Special thanks to our hosts for our last Get Your PHX at the new Hance Dog Park, Noble Beast, a natural pet supply store on Camelback and 10th Street. We were so impressed by the work that the newly-formed Friends of Hance Dog Park have done to put in place a permanent support system for the park. We also want to recognize Short Leash Hot Dogs for sending out a truck just for this event.

Now, on to this year’s second annual Get Your PHX Family Thanksgiving. This year in the gardens!

Have y’all noticed all that work going on at the northwest corner of Indian School and Central  –all the art and garden plots that are going in? Well, that is being built for you. Did you know that? This is the PHX Renews project, created by Keep Phoenix Beautiful.

In addition to appreciating their use of “PHX” in their name, we were blown away by the size of this project. Check out the map. They call it a community garden. We think is is more of an urban community farm.

By the time this is finished, there will be hundreds of plots that you can rent FREE for your own garden, along with education and participation projects directed by more than a dozen community partners. See the image, far below.

Best of all, we get to spend and early Thanksgiving together there.

We will provide the lighting, heaters, tours of the gardens, information, some beverages and, of course, raffle prizes. Please bring your favorite dish and we will spend the evening together in a good old fashioned Thanksgiving pot luck!

Just to be clear, this event is NOT on Thanksgiving, but the week prior. So, we are not asking you to skip out on your annual Family gathering and gorge-fest. 

You are our Get Your PHX family, and we want to give thanks with YOU!

Other than Phoestivus, this will probably be our biggest event of the year. So, don’t miss it.

There will be updates on our Facebook invite page and the PHX Renews Facebook page, so please stay tuned. Please RSVP if you are certain you will make it. While we appreciate your support for our events, we really need an accurate count of who will attend.

Also, please be aware that there is no parking at the community garden. Please take light rail and enter the garden off of the Central and Indian School light rail station or park in the parking lot at Indian School Park from the Central Ave. entrance. 

Special thanks to the staff of The Vig Fillmore for hosting a HUGE Get Your PHX in September. Co-owner Tucker Woodbury made a special appearance to tell us about the massive renovations they undertook at The Vig Fillmore. General Manager Logan Purser and  Cesar Crampton put together a great show for us, with drink samples and food samples from  Executive Chef Jorge Gomez.

In October, we are celebrating something that has been a long time coming: a public Dog Park at Margaret T. Hance Park.  As the City’s first urban dog park, it was the subject of over two years’ extensive engagement by the central Phoenix community and AZ Dept. of Transportation regarding its location.

Through the process, a group of involved citizens formed, Friends of Hance Dog Park, to harness the community’s interest in the park, liaise with the government stakeholders and enhance the park for the users and neighbors.

Once construction began in May, Friends of HDP engaged the active support of the four historic neighborhood associations, local home owners, the Hance Park Conservancy and even the dog park’s construction contractor, Valley Rain, to make improvements to the City’s budgeted design.

In the few months leading up to the opening, Friends of HDP has implemented over $10,000 in improvements to the parks.  As ongoing stewards, Friends of HDP has “adopted” the dog park and is organizing monthly clean-up events.  Members of Friends of HDP will be on hand to discuss upcoming special events and activities, and how individuals can become involved.

We’ll have folks from the Parks department on hand to discuss the unique history and design of this park.  Designers included a gabion-style rock wall, which was built with the type of river rock that underlays the downtown area, as well as plexiglass panels and picnic tables orientation designed to integrate the park with the surrounding historic neighborhood.

The Hance Dog Park GYP is sponsored by Noble Beast, a natural pet supply store on Camelback and 10th Street. Locally-owned and operated since 2007, the shop specializes in personalized pet nutrition consultations and carries a variety of natural, organic and holistic foods for dogs, cats and chickens.

Noble Beast also carries a wide assortment of natural supplements and remedies, as well as treats, toys, beds and accessories.  Owners Alison and Marsha are proud to partner in the community and host animal rescue fundraisers, puppy play dates, educational lectures, doggie dental clinics, obedience classes and holiday events. Pets are always welcome at Noble Beast. Healthy nutrition at great prices!

The Dog Park Grand Opening is scheduled for Saturday, October 5 from 8 a.m. – 10 a.m.  Regular park hours will be 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., every day unless closed for wet weather or maintenance.

Oh, and see below for more photos and don’t forget to RSVP on Facebook so our kind hosts can plan ahead.

Special thanks to Brad and Kat Moore of Short Leash and Sit…Stay, the restaurant for hosting such a fun Get Your PHX event in August –the Dog Days of Summer. Yes, I said it.

