UpdatedWhen walking near the bingo hall at Casino del Sol, you'll come across the eclectic menu at Sweetscape Desserts.
The dessert shop was created by Chef Ryan Clark and his culinary team. The menu includes gelato, shakes, floats, sundaes, breakfast sandwiches and more.
But you'll probably be drawn in by the colorful donuts from pastry chef Gina Skelton. Her whimsical flavors include fluffernutter, fruit cereal and maple bacon.
Toro Loco Tacos Y Burros — 7940 E. Broadway
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The fried chicken taco, $4, at Toro Loco. It has tempura chicken with pickled onions, bacon and jalapeño ranch.
Travis and William Miller, the brothers behind the popular Serial Grillers chain of burger and pizza restaurants, are focusing on tacos and burritos in their newest restaurant venture.
The brothers, who also own the midtown taproom Craft, A Modern Drinkery, opened Toro Loco Tacos Y Burros in the recently closed Papa Locos Tacos & Burgers at 7940 E. Broadway.
But Toro Loco is not a Mexican take on Serial Grillers, Miller was quick to note. The menu of specialty burritos and tacos is made with carne asada, chicken, barbacoa, shrimp and carnitas and emulates to some degree the taco shops you find around the beaches in San Diego.
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Tortillas by Che West — 2105 S. Sixth Ave.
UpdatedYou may have seen Jose Zavala's colorful corn tortillas at American Eat Co., but now the local chef is opening his own storefront.
Tortillas by Che West has a variety of non-GMO handmade corn tortillas in creative flavors like garlic green onion, Hot Cheetos, El Pato and more.
He's also selling a variety of flour tortillas and pan dulce from La Estrella Bakery.
Trident Grill IV — 2912 W. Ina Rd.
Updated
Trident Grill IV, 2912 W. Ina Road, is down the street from Pima Community College’s northwest campus. It opens July 4.
After months of construction and remodeling including installing a “garage” door, Trident Grill IV officially opened on July 4.
It is the fourth installment of the Trident concept from the trio of Nelson Miller, Danny Gallego and Jason Machamer. And it’s the trio’s second restaurant opening since December, when they launched Trident Pizza Pub in the old Grimaldi’s Pizzeria at 446 N. Campbell Ave.
The owners for several months had been renovating the 4,065-square-foot space at 2912 W. Ina Road that was home to CiCi’s Pizza, which closed in spring 2014.
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Tumerico — 402 E. 4th St.
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Owner/chef Wendy Garcia sprinkles cilantro to complete a plate of butternut squash tamales in the kitchen at Tumerico, 2526 E. Sixth St. Garcia, a yoga enthusiast, opened the restaurant in November.
Wendy Garcia has been a tireless ambassador for vegetarian Mexican food at her popular midtown restaurant Tumerico.
In June, she opened her second outpost of Tumerico along bustling North Fourth Avenue.
The location at 402 E. Fourth St., on the corner of North Fourth Avenue, offers a scaled back menu of grab-and-go meals and snacks to complement a full beverage menu of lattes, juices and teas. On weekends, she offers a limited made-to-order menu mirroring what’s offered at the original location, 2526 E. Sixth St.
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Whiskey Roads — 2265 W. Ina Rd.
Updated
The recently closed Romano’s Macaroni Grill at 2265 W. Ina Road is set to be reopened as Whiskey Roads, a country nightclub, in mid-July. It will be the first country nightclub on Tucson’s northwest side since 2002.
Whiskey Roads, a country-music themed restaurant/night club across from Foothills Mall, opened in the beginning of August.
The space once housed Romano's Macaroni Grill.
Managing partner Fernando Gomez, a chef-owner along with partners Greg Wexler and Josh Arvizu are from Putney’s PitStop Sports Bar & Grill on North Oracle.
Read more here.
Wings on Fire — 9040 E. Valencia Rd.
UpdatedWings on Fire opened in the Rita Ranch area earlier this year. The wing restaurant serves a variety of flavored wings including lemon pepper, honey mustard and spicy barbecue.
Also on the menu: salads, sandwiches and hot dogs.
