New eats! 21 new restaurants that opened in Tucson this summer

I've never opened a restaurant, but I can imagine how difficult it is.

With the permits, health inspections, renovations and everything in between, at least 21 restaurants and cafe have braved our slowest season and opened businesses that have likely become their babies — and maybe their livelihoods.

This summer, Tucson welcomed a Ukrainian food truck, a vintage-inspired nightclub, a pickleball destination and a dim sum den, among others. Here are the details.

Agave House

The long-awaited Agave House opened in Main Gate Square in June. The group behind the restaurant also owns Gentle Ben’s and Bacio, both of which are also in Main Gate Square. The sit-down Mexican restaurant is said to have a modern flair, serving shrimp ceviche, bone-in pork chop, enchiladas and tacos with fillings like birria, carne asada and sweet potato.

Agave House also boasts more than 100 agave spirits infused in both cocktails and cuisine.

Location: 943 E. University Blvd.

For more information, visit Agave House’s website.

Blush

This vintage-inspired restaurant and nightclub was in the Instagram limelight when it opened with its hot-pink neon signs and cocktails. The restaurant is inspired by the 1950s — paintings of women in historical clothing hang on the wall, Elvis Presley croons through the speakers and ice cream soda has a place on the magazine-style menu of American favorites.

Down the hall is Blush After Dark, a nightclub where large prints of old Hollywood starlets hang next to vintage Playboy magazines and cocktails are named after ‘90s pop culture references. When day turns to night, the music transforms from 1950s serenades to the tunes of the early ‘90s.

Location: 340 N. Fourth Ave.

For more information, visit Blush’s website or read our story.

Caffeine Cauldron

Tucson Games and Gadgets is in three Tucson-area malls and has a speakeasy-style bar tucked into one of them. This month, owner Mark Kadow opened something new: a cafe dubbed Geeky Grinds. The name has has since changed to Caffeine Cauldron, and it's made to be a coffee haven for pop culture, book and game geeks.

Caffeine Cauldron, also at Tucson Mall, offers coffee and roasts from Yellow Brick Coffee and Geek Grind Coffee. Expect weekly events for karaoke, trivia and book clubs.

Location: Tucson Mall, 4500 N. Oracle Road

For more information, visit Caffeine Cauldron's Facebook page or read our story.

Charro Chico

Barrio Charro closed its doors this summer, but Si Charro — the family-owned group behind popular restaurants El Charro and The Monica — opened Charro Chico in its place. The new fast-casual eatery serves a menu of tacos, burritos, enchiladas and bowls that can be customized with carnitas, pollo asada, short rib beef, birria or vegan calabacitas.

Location: 3699 N. Campbell Ave.

For more information, visit Charro Chico’s website.

Cold Beers & Cheeseburgers

Sometimes that’s all you can ask for — cold beer and cheeseburgers. This Phoenix-born chain opened its first Tucson-area location in September with burgers, sandwiches, hot dogs and wings.

Location: 7315 N. Oracle Road

For more information, visit Cold Beers & Cheeseburgers’ website.

Corbett’s

Possibly the best part about Corbett’s is the atmosphere — the pickleball courts, the live music playing throughout the massive patio clad with murals and an outdoor bar. Partners behind the eatery hope downtown-area Corbett’s will become a destination on a street that’s often overshadowed by Fourth Avenue and Congress Street.

The menu includes burgers (which you can “Gronk” up with an additional patty), salads, sandwiches and specialties like prime rib and tacos. Corbett’s is also open for brunch.

Location: 340 N. Sixth Ave.

For more information, visit Corbett’s website or read our story.

Dirty T Tamarindo

There’s a good chance you’ve spotted Dirty T Tamarindo’s spicy candies at markets, shops or even gas stations around town. Owner Alana Solis opened a brick-and-mortar in August, complete with a grand opening celebration featuring mariachis, mural painting and vendors.

Solis uses her tia’s chamoy recipe to coat popular candies like Watermelon Rings and Gushers. While you can still find them at pop-ups and stores all over town, the brick-and-mortar will also sell snacks like paletas and Tosti-locos.