Thanks, also to all of our Get Your PHX Free Raffle contributors: Donna Reiner, Lisa Olson of Practical Art, Har Pal Khalsa and Ben Bethel of the Clarendon Hotel and Spa.

We are all very excited about having our next Get Your PHX at The Vig Fillmore. (Can you say “Bocce Ball”?)

Its been a long-time coming, the talk of the town –and we’ve been watching with anticipation. The fact that the owners of The Vig Arcadia and The Vig Uptown are opening their third venture, The Vig Fillmore should be seen as beautiful news.

Restaurant owners typically do a great deal of research before they open. They know where the people will be, they know where the rooftops are coming. They know something that not many people know. In this case, they  know that there are plans a-plenty for new housing development in the lower Roosevelt historic district. This is going to be great for urban density and walkability.

We all know the history of this corner of 4th Ave and Fillmore. I first remember it as a garden shop. That sold and became Palette, a very popular brunch spot. That closed and became Local Breeze, which had a hard time from the very beginning.

I am excited that Jim Riley, owner of the Vig, is going to pull out all the stops on this project. Part of the problem with the previous incarnations was that they could not afford the level of renovation that was needed to make a fully-functional restaurant. I know that the historic preservationist among us (me included) will look forward to seeing how The Vig folks preserved our history as they renovated this property.

Vig General Manager Logan Purser and Executive Chef Jorge Gomez will be on hand to tell us about the process of renovation, as well as what they have planned for this menu. Will it differ from the menus at The Vig Arcadia and The Vig Uptown?

In my conversations with folks at The Vig Fillmore, I learned that they are putting a premium on being a part of the fabric of the neighborhood. I was pleased to hear that, as many of us downtown have seen what has happened to business owners who do not take an active role in their neighborhoods.

As downtown grows and becomes more dense, we know that communications become increasingly important –not only for sharing limited space, but also for defining what our future will look like.

Please spread the work on this event and come out to try the free samples of their new menu, as well as the drink specials.

Oh, and see below for more photos and don’t forget to RSVP on Facebook so our kind hosts can plan ahead.

Special thanks to Stefano Fabbri of ‘Pomo Pizzeria Napoletano for hosting the July Get Your PHX. I think Stefano and master chef/co-owner Mateo have made a huge Italian splash in downtown.

I’m excited to announce what many of you have been waiting for and probably already know —Brad and Kat Moore of Short Leash food truck have now also opened Sit…Stay, the restaurant. Whom in Phoenix hasn’t had a Short Leash hot dog? Maybe you’ve had an Igby Dog at the Willo Home Tour. Maybe you’ve had the Moki at Food Truck Fridays. Maybe, if you were really lucky, you had a Costanza Dog, which appears only once a year at Phoestivus.

So, if they are so ubiquitous, why do we need to do a Get Your PHX there? Well, we are for several reasons. First, Brad and Kat have been huge supporters of local businesses (check out the list on their website of locally-owned vendors that they buy from) and we want to thank them.

Second, they will share their story and answer questions  –how often do you get a chance to interrogate a successful local start-up like this?

Third, Brad and Kat are just great people and we at Get Your PHX believe that our city develops better when the local business owners get a chance to come out from behind the counter and build more relationships with we mere mortals.

Finally, they are going to give out samples!

For those of you who don’t know, Short Leash took to the streets three years ago when Brad and Kat, both tired of the work they had been doing previously. It was a running joke for years between Brad and Kat that they should start a restaurant. Brad had experience in Small Business Administration lending in the financial industry and Kat was known to be a great cook.

One day Brad made a serious proposal to open a restaurant and Kat scaled back his proposal to the more realistic food truck concept. We are happy they did it this way. We’ve seen so many restaurants fail, in part, because they tried to grow too quickly.

Brad and Kat will share a number of lessons they learned as they started and grew their business. I found something that Brad said particularly salient (as it is similarly true in real estate): “Many people get in to business and think they will park food truck on corner and a million people will come. You really have to get out and build those relationships and take a grass-roots philosophy.”

So, if you are thinking that you want to start a business in Phoenix, this is your opportunity to hear directly from an inspiring couple –while you eat some of their delicious food.

Don’t forget, of course, we will host the monthly Get Your PHX raffle. We already have one free night at the Clarendon Hotel on the list of raffle items you can win. If you own a business and you want to support our local business community by donating a prize to the raffle, please contact Ken at 602-456-9388.

Stay tuned on Facebook for more raffle items and updates.

