Congratulations to our friends Abraham James and Patrick Hallman at C&H and Associates are announcing that they received a $35,000 Community Development Block Grant for the third year in a row.

This is a grant that is awarded to architectural firm so that they can provide architectural services to small businesses. This could be somebody who wants to open up a restaurant, coffee shop or retail space.

The funds come from Housing and Urban Development, through the City of Phoenix. If the architectural project goes well, the owner of the business must two hire employees. In this way, the grant supports economic development.

Some examples of previous grants that worked with C&H and Associates include JoBot Coffee, Core Crossfit, Karl’s Bakery, the Canvass corner at 3rd St. and Roosevelt.

If you own a business, or if you are starting a business that might benefit from these services, please call Abraham James at 602-275-1377 for more information.

Congratulations, Abraham and Patrick!

Here’s something new for you in Downtown Phoenix: Milk Bar. Remember that cream colored building on the corner of McKinley and 3^rd St.? The one that sat empty for so long?

Well Darek Pasieka has redeveloped the space into an incredible bar and restaurant celebrating Polish culture with a modern twist.

Built in 1909, the Western colonial/modern style house, (historically named the Marsh Arnott House), has changed over the years, a reflection of its diverse tenants. The structure has served as a residence, law office, art space, and hair salon before becoming a European bar.

When Pasieka’s company, Studio Darek, took on the adaptive reuse project, there was a lot of speculation from the neighborhood about what was in the works. Some thought a cult while others thought it a tribute to Anthony Burgess’ Clockwork Orange. Alas, neither is true. But Darek’s a good sport and has added a drink onto the menu called Clockwork, which is made with Zolta Gorbka Orange and Clove Vodka and is utterly delicious.

Since 1896, Milk Bars, or Bar Mleczny, have been a staple of Poland and Eastern Europe, especially for the working class during the Soviet Era. As the name entails, it was here that traditional milk-based dishes were served at a reasonable cost. After communism fell, Milk Bars remained popular hangouts because of the warm and welcoming atmosphere.

“These Milk Bars – known for affordable food but high quality—would survive as nostalgic relics. Milk Bars to this day have stayed popular as a meeting place for people of all walks of life,” says Darek.

At Milk Bar, the potato is king. Lining the menu are euro posh vodka drinks and pierogi stuffed with combinations of cheese, spinach, mushroom, and meat.

As an accomplished architect, and now restaurant/bar owner, Darek Pasieka continues to turn heads with his ‘past meets present’ ideas. As he puts it, “Respecting the past, celebrating the present, and looking into the future. This is my architecture.”

Join us this month for an unforgettable Get Your PHX as we head to Phoenix’s Milk Bar. Pierogi provided courtesy of our host, Darek Pasieka, and cash bar for drinks. Bonus points for anyone that dons a bowler hat, eyelash embellishment or white suit!

As always, please RSVP below. “Na zdrowie!”
                                                           (Cheers!)

Where: Milk Bar: 801 N. 3^rd St.
Date: Thursday, April 23^rd
Time: 6:00PM – 8:00PM
Bonus: Pierogi and prizes! Don’t forget your raffle ticket at the door!
RSVP: April Get Your PHX: Milk Bar

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For those of you who are long-time readers, you know that I’m a fan of the Cromford Index. The index not only tells you whether we are in a seller’s market or a buyer’s market, but also by how much we are going one way or another.

If you are buying a home, you’ll want to watch this trend. If the Cromford Index is moving upward, you need to move before it goes too far in to the seller’s advantage.

If you are selling a home, you need to watch out for the opposite trend. If you see the index moving downward, then you want to be more aggressive in your pricing –get out ahead of the market so you are not chasing it downward.

So, where are we now? Check this out.

Remember, 100 is a balanced market. Over 100 is a seller’s market and under is a buyer’s market.

See how much of a buyer’s market it was during the Great Recession? Then see how the seller’s took over from 2010 to 2014? Those were the people who bought during the lowest of the crash and then sold once we started to recover.

Notice also that we’ve been mostly riding 100 for a little while. Well, it looks like we are moving up towards a seller’s market once again. What does that mean? It means that sellers have an advantage — no seller-paid closing costs, prices will go up if supply stays low.

Combine this with the possibility that interest rates may go up later this year and you will want to get on in to the hunt today if you are a buyer.

