At last, from the Tribune:
Restoration plans for Hayden Flour Mill unveiled
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/112190
East Valley Tribune - Mesa,AZ,USA
Avenue will later build 500000 square feet of offices, condos and shops on the site, though no timeline has been set. Losch said Avenue will lose money on …
Here’s a cool little video tour of Downtown Tempe from Azcentral. We get a little plug (Thanks!):
http://www.azcentral.com/phpAPP/multimedia/flash.php?path=rtmp://azcentral.com/ent/azr/temperevised2_r
The restaurant business is hard enough in this challenging economy without the press throwing handfuls of dirt down from the top of the hole. This week we enjoyed the following keystone-cops sequence from the local press. First this from Azcentral:
Valley restaurants forced to close: Urban Campfire, Twisted
Howard Seftel
Republic restaurant critic
Mar. 26, 2008 08:58 AM
[...]And Urban Campfire, a six-month-old Tempe rib joint, also had to close its doors after barely six months.
Soon after came this, from Jess Harter at the Tribune:
Despite published reports, Tempe’s Urban Campfire still open
March 26th, 2008 by Jess Harter
This morning, the Arizona Republic reported the eight-month-old Tempe restaurant had closed its doors. A few hours later, the Phoenix New Times, presumably picking up the news from the Republic, reported the same thing.
Unfortunately, it appears neither bothered to call the restaurant to check.
(By the way, I commend Harter for urging readers to support local restaurants in this piece.)
Finally, this morning we have a nice review of smoked crow from Seftel:
Urban Campfire not closing
Howard Seftel
“[T]he end isn’t here. Stempkowski and partner Steve Wolff report that they are “still fighting,” and open for business.”
Oh well, I always thought Seftel was the Dr. Kevorkian of food writers, anyway….
http://www.tempefestivalofthearts.com/HomePage.aspx
Spring Festival of the Arts
March 28-30, 2008
10am to 6pm
From Restaurants & Institutions:
“6. Diner Research: Caught in the Middle
The economy is squeezing the middle class and jeopardizing dining-out dollars. Where and when do middle-income households dine out?”
http://email.rimag.com/cgi-bin7/DM/y/m31f0RABDt0DO30Ga5k0FH
Petty tyranny in Pinal County:
The government of this fiefdom south of Phoenix claims that when it approved Dale Bell’s blueprint for his Western-theme restaurant with an outdoor stage in an enclosed courtyard, it assumed the stage would be used for mimes or poetry readings. Mimes in Arizona scrubland?
Tempe has seen another great citizen pass from this life. Yesterday, funeral services were held for Ray Boles, founder of Ray’s ASU Barber Shop, the great eglitartian civic gathering place of our community.
May I extend the deepest sympathies of the Monti family to the Boles family.
Tribune Obituary and Family Tribute.
Ray’s ASU Barber Shop Official Page
Guestbook: http://www.legacy.com/eastvalleytribune/GB/GuestbookView.aspx?PersonId=105968173
Why more and more property owners will start tearing down any exisiting buildings after they are about 25 years old, so as not to risk meddlng such as this (via Fark.com):
” News: Historical but boarded up building prevents new development. Fark: Its a Denny’s”
SEATTLE - There’s no question the graffiti-strewn, rain-rotted, boarded-up old Denny’s is a landmark in the most basic sense: People refer to it when giving directions, as in, “Turn left at the Denny’s.”But is the 44-year-old eyesore, with its swooping roof line, worthy of historical designation? Seattle’s Landmarks Preservation Board thought so, saving the eatery from demolition and blocking construction of yet another condo complex.
The board’s vote last month boggled many Seattleites, who consider the building tacky at best and don’t buy the argument that it shares some architectural DNA with Seattle’s most famous landmark, the Space Needle.
“They’re saving something no one cares about,” said Jed Lutge, who was walking near the building on the way to get a cup of coffee.
From Azcentral.com: Spring training a hit for Mill merchants
http://www.azcentral.com/php-bin/clicktrack/email.php/7883962
Monti’s La Casa Vieja managing partner Eddie Goitia braced for less successful spring training month because of economic lows and the increased cost of travel.
“I am happy to report that I was wrong. This year, we seem to have more people in the restaurant. They are attending the games and taking the extra step to come down to Tempe and spend some extra money,” Goitia said. “When the economic trends are in a slump, baseball gives us a bump.”
The restaurant sees its biggest crowds after games, when fans come in for an early dinner. Goitia said many customers are local, and have taken the day off to go to the game.
Goitia said the majority of out-of-town customers hail from the Midwest and California, and crave one thing.
“They want steaks,” he said. “Large steaks.”
Am I on to something here?