Special thanks to Aaron Chamberlin and Amy del Real of the Public Market Cafe. The staff at the Café showered us with five courses of the most wonderful, locally-sourced items from their menu, ending with a rosemary and caramel brownie that was the talk of the evening. Aaron shared with us his philosophy of sourcing locally and supporting local farmers and answered all of our questions. We are looking forward to seeing the Public Market thrive as a central meeting place and destination.

For July, I’m thrilled to tell you about ‘Pomo Pizzeria Napoletano (and, no, we are not talking about our former governor). Napoletano pizza is a very specific style of pizza that ‘Pomo part owner and Master Chef Mateo Schiavone, has practiced making for over 30 years.

Wait, I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me start with salad. Yes, salad.

I dropped by ‘Pomo on a day that they were closed (a Monday) to speak with co-owner Stefano Fabbri. He had just finished putting together a salad with shrimp and a light dressing for himself and his employee — a variation of one of his menu items. He insisted that I join them and we shared a cool, refreshing salad while we spoke. Half way through, he sent his employee off to get the vegetable lasagna, which he had put in the oven some minutes before. That was brought out with cold drinks and we each pulled a portion of it off the plate for ourselves.

I still can’t put my finger on it. There was something about the way that we ate together from one shared plate. Or, maybe something in the very air of that restaurant took me right out of Phoenix and in to a neighborhood restaurant on the Adriatic.

Stefano has a lyric Italian accent and urgent manner that certainly helped transport me across the Atlantic. I found myself using my hands a little more than usual as I spoke. He told me his story, which I will not tell you now. You will have to come to the next Get Your PHX to hear it directly from him. I can tell you that it involves love, immigration and a strong belief that Phoenix is a better place to live than Seattle.

You heard it here first.

But, there’s more. ‘Pomo is the first and only APN (Associazione Pizzaiuoli Napoletani) and VPN (Verace Pizza Napoletana) certified restaurant in Arizona. They have to go to great lengths to get that designation. They use ingredients that are internationally recognized as Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG). The best known example of this designation is that Champagne only comes from the Champagne region; all others are just sparkling wine. In his case, that applies to his cheeses, his flour, his yeast and a whole list of other ingredients.

Come to July’s Get Your PHX and experience what I felt when I dropped by for a private lunch. You will hear about Stefano’s origins in Rimini Italy, learn about Mateo’s culinary education and try the free samples of what ‘Pomo has to offer. Stefano is also offering drink specials just for our group.

Don’t forget, of course, the monthly Get Your PHX raffle. We already have one free night at the Clarendon Hotel on the list of raffle items you can win. Stay tuned on Facebook for more raffle items and updates.

Special thanks to Duc Laio for hosting the May Get Your PHX. This was probably the most heart-warming event we’ve had. Duc and his wife Noelle are doubling down on Downtown and investing so much of their heart, soul and resources in to Scratch French Pastry at 2nd St and Roosevelt.

They shared this with us and the RoRo community has stepped up to help with their plans.

Thanks also to Ben Bethel of the Clarendon Hotel for offering free pool entrance to his hotel for anybody who visits Scratch AND donating a one-night stay to our Get Your PHX free raffle.  Natalie Melchiorre also donated a one-month health reboot with her company, BodyAide. The famous Trini Fragozo of VolR Salon also donated gift certificates for styling. Mural artist Jesse Perry was very gracious to come answer questions about the new mural that he is doing on this corner, as well as his upcoming events at the Renaissance Hotel downtown Thank you all for supporting a new business downtown!

June’s Get Your PHX is all about new beginnings. As you know the old Phoenix Public Market closed last year, although the twice-weekly open air Phoenix Public Market remains in business.

Aaron Chamberlin of the famous St. Francis Restaurant on Camelback and 3rd took the initiative to create a new community spot for us downtown. He has been a true neighborhood supporter, as he has worked collaboratively with the Phoenix Public Market to open the Public Market Cafe. He could have done anything with this building, but his goal is to create a fun, affordable restaurant that is accessible to the community, and which complements the open air market.

The Cafe has open seating, a full bar, a wood fired rotisserie and excellent food. This is just the kind of walkable, light rail friendly cooperation that downtown deserves. Aaron is focusing on farm-to-table, affordable meals. 

Folks, there is a real locavore philosophy here that we will hear about from Aaron. They ground their almond butter and burgers only when you order them. 

The New Times reported that “Cafe will also have retail shelves stocked with 90 percent local products, including Black Mesa goat cheese fudge, Chris Bianco’s canned tomatoes, Bob McClendon’s honey, Hayden Flour Mill flour, olive oils, vinegars, aprons and cookbooks.” 

As you know, this is not easy to pull off. Locally-sourced, organic products are often more expensive and it is a true talent to find a way to offer meals under $10 in that environment. So, we look forward to hearing Aaron tell us first hand how he does it and what he is planning next.