If you are a seller, those interest rates are mixed news. Yep, the market seems to favor you, but an increase in interest rates may deter buyers. Or, it may encourage buyers to get in the market. We will see.

Check out this chart over just the last month. This market is definitely heating up. Just in the last month, the index for Phoenix has moved upward 14%. Only Tempe dropped.

What this means for you also depends on your specific situation and the neighborhood in which you live.

No doubt, this is a shifting market.

If you need help navigating it, please give me a call at 602-456-9388 and let’s assess the situation.

Thank you Tracy Perkins of Strawberry Hedgehog for hosting February’s Get Your PHX, and our friends at Mother Bunch Brewing for supplying some tasty brews. I got to meet some fun folks and support on of our long-time friends. 

In March, Get Your PHX is celebrating a milestone with our good friends at Co-Working on 15th Ave: a one-year anniversary! Join us this month for craft beer, food and an exclusive look at the new way to do business.

Seven rooms with twenty desks fill the adaptive reuse building, which was transformed from a home into a co-working space for business owners looking to meet somewhere a lot more professional than a Starbucks.  

Also, you’ll save money and skip the guilty feelings that force you to purchase five cups of coffee just to keep the barista from glaring at you.

We chose Co-working on 15th Ave because of the price. You won’t have to break the bank with daily pricing starting as low as $15 or even when opting for monthly membership, which peaks at an incredibly reasonable rate of $250.   

Second, a co-working environment naturally generates a more relaxed setting, which means better networking. Forget the stuffiness of elevator speeches and hustling business cards. Here you’ll find an array of industries ranging from United Cerebral Palsy to Fountain Honey Media to Sacred Brewing Co.,  which will afford you networking opportunities without even trying.

Third, Co-working on 15th Ave keeps you in the business world with suggested outside events as well as  co-op-hosted educational events and mixers. Most recently, the National Society of Hispanic MBA’s (NSHMBA) celebrated its Phoenix Chapter launch with Collectivo.

The space also provides members with access to a full kitchen, relaxing back patio, parking space and more all included in the price and is conveniently located in downtown Phoenix, right on the 15th Ave bike path. “Co-working on 15th Ave was created for hardworking people to get the job done without having to miss out on social interaction.”

Check out downtown’s premier co-working spot for yourself this March with Get Your PHX and enjoy local craft brews, complimentary appetizers and great conversation. As always, please RSVP using the link below.

 Also, please RSVP here. 

 And check us out on Facebook. 

Where:
Co-Working on 15th Ave
3428 N 15th Ave
Phoenix, 85015 (Map it)
When: Thursday, March 19th, 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Don’t forget: Free raffle ticket, complimentary food and drinks

So, I’m not usually one to use my own blog to complain about customer service.

But, here’s an issue that I can’t find any other way to get an answer to.

Let me explain.

A few years ago, I purchased a copy of Quicken, which allows me to sync with my bank so that I can keep track of my accounts.

Sounds like a standard feature and one that I expected to be part of the software that I purchased, in perpetuity.

So, I was shocked to get this email a few weeks ago. The long and short: “You must pay to upgrade to the latest Quicken or we will shut off that feature that allows you to sync with your bank.”

I can keep the software and do other things, but I can’t do that really, really important thing that I bought the software to do.

Isn’t this coercion? Isn’t this like holding my software hostage until I purchase their expensive upgrade.

Will somebody who knows more than I do about this please let me know if I’m totally off my rocker here?

—————–Update——-

Here is Quicken’s response: https://qlc.intuit.com/questions/160620

 In brief: they maintain servers which allow users to access their banks.

My response: I still think this sets up a system of holding software ransom. Even if I did not believe that, I think Quicken did a terrible job explaining the “why” behind this decision, let alone being available when I tried to reach them via the website for an explanation. I should not have to go to Twitter and my blog to get an answer.

I was honored to be invited to the public presentation of a new pre-fabricated home that has been built for a returning war veteran named Said Ali, by a group called Rebuilding Together.

I was not part of the project, but I got a tour. This new home was build with impressive energy efficiency measures. It had solar hot water, a tankless water heater, energy efficient appliances, lots of insulation and LED ceiling lighting. I encouraged the planners to follow low water use landscaping for a lush desert look at the home, rather than grass, which would saddle the owners with huge water bills.

This use of energy efficiency in homes is not an academic issue. Let’s look at the numbers.