Location: 1211 W. St Marys Road

For more information, visit Dirty T Tamarindo’s website or read our story.

El Jefe Cat Cafe

El Jefe Cat Lounge opened on Halloween in 2019 — it’s where you can sit with 30 adoptable cats, feed them treats and watch them swat at birds on a TV. But this summer, the lounge expanded with a cafe next door. Now, you can get a drink or treat from the cafe and bring it over to the lounge to play with the kitties. One of the specialties is El Jefe Cafecito — a shot of espresso, Mexican Coke and brown sugar cinnamon syrup topped with whipped cream and cinnamon.

Location: 3025 N. Campbell Ave.

For more information, visit El Jefe Cat Cafe’s website or read our story.

Gear Shifters AZ

Gear Shifters is dubbed a “place for Tucson motorcyclists to meet and hang out.” And it’s a cafe! According to KGUN9, Gear Shifters is also a spot for bikers to buy and sell used gear like jackets, pants and even bikes. Find specialty drinks like pumpkin spice and strawberry mocha.

Location: 1045 N. Catalina Ave.

For more information, visit Gear Shifters AZ’s Facebook page.

Jaime’s Pizza Kitchen

Gabriel Moreno grew up in the back office of his grandfather Jaime’s now-closed bar and grill on Fourth Avenue. He helped open The Italian Peasant in Tubac in 2010 and worked at Pizza Luna in Tucson until it closed in 2022. He started Jaime’s Pizza Kitchen in a ghost kitchen and has since moved into a brick-and-mortar on Congress Street. Stop in for a pie or a slice (they even have focaccia pizza).

Location: 312 E. Congress St.

For more information, visit Jaime’s Pizza Kitchen’s website or read our story. 

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JoJo's Restaurant

The eatery formerly known as LaCo, and La Cocina before that, has changed its name to JoJo's Restaurant, debuting a new menu alongside the name change. The same family is involved in the restaurant, though matriarch Jo Schneider is taking a step back and the kids are stepping up. “We always want to remember and pay tribute to the heart that she brings into the space,” JoJo's said on Instagram.

The menu features handhelds like a birria dip and mushroom chorizo baguette, in addition to entrees like ribeye, cod and rigatoni.

Location: 76 W. Washington St.

For more information, visit JoJo's Restaurant's website.

Juniper

In August, Iron John's Brewing Company closed its downtown location and reopened as Juniper the following month. Juniper is a gin-focused bar specializing in gin-centered cocktails made from a selection of gin from around the world. Iron John's beers are also on the menu.

Location: 222 E. Congress St.

For more information, visit Juniper's website.

Just Churros

When National Churro Day rolled around on June 6, Just Churros opened its very-anticipated brick-and-mortar. Known for its yellow food cart at events around town, the brick-and-mortar serves the churros we all know and love. Also on the tiny menu: churros a la mode, churro s’mores and a churro ice cream sandwich.

Though Just Churros dates back about a decade, the true lineage dates back to 1981 when owner Ricky Pintor’s tata started selling churros in Douglas. Pintor is a third-generation churrero — his grandfather’s recipe goes back generations.

Location: 4280 N. Oracle Road

For more information, visit Just Churros’ website or read our story.

Las Originales Carnitas El Michoacano

In August, food truck Carnitas El Michoacano moved into a brick-and-mortar. The menu has tacos with birria, cabeza and carnitas, plus quesadillas, quesabirria and the classic soup, bichi. People love the quesabirria and according to Yelp, they handmake their corn tortillas!

Location: 5256 S. Nogales Hwy.

For more information, visit Las Originales Carnitas El Michoacano’s Facebook page.

Lucky Panda

If there’s one thing I know for certain: Tucson gets excited when dim sum comes to town. Lucky Panda is Tucson’s newest dim sum spot — and it’s one of the only. It comes from Danyan “Dawn” Lew, the owner of midtown favorite Guilin Chinese Restaurant, who has dreamt of opening a dim sum eatery in Tucson.

Lucky Panda has a walk-up counter and an a la carte ordering style for its Cantonese-inspired dim sum dishes like tender chicken feet, BBQ pork buns and shu mai, among Americanized Chinese items.