So, please join us on June 20th. We will meet Aaron personally to hear about his vision and what it took to open the market. Of course, there will be specials and samples from the Public Market Cafe as well as our monthly Get Your PHX Free Raffle.

Thanks again to our friend Laura Dragon of {9}TheGallery  the folks at Bragg’s Pie Factory Diner , Chris Klein and Chris Duran of Glass Lab/Metal Lab, Beatrice Moore, the Grande Dame of Grand Ave and Jen Urso of Frontal Lobe Community Art Space. We had a wonderful time and learned so much!

This may be a red letter day in Phoenix. Well, technically about a month ago was a red letter day in downtown. It was the day that Scratch French Pastry and Pallet opened in the long-vacant Canvas building at 2nd St and Roosevelt.

For how long were we forced to look at that empty building, once full of hope, defaced by neglect and empty promises?

But no more, my friends, no more! Today, we rise again!

Sorry. Pastries and beer get me all melodramatic.

First, a little back-story. I spoke with co-owner Noelle Liao last November about their plans to open a downtown version of their successful Scottsdale French pastry shop, called Scratch, in Canvas. Back then she estimated that they would be ready to open by about April.

Now, for of you downtowners who may be thinking that something from Scottsdale can’t be all that good, listen to this story. Noelle, who has family in Arizona, was a model working internationally when she met her husband, Duc, a Vietnamese-Chinese fashion photographer, raised in France.

Bada-bing, bada-boom, they get married, have a couple children and decide to settle in Scottsdale. Well, “settle” is relative. Duc still jets off to Europe regularly for photo shoots. Plus, they both spent years researching and preparing for their excursion in to the world of pastries. Duc was classically trained at Le Cordon Bleu and together they spent a year preparing and researching where to open in Scottsdale.

After over four years of rave reviews, they are taking the opportunity to join us here where all the action is. And, here’s the other reason they are worth a visit: they made a name for themselves serving very reasonably priced fair. They have sandwiches around $8, pastries around $5 and 19-ounce beers for $4 at their daily happy hour. This happy hour is getting some positive reviews already, too.

Noelle said that they were inspired to begin this business because of the time that they spend in France. Their weekends, highlighted by causal times spent at the local pastry shops.

Now this, my friends, is why we want to celebrate Scratch. Not only is the back-story über charming and trés internationale, but they are truly trying to share with us an incredible memory and giving us a chance to experience that same feeling.

UPDATE: Chef Duc Liao is making a special French cheese pastry called a Gougère for the first 30 people in the door.

May  2013 Get Your PHX
May 23rd, 5:30 to 7:30
1011 N 3rd St, Phoenix Map It

Join us at the April Get Your PHX for a tour of new and soon-to-be-opened hotspots on Grand Ave. You will get to be in the know before your friends!

 Our friend Laura Dragon of {9}TheGallery will serve as our host for a tour of new features on Grand. Laura will start the show at her gallery and coffee shop with some food and beverages. From there we will get a chance to see the new sights.

 Here’s the line-up so far:

 {9}TheGallery will have an exhibit called Darkness and Light, a View of Abstract Expressionism featuring Kurt Von Behrmann and James Winfield Hack.

 The new Bragg’s Pie Factory Diner will open for special hours, just for you. Owners Liam and Emily Murtag (of Jobot Fame) are offering $5 coffee and pie or $5 sliders and chips just for Get Your PHX-ers.

There will be an exclusive glass blowing demonstration by Glass Lab/Metal Lab’s Chris Duran. 

Beatrice Moore, the Grande Dame of Grand Ave, has divided the formerly open Bragg’s Pie Factory in to 4 galleries and she is eager to show you what is coming soon.

Beatrice’s new Frontal Lobe Community Art Space will open with an exhibit by Jen Urso of various artists called Comfort Zones. 

We will also have our free Raffle Prizes and a chance to meet the movers and shakers who are making downtown better every day.

Of course, you know us. We’ll be adding new exciting features over the next two weeks.

April 2013 Get Your PHX
April 18th, 5:30 to 7:30
Raffle Drawing at 6:30
1229 W Grand Avenue, Phoenix Map It 

Thanks again to our Get Your PHX February host,  Tertio Wine Bar and the folks from Empty Glass Wine Company, for an incredible presentation. I expected a much lower turn-out because we were asking folks to pay ahead for the four-course meal. Yet we had a very strong showing and we all walked out of there with a new appreciation of what Virginia Senior and her crew are capable of.

