ANOTHER NEW DRINKERY AND EATERY OPENING IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Area revitalizing continues down the 32nd Street corridor with a new ale house, bottle shop and smoke kitchen opening on the NWC of 32nd Street and Cactus. Lovecraft will open this month offering 25 taps of craft beer, wine and cider, along with a 2-go bottle shop and smoked kitchen.

Rebecca Golden, former owner of 32 Shea, and her partner Ryan Castillo couldn’t wait to get back into the “neighBEERhood”, but this time with hopes of revitalizing another great intersection along the 32nd Street corridor. “We love this brick building (formerly the Smoke House Grill) and could see great potential here”, says Golden. We realize it hasn’t been successful in quite some time, so we put a lot of thought about what it needed. First thing on the list was a facelift. Removing the arches and modernizing the front not only shows the community there is change going on, it also encourages neighboring businesses to do the same. There are so many great neighborhoods in this area with so little choices, so we wanted to give the community a gathering place where they can hang out, play some ping-pong, watch sporting events and enjoy great food and drinks.”

As far as the menu, “I was born and raised in New Mexico and I cannot deny that influence in everything I do, like eating everything with fresh jalapeños. It made sense to make a menu I’d love by combining two great cuisines, slow-cooked smoked meats (since we inherited the smoker from the last joint) and amazing New Mexico cuisine,” stated Golden. “After all, when you eat something spicy you need to wash it down with something and what’s better than delicious craft beer?” Though, Golden did hesitate to call Lovecraft a restaurant, “We really are a craft beer bar that serves food, rather than a full restaurant. This will give us flexibility to grow the menu slowly without all the expectations that come with restaurant life.”

Lovecraft plans on having weekly events that support the community such as open-mic night, live local bands, ping pong tournaments, craft art nights hosted by their neighbors Craft Nights, pop-up dinners with local Chefs, community bingo and events sponsoring local breweries.

One thing Golden was adamant about was the need to support all local businesses. “When people put their lives on the line to open a business, they need community support. After all, if we do good the neighborhood does good and property values increase. Look at what Postino’s did for Arcadia! Small businesses don’t have the resources like franchises do, so setting expectations that things will be perfect is extremely hard for a small business to accomplish. We don’t have executive boards and investors to run our ideas through, we make the best decisions with the resources we have. With that said, if there is an issue talk to the owner or manager before you go to Yelp or review sites. I know I’d prefer to hear it in-person or get an email first before reading it online.”

“ANOTHER NEW DRINKERY AND EATERY OPENING IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD” North 32nd News, December 2018. http://north32ndnews.com/another-new-drinkery-and-eatery-opening-in-the-neighborhood/?fbclid=IwAR0zb0XBjw4AUcdi7vplCAzj6iHxktjeDJpZLD49yIh3ENfpLALQWiiOOm0

Build out of a flagship roastery for Press Coffee in the 32nd and Shea neighborhood of North Phoenix is underway. Owners Jason Kyle, Steve Kraus, Tram Mai and Alex Mason donned hard hats and shovels last week to officially break ground on construction at the site.

The 5,600 sqft facility at 10443 N. 32nd St. will be a full production site for Press Coffee’s whole bean roasting operations. It will also be open to the public with a fully functioning café serving drinks and food with plenty of meeting space. Expected completion of the $3.5 million project is Spring 2019.

The Construction Zone, LTD is serving as the general contractor, architect and designer. The modern design of the flagship roastery will showcase and educate the public about specialty coffee with viewing areas of the roasting rooms and space for Press’ Coffee 101 tastings.

Press has been Arizona’s own local coffee roaster since 2008. It has nine Valley locations in Scottsdale, Tempe, Phoenix and Chandler. Visit Press Coffee online at presscoffee.com and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @presscoffee.

“BUILD OUT OF NEW PRESS COFFEE ROASTERY STARTS” North 32nd News, 2018. http://north32ndnews.com/build-out-of-new-press-coffee-roastery-starts/?fbclid=IwAR10-6XITfz9lqwkpUVko4o-in3D_omDMMnSxm8TEsJy1EI-Rk9rToTHHG4

Opening day for the new Gelato Spot Wood Fired Pizzeria & Dessert Lounge was yesterday, Wednesday September 26th, and the house was packed!

Here’s some background about The Gelato Spot:
There are many works you could use to describe what we do, but one is more important to us than any other: Authentic. It all started with gelato, which meant going straight to the original source, so that’s exactly what we did. We went to Northern Itals and met with gelato masters who had been developing their craft for generations, some for more than 200 years. We built relationships and partnerships that gave us the ability to offer some of the finest and oldest gelato ingredients available in Italy.

When we brought that knowledge home, we empowered the classical North Italian techniques with modern technology to make gelato that was consistently perfect in every batch. If we don’t’ import it directly from Italy, we make it ourselves to ensure that we offer a level of quality that can’t be matched by anyone else, anywhere in the United States.

