These 10 restaurants and bars are closed permanently
Each month, metro Phoenix sees a number of local restaurants close for good. The 10 closures from the last few weeks — many of which, owners say, were direct results of the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic — underscore the importance of the community supporting local businesses to help them survive.
In many of the closing announcements posted to social media, business owners implored Valley residents to continue shopping and eating at the places they love to keep them afloat.
As of Oct. 29, the number of new coronavirus cases in Arizona were climbing once again. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Arizona Department of Health Services, dining out at a restaurant is ranked among the second most risky activities during the coronavirus pandemic. However, many restaurants continue to serve takeout and many offer curbside pickup, contactless payments and delivery.
In the final days of September and throughout October, restaurants, bars, cafes and breweries have closed from Chandler to Tempe and Mesa to Glendale. One new pizza restaurant closed after being in business for little over two weeks, another closed after five years. A local chain is down to two remaining locations after 29 years of serving the community.
Here are 9 metro Phoenix restaurants that closed in October and one shortlived restaurant that met its end on Sept. 30.
The Ivy Mediterranean Lounge
The Ivy Mediterranean Lounge, located on the northeast corner of Germann and Dobson roads in Chandler, has closed. The restaurant opened around five years ago and announced its closure on its Facebook page.
“While we have weathered many storms, not all can be conquered,” the post reads. Owners credited the closure to the coronavirus pandemic and financial difficulties that it has caused.
YC’s Mongolian Grill
YC’s Mongolian Grill was first introduced to the Valley 29 years ago. In March, the popular Tempe-based chain had five locations around metro Phoenix. Since then, the company has downsized in order to save the remaining locations. In October, the Scottsdale restaurant closed, leaving two open locations in Tempe and Gilbert.
Kood Tea Bar & Cafe
Tempe Chinese restaurant and tea shop Kood Tea Bar & Cafe has permanently closed. The restaurant was located on Rural Road just south of U.S. Route 60 and served a selection of dishes including fried rice and noodles along with more traditional hot pots, chicken curry and lamb soup. The drinks menu included milk teas and specialty fruit teas. The restaurant closed on Oct. 4.
Helio Basin Brewing Company
Arcadia-area brewpub Helio Basin Brewing Company closed in October, but the space will continue to produce beer. Owners announced the closure hand in hand with news that southern Arizona favorite Tombstone Brewing Company would be moving in. The transition was quick, with Tombstone North opening within a week of the announcement.
Helio Basin opened in 2016 and, according to the owners, the brewpub struggled to stay afloat during the coronavirus pandemic, leading them to sell the pub complete with its brewing equipment. The food menu remains the same and is now offered at Tombstone North.
The Pizza Experience
The Pizza Experience in Gilbert may take the cake, or the slice, for the shortest lived restaurant this year. Located on the southeast corner of Warner and Lindsay roads, the restaurant held its grand opening on Sept. 14. On Sept. 30, staff from the restaurant posted an announcement to social media explaining the restaurant had since closed.
In a comment on the post asking what happened, the official Pizza Experience Instagram account replied with, “the owner left the country without telling his staff.”
El Hefe
A popular spot with Arizona State University students, Tempe Mexican restaurant and nightclub El Hefe has closed. Riot Hospitality Group, the company that owns El Hefe, would not elaborate on whether there is a possibility for the restaurant to reopen at some point in
the future, but confirmed that the Tempe location is closed. El Hefe in Scottsdale remains open.
Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row
In conjunction with El Hefe’s closure, it’s neighbor Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row has also closed. Riot Hospitality Group owns both restaurants on the corner of Sixth Street and Mill Avenue in Tempe. Locations of the country bar and restaurant remain open in Scottsdale and Gilbert.
Uncle Bear’s Brewery
Uncle Bear’s Brewery may be best known for its Peanut Butter Cup Porter that can be found at grocery stores and bottle shops around the state, but this brewery has a few restaurants as well. The Ahwatukee brewpub on Ray Road just west of Interstate 10, however, recently closed. The company sold the space to a new brewery called Wicked Brews, Bites & Spirits.
Chzburgr
Chef Kelly Fletcher’s West Valley burger joint Chzburgr has permanently closed. In an announcement made to the restaurant’s social media pages, the chef credited the closure to the coronavirus pandemic. Fletcher took a cautious approach to business during the pandemic, opening his dining room briefly before closing it again when COVID-19 case numbers spiked in Arizona. The restaurant continued to serve food for takeout and curbside pickup until it
closed permanently on Oct. 26.
The Cutting Board Bakery and Cafe
Mesa vegan restaurant The Cutting Board Bakery and Cafe is another business that succumbed to the financial instability of the coronavirus pandemic. The cafe closed in August with plans of reopening. But on Oct. 20, the owners took to Facebook to announce the doors would remain permanently closed. Coowner of the cafe Nadira Jenkins-El is still selling vegan food, however, at her new West Valley market, Cosmic Vegans.
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