For March, I’m very excited to announce that we are going to get an honest to goodness preview of a new downtown venue before they open (its been a while, huh?). When you come to the next Get Your PHX on March 21st, you will not only get a glimpse of the new Last Exit Live before its official opening, but you’ll also help kick off the local stage feature of the McDowell Mountain Music Festival.

Here’s the skinny: The McDowell Mountain Music Festival (MMMF), in a belated recognition that downtown is the place to be these days, will move its line-up of shows to Margaret T. Hance Park, starting March 22nd and ending March 24th. Last Exit Live, as the newest official Local Stage for the event is coordinating with the Get Your PHX Team to bring you a Local Stage Pre-party and the soft opening of Last Exit Live.

Here is what we have lined up for you already:

1) Our friends at Blue Sky Airport Parking are hosting this event. They are a locally-owned, Local First Arizona member company. They are generously helping arrange specials from one of our local food truck friends, to be announced. Their active participation in improving their neighborhood downtown has brought them much acclaim and a number one rating on Yelp.
2) Last Exit Live’s owner Brannon Kleinlein is offering an incredible special on drinks: $2 domestic beers and $3 imports from 5:30 to 7:30, just for Get Your PHX attendees. After 7:30 the drinks will still be only $3 for domestics and $4 for imports.
3) Brannon is booking two local Phoenix bands, to start at 8:30, to help kick off this MMMF Local Stage for a weekend of incredible new music. Please stay tuned, as we will announce this over the course of the next couple weeks.
4) We already have raffle items for you from AccountingPros and Local First Arizona for our monthly FREE raffle. You know how this goes. I expect to find more goodies for the raffle before the big event.

I also really want you to meet Brannon in person. Our goal with the Get Your PHX events is to celebrate the people who make downtown better every day. You will hear more from Brannon. For now, here’s the basics: Last Exit Live used to be in Tempe from 2003 to 2009. Brannon sold it in 2009, it closed under the new owners and he has re-started the venue in downtown. As Brannon reported to the Downtown Devil, he wanted to be part of the growing scene downtown and felt certain that this size venue (prevalent in Tempe) would fill a niche downtown. 

As I think we all do, Brannon believes that we need to be re-building inward rather than sprawling outward. He is putting his money where his mouth is. We want to support that. So, please come by. Also, if you want to get tickets to the McDowell Mountain Music Festival, please order them through the Last Exit Live website. This will help Brannon’s business and ensure he can give us a great bands and experiences downtown.

More on Last Exit Live:
New Times
College Times 
Java Magazine 
More New Times
 
March Get Your PHX:
The Local Stage Kickoff at Last Exit Live, Sponsored by Blue Sky Parking
Thursday, March 21st, 5:30 to close
717 South Central Ave  Map It
Phoenix, AZ 85004

Thanks again to all of you who attended our 4th year anniversary with the risk takers at “The My Florist Plaza.” And of course, thanks to our risk takers Boutique Solie, Community Florist, Olivastro Oils, NYPD Pizza, Salon D’ Shayn, Strut Bridal Salon. Special thanks to NYPD Pizza for sponsoring the event and to all of the businesses to contributing a record 20 prizes, which were raffled off to over 100 attendees.

We are bringing down the mood lighting a little bit in February, as we celebrate Tertio Wine Bar at 7th St and Osborn. Disguised as the mild-mannered “Urban Beans” during the day, Tertio comes out at night to delight with an impressive menu.

Tertio has put together a four-course meal and wine pairing, lead by Empty Glass Wine Company, a cutting edge wine rep that specializes in organic and “biodynamic” wines from Croatia, Slovenia, Austria and Hungary. Each course will be accompanied by wine selected to complement that course and comments from the wine specialists and chef.

You might recall that we did a wine and cheese pairing at Urban Beans a couple years ago. We are stepping it up a notch and revisiting for two reasons. First, obviously, Tertio is a great experiment in the European-style cafe model. Second, we know that 7th St and Osborn is about to be populated with more restaurants –a couple may possibly be chains. We want to support our friend Virginia Senior as she launches this new phase in the growth of her business.

This event is a pre-paid affair because the menu will be created specifically for this event. Each of Virginia’s exclusive four-course meals are thought out weeks in advance. If you have special dietary needs, please let us know when you purchase your reservation.

Virginia usually charges $55 per person for these meals and wine pairings. She is charging only $48 for Get Your PHX friends, exclusively. She is asking you to reserve in advance by emailing Tertio at tertiowinebar@gmail.com. Ask for Virginia and remind them that you are purchasing the Get Your PHX engagement price.

We have more to announce, so stay tuned. There will be a raffle and hopefully a special surprise.