In a house this size, the inclusion of solar PV, solar water, water and electricity-efficient appliances and smart landscaping will save the owners between $150 and $200 per month. That is a savings of between $1,800 and $2,400 per year. If the owners of this home were to put that money in savings every month, they will have around $30,000 set aside for their young son to go to college 14 years from now.

That ain’t chicken feed.

Thank you all for an amazing 2015 Phoestivus. We had about 3,000 people visit each night. The early numbers suggest that our vendors sold about $90,0000 worth of goods. That’s an incredible support for locally-owned businesses.

A special thanks to our sponsors, CenPho.com, Co+Hoots, Core Crossfit, Downtown Phoenix Partnership, SRP, Ruby Ride, Local First Arizona, New Times, Oasis on Grand, Public Market Cafe, Blue Sky Airport Parking, Roosevelt Row, Bookman’s, SunBelt Rentals, Yelp, Best in Show, Phoenix Ale Brewery and, you know, me –Ken Clark, HomeSmart Realtor.

Get Your PHX is kicking off 2015 by celebrating not one but two fantastic concepts to arrive at Civic Space Park: Fair Trade Community Kitchen & Grid Bike Share.

So, on to the January, 2015 Get Your PHX event. Fair Trade Café owner, Stephanie Vasquez, along with her long-time friend and fellow foodie, Ingrid Hirtz, are taking vegan and vegetarian cuisine to the next level at their new Community Kitchen concept.

“My Community Kitchen focuses on organic vegetarian cuisine. This is very important to me for many reasons. I believe that it is far too difficult to find conscientious food options affordably,” Stephanie says.

And with such close proximity to the ASU campus, Stephanie felt she should be doing more to provide good food to developing minds, adding, “… It is partially my responsibility to provide healthy delicious options to our future leaders.”

Along with a plentiful menu throughout the week, Fair Trade Community Kitchen offers a ‘pay-as-you-can’ weekly family style dinner every Sunday where meals are donation-based intended to make nutritious meals more accessible to all.

“Basically, we offer family style dining which previews that week’s take out menu prepared by Ingrid who owns and operates Your Community Cook in addition to the ‘pay as you can’ program.”

Civic Space Park also recently installed Grid Bike Share, the newest concept to hit downtown Phoenix.

Ladies, break out your pedal pushers!

The share program is simple: Pay hourly, monthly or annually and ride as much as you’d like. Grid Bike members also receive special benefits such as collecting reward points for locking up outside certain locations, which can then be redeemed at participating businesses.

And riders aren’t the only ones that benefit – businesses earn more too! Researchers found Nice Ride Minnesota users, a bike share in Minneapolis, “spent an extra $150,000 at local businesses near the bike share station.”

Now that’s a lot of dough!

As a special treat, you just might get your chance to test out the new neon green cruisers for yourself because Grid Bikes has generously donated a one-year membership to our raffle, valued at $79!

You won’t want to miss this month’s Get Your PHX pick as we check out Grid Bike Share and enjoy fresh and delicious samples from Fair Trade Community Kitchen.

Please remember, this is NOT at the Fair Trade on Roosevelt.

Also, please RSVP here.

Where: Fair Trade Community Kitchen (at Civic Space Park): 424 N. Central Ave. (Map it)

When: Thursday, January 22^nd, 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Thank you to Local First Arizona Localists and our friends at Mother Bunch Brewing for hosting the October Get Your PHX. 

This month, Get Your PHX is checking out Rollover Doughnuts new digs on Central and Vernon. Rollover has recently taken over ownership of Shine Coffee, but don’t worry, the sale comes with a perk. Shine’s current employees will continue serving up coffee and espresso favorites as Rollover’s new staff.

Rollover Doughnuts is the delicious brainchild of Brad and Kat Moore, the very same husband-and-wife team that brought you Short Leash Hot Dogs. “…Our mission is to create a unique twist on a classic favorite. Our fare is simple, creative and straightforward with a focus on using local purveyors and natural ingredients.”

What sets their doughnuts apart is the dough. Brad and Kat decided to take a gamble and use brioche, which has made an incredible difference. Kat explains, “Brioche is an enriched dough that is made with eggs and butter. It is light and fluffy and we feel it is the best doughnut for our creations.” 

Always made from scratch, Rollover offers something for everyone, 13 flavors and one feature doughnut each week, to be exact. There are classic favorites, like strawberry glazed, chocolate glazed and vanilla bean glazed, as well as spicy new twists like Foxy Cinnamon with spiced pumpkin custard, orange rum glaze and toasted pumpkin seeds. 