Location: 4016 N. First Ave.

For more information, visit Lucky Panda’s Yelp page or read our story.

Monsoon Chocolate Cafe + Market

I’m not a big lover of chocolate ice cream, but Monsoon Chocolate Cafe changed my mind. Their single-origin chocolate ice cream is the best I’ve ever had.

Monsoon Chocolate, known for their beautiful bonbons, opened the midtown cafe and market over the summer, where you’ll find their gorgeous chocolates, ice cream and luscious desserts, plus drinks like frozen hot chocolate and cocoa nib horchata. Their original location on 22nd Street is now their factory and gift shop, though it’s temporarily closed.

Location: 3630 E. Fort Lowell Road

For more information, visit Monsoon Chocolate’s website.

Stacks Book Club

Books and coffee probably go together just as well as peanut butter and jelly. Stacks Book Club is a new bookstore in Oro Valley where you’ll find hundreds of books, plus gift items made by local makers. You can get coffee and pastries alongside your book hunt.

Stacks brews Yellow Brick Coffee and serves hot and iced tea from Maya Tea Company. Beer and wine are also on the menu, in addition to grab-and-go food from Flora’s Market Run and pastries from Cal’s Bakeshop, Prep & Pastry and Breadsmith. Stacks might also be the only place in town that offers coffee flights.

Location: 1880 E. Tangerine Road Suite 140

For more information, visit Stacks Book Club’s website or read our story.

Tandem American Eatery

According to Tucson Foodie, Tandem American Eatery comes to us from Patrick and Ayana Malarchik, who met at Union Public House before moving to Sierra Vista. The newly-opened eatery serves burgers and sandwiches like lobster rolls and a veggie sandwich with sweet potato, plus “Tandem Toast,” which is artisan bread topped with additions like smoked shrimp, roasted tomato or short rib.

Location: 8864 E. Tanque Verde Road

For more information, visit Tandem American Eatery’s website.

TiTi Boba Corner

One of Tucson’s newest boba spots is TiTi Boba Corner, where they say “happiness is a cup of tea with a good friend.” You’ll find a drink menu with their popular ube-taro-brown-sugar concoction, plus slushes and fruit teas. They also have a handful of food options: popcorn chicken, shrimp and fried octopus balls.

Location: 4016 N. First Ave.

For more information, visit TiTi Boba Corner’s Instagram page.

Ukies

Food truck Ukies brings modern Ukrainian cuisine to Tucson — dumplings called varenyky, holubtsi cabbage rolls, European hand pies known as zrazy and soups borscht and zurek. The food truck has become home to Tucson thanks to owner Kat Vandiveer, according to KGUN9, who has been making Ukrainian food since she was 9.

Location: Comida Park at the Tanque Verde Swap Meet, 4100 S. Palo Verde Road

For more information, visit Ukies’ website.

Wings y Mas

Get wings in more than a dozen different flavors at Wings y Mas. Nachos, bacon-and-cheese-covered tots and Tosti-locos are also on the menu. Come Wednesday and get 12 wings for $12.

Location: 1145 W. Prince Road

For more information, visit Wings y Mas’ Instagram page.

On the horizon

• We spotted a sign on the old Mimi’s Cafe near Tucson Mall for Tesoro Latin Kitchen and Cantina, 4420 N. Oracle Road. According to their Facebook page, they’ll serve classic Latin dishes with a modern twist.
• Slated to open this fall in the Monier Building, 160 S. Avenida del Convento, Whole Slvce comes from the team behind pizzeria Falora. They’ll offer New York-style pizza by the slice.
• Fourth Avenue coffee shop and juice bar The Jewel Cafe, 431 N. Fourth Ave., posted on Sept. 20 that they’re getting closer to opening.
• Redbird Scratch Kitchen + Bar will soon serve smash burgers, loaded wings and tacos at 6444 N. Oracle Road.
• Coming in 2024 is The Broadway Beer & Wine Bar, located along the Sunshine Mile and expected to offer craft beer and wine with a “mid-century classic vibe.”