Gelato was just the beginning. We’ve brought the philosophy that made our company a success to our pizzas and other fine foods. We still focus on making food based on strict old-world standards with the freshest ingredients and most-exclusive imports. We hope that you’ll come in to experience our food today. It would be our pleasure to show you what our dedication means to your dining experience.

 

A new community center and preschool is set to open this month in the North 32nd neighborhood – the Young Mind Community Center and CO-OP, early childhood program. YMCC is a one-of-a-kind, inclusive community center dedicated to connecting people, resources and ideas in a way that marries innovative solutions with intentional outcomes. The CO-OP is a preschool for children ages 18 months to 5 years, with and without autism, which centers on practices that promote young children’s optimal learning and development.

“We are thrilled for Young Mind Community Center and the CO-OP to become an integral part of the North 32nd community, serving families and filling a need,” said YMCC and CO-OP Co-Founder Dr. Sara Mertel. “We welcome the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of the children and families in our neighborhood.”

Located at 3202 East Mountain View Road, the CO-OP’s innovative and inclusive education programs will create an environment where all children thrive. Drawing from the best practices in child development, early childhood education, and learning and behavior to create experiences that foster optimal development, the CO-OP will provide a strong foundation that sets the stage for future academic and personal achievement.

“The CO-OP’s goal is to provide high-quality instruction and interventions matched to each child’s needs,” said Dr. Amanda Wood, CO-OP co-founder. “Our vision in creating the CO-OP was to take a multidisciplinary approach to child development and learning to the next level and create a transdisciplinary environment where each of these expert team members – most importantly parents – collaborate in a way to create an outcome that would otherwise be impossible. There is a great need for inclusive and transdisciplinary early childhood education in Arizona, particularly as it relates to the education of young children with autism, and we are striving to set a new bar for early learning programs.”

Benefits of attending the CO-OP preschool include: inclusive education, highly-trained and qualified professionals, developmentally appropriate practice, a focus on continuum of supports and low adult-student ratios.

The CO-OP and YMCC are the culmination of partnership between Drs. Mertel and Wood drawing on best-practices from their fields – community resources and development and clinical psychology – to redefine problems outside normal boundaries and innovate to reach new solutions and optimize results.

In 2011, Young Mind Center diagnostic clinic located in central Phoenix was founded by Dr. Wood, a clinical psychologist, as a pediatric diagnostic and consultation clinic specializing in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Dr. Wood’s vision was to provide compassionate, thorough and accurate diagnostic services utilizing the best-practice assessment measures. Responding to the demand for exceptional services after diagnosis, in 2014 YMC expanded its vision and services into the field of autism intervention. With the addition of Emily Mariner, a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, and a team of highly skilled behavior instructors, YMC grew to include intervention services utilizing the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis.

Recognizing the power of working together across disciplines, in 2016, Dr. Mertel was brought on as a partner and established the Community & Collaboration Initiative, which allowed the future development of YMCC and the CO-OP.

To learn more about Young Mind Community Center and the CO-OP, including employment opportunities in early childhood education, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy and behavior instruction, to learn how to apply for preschool registration, visit youngmindcommunity.org.

“YOUNG MIND COMMUNITY CENTER TO OPEN IN NORTH 32ND” North 32nd News, 2018. http://north32ndnews.com/young-mind-community-center-to-open-in-north-32nd/

The revitalization project of 32nd and Shea, coined “32 Renewed” has introduced a variety of new businesses to the area since it was first initiated in 2016 including a rock climbing gym, an ACE Hardware and other establishments.

Louisa Ward helped make the project possible as the designated realtor of the Uptown Phoenix area.

Along with businesses, the project has brought new bike lanes, art pieces to the area, which the project leaders hope will generate more traffic and turn it into an excitable neighborhood for the many families who live there. For businesses shifting business transition plans are crucial.

Kyle Hollenbeck, owner of Aioli Burger on the corner of 32nd and Shea hopes his business will continue to flourish in this location.

“We chose 32nd and Shea because myself and my parents grew up and went to school down the street,” Hollenbeck said. “We saw what was coming this way with the 32 initiative and wanted to be ahead of the curve. You will notice bigger companies, franchises and chains are coming this way now.”

The ongoing renovations affected Aioli Burger last summer, when they were remodeling the building and were without a sign.

Now, Hollenbeck is working on getting a liquor license for the restaurant which he believes will further encourage an influx of customers.

Almost neighboring Aioli Burger is 32 Shea coffee shop, not quite as new to the area, being established in 2011. As a local coffee shop, 32 Shea has been recognized by many Phoenix publications. The shop has always been a popular spot but now has even more customers due to the project.

Wurtz, Mary. “32nd and Shea Revitalization Opens Businesses to New Opportunities” My Local News – US, August 2, 2018. https://mylocalnews.us/arizona/2018/08/32nd-shea-revitalization-opens-businesses-new-opportunities/?utm_source=AZ+My+Local+News+Master+List&utm_campaign=a13613b450-MLN_AZ_Recap&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_623f12db83-a13613b450-94819197&mc_cid=a13613b450&mc_eid=6b967d8267