While in the midst of converting a 1964 International truck into Rollover’s new mobile headquarters they struck a deal with their good friends, Laryn and Christiaan Blok of Shine Coffee. “Over the summer (and a few bottles of wine) the Moores and the Bloks hatched a plan to make this transition.“

Although Brad and Kat aren’t planning on any drastic modifications, they have implemented a few new changes. “Just based on what people are saying they want, like we added Sundays… and a ping pong table.” Also, they are hoping to start yoga on Sundays, some evening events and, with the amazing pop-up park right next door, you can bring your dog and your appetite and never go home again.

The small complex is also the new home of Oven + Vine. This brick oven concept focuses on cooking with local foods and pouring Arizona wines and beer. Like we said, you’ll never need to leave. 

This November, let’s get outdoors to enjoy this great weather and to celebrate our good friends at Rollover Doughnuts for giving us another great reason to sit and stay.

RSVP using the ‘Tickets’ link

For updates, check out the Facebook page here.

As always, please RSVP below. Salut!

When: Thursday, November 20th, 5:30P – 7:30P
Where: Roll Over : 10 W. Vernon (Map It)
Specials: FREE raffle ticket! 
RSVP: Please RSVP here.

Please save the dates for Phoestivus 2014. This year we have plans to open up the beer garden to entire event. We will have more than 100 locally-owned vendors, a dozen food trucks, the annual raffle and loads of new sponsors.

Local ride share company, Ruby Ride, will be our official transportation this year. Yep, we are big enough to have official things like that. 

SRP will be on hand to demonstrate new, energy efficient LED Christmas lights. 

And, of course, we will have the airing of grievances, the feats of strength and the Phoestivus Poll.

If you are a locally-0wned vendor, you might still have time to apply for a booth at phoestivus.com. 

Its gonna be a big year. We are looking forward to seeing you out.

Thank you to Local First Arizona Localists and our friends at The Newton for hosting the September Get Your PHX. We had a great time and learned about all of the new businesses at The Newton.

This October Get Your PHX is raising a glass and welcoming Mother Bunch Brewing, Downtown Phoenix’s newest brewery and restaurant.

When we heard Julie Meeker, owner of Mother Bunch, was combining her love of craft beer, science and engineering together to open a brewery with her husband, Jimmy McBride, we were instantly intrigued.

As a long-time home brewer and self-proclaimed “beer nerd”, Julie’s approach was to create a “sophisticated but not complicated” atmosphere with beer that is “approachable”, not snobby.

As a special treat, Get Your PHX attendees can get a sneak peek behind the scenes with guided tours of the brewery.

Mother Bunch is located inside the historic J.B. Bayless landmark on seventh and Garfield. Inside, Julie and Jimmy have renovated the space to include thick wood top tables, a seating area with leather chairs and refurbished pews from an old church in Tucson, which pay homage to the great beer halls of Germany.

Chef Holly Arguello’s brings classics like Salty Pork Rinds, Grand Mussels Steamed in MB Beer and Gourgeres, savory French pastries mixed with dough and cheese. “It’s pub fare with a French twist,” explains Julie.

William Hampton joins Mother Bunch as head brewer collaborating with Julie to create upcoming signature ales, including an oatmeal stout, smoked cherry porter, and single hop pale ale.

Although it will still be a few weeks before Mother Bunch’s own fills the taps, for now, folks can enjoy all 20 selections on tap of Arizona’s finest, like College Street (Lake Havasu), Huss (Scottsdale), San Tan (Chandler), and Four Peaks (Tempe).

Opening in in Downtown Phoenix was Julie’s first choice. Having grown up on the east coast she gravitated towards an urban core and when she moved out here, she managed art studios in the 90’s as the art walk was just getting started.

“Even though I went in another direction after graduate school, I still followed the progress Downtown. I can’t imagine opening Mother Bunch anywhere else!”

Just for Get Your PHX, Julie’s offering $4 beer tasting flights –and if you pay with cash, there’s no added tax.

For updates, check out the Facebook page here.

As always, please RSVP below. Salut!

When: Thursday, October 23^rd, 5:30P – 7:30P
Where: Mother Bunch Brewing: 825 N. 7^th St.
Specials: FREE raffle ticket! $4 beer flights + light appetizers and brewery tour.
RSVP: October GYP: Mother Bunch Brewing