Dirtbag’s, Tucson’s iconic bar that’s been “a part of growing up” for generations of UA students for more than four decades, is expanding its reach to Phoenix.
Dirtbag’s Phoenix is expected to open in August in the upscale Arcadia district straddling north Phoenix and Scottsdale. It will replace the two-year-old bar and grill The Spot at 4801 E. Indian School Road.
“I’m very, very excited about this whole thing,” said Scott Hibler, who is franchising the brand from longtime Dirtbag’s owner Gary Welch. “We are Wildcat fans.”
While the original Dirtbag’s at 1800 E. Speedway, a mile from the heart of the University of Arizona campus, caters mostly to students, the Phoenix outpost will focus on alumni living in the area.
Welch, who grew up in Tucson and bought Dirtbag’s in 1988, said Hibler approached him in December about the idea of franchising the brand in Phoenix, but it wasn’t until May that talks turned to action.
The timing couldn’t have been more perfect.
“We’ve built that base with the alumni and the number of alum that are in the Phoenix area,” Welch said. “We’re seeing second generation coming through where mom and dad went to college. I have a kid here whose mom worked here 20 some years ago when she was going to the UA.”
Welch said UA alums living in the Phoenix area often return for football or basketball games and have long asked him to bring the brand to the Valley. Hibler said he’s heard similar pleas from customers of The Spot and its longtime predecessor Arcadia Tavern, which he opened in 2000 and ran until 2020.
UA sports were often on the screens at Arcadia Tavern, the neighborhood’s first true sports bar and grill.
“What bigger brand could we bring to Phoenix than Dirtbag’s? The UA market in Phoenix is heavy on this brand,” said Hibler, who recalled his first time at Dirtbag’s in 2001 after attending a UA-ASU football game.
“I never forgot it and never forgot the name,” he said.
Although Dirtbag’s Phoenix will look nothing like the original from the outside, once you walk through the front door, the nostalgia of the original will hit you, Hibler said, from the Wildcats memorabilia and sports on the TVs to the UA-themed license plates from around the country lining the walls.
You’ll be able to chase your half-pound Famous Dirtburger with a Cocaine Shooter — a 1980s throwback shot of vodka, raspberry liqueur and grapefruit juice — or the three-layered shot dubbed the Mind Eraser that you suck through a straw. Hibler said they will add a few items to the menu, but the Phoenix location will replicate a majority of the salads, sandwiches and munchies that have long been a staple at the original Dirtbag’s.
But one thing that he won’t mess with, Hibler said, is the vibe.
“We are going to be a Dirtbag’s. We are going to have the Dirtbag’s vibe, the Dirtbag’s food,” he said.
When Hibler leaked word of Dirtbag’s Phoenix on Instagram (instagram.com/Dirtbag’s_phoenix) two weeks ago, dozens of UA alums commented. Poster blondie_pitt predicted “This is going to be scary” while queenb330709 asked if it was too early to make reservations for opening day.
“Hope its as beat up as Tuscon’s Location (sic),” piped in poster tylerxdunham, who misspelled Tucson in his post.
“The excitement level is through the roof and over the top,” Hibler said. “We’ve had people reach out to us via Instagram and social media from around the country that are excited about this.”
“We cannot be more ecstatic,” he added. “I knew this was going to be special. The excitement level is beyond what I was expecting.”
Welch, a Flowing Wells High grad who managed a local McDonald’s franchise for 15 years before buying the bar, said the Arcadia franchise is the first of what could be two or three Phoenix area Dirtbag’s locations.
Welch bought Dirtbag’s six years after two Chicago friends opened the bar and gave it the nickname of one of their fraternities, according to documented lore. Given its proximity to the UA campus, it quickly became a legendary hangout for students who viewed the bar, as its slogan suggested, “a part of growing up.”
