Peoria residents are preparing to welcome three restaurant brands making their West Valley debut as part of The Park at 83 retail development.
The new $20 million project will feature popular wine bar Postino WineCafe and two well-known eateries under the Fox Restaurant Concepts LLC umbrella: modern Italian concept North Italia and Mexican eatery Blanco Cocina + Cantina.
All of this will be centered around a 2-acre park and community gathering space featuring year-round events adjacent to the Peoria Sports Complex in the city’s P83 entertainment district.
“Every one of these restaurants has an outdoor patio that’s probably two-to-three times their normal prototypes,” said Brian Frakes, a principal at Common Bond Development Group, the developer of the project. “The energy off these patios and off the park is going to be spectacular.”
The three new restaurants will be the first location for each brand in the West Valley as part of a larger effort by the cities there to bring more upscale retail concepts and reduce drive times for residents. They’re also adding to a growing trend of restaurant and retail projects in the Valley focusing on providing an experience to consumers with more amenities such as gathering areas, seating and landscaping.
The first two restaurants, North Italia and Blanco Cocina, are expected to open in October followed by Postino in January.
The buildings were built by A.R. Mays Construction and designed by Nelsen Partners. Prominent landscape designer Jeff Berghoff of Berhoff Design Group was the architect for the park, which will feature two acres of grass and trees centered around the core of the property.
Common Bond Development Group, the developer of the prominent Global Ambassador hotel in Phoenix, broke ground on the project in December after securing the tenants and working with the city through a request for proposal process.
Frakes brought in the three restaurants through his existing relationships with the CEO and co-founder of Postino, Lauren Bailey, and Sam Fox, who realized that their customer base included residents in the northwest Valley.
“We’d been talking to them quite a bit about the West Valley,” Frakes said. “We confirmed the demand for these concepts with the city — Jen Stein, the economic development director, was all over us, saying, ‘Hey, there’s a high demand for these restaurant users out there.”
Common Bond initially searched across Peoria for its project but chose the 2.6-acre site next to Peoria Sports Complex because of its regional access and surrounding demographics, as well as ample parking for patrons.
North Italia, which has four other locations in Arizona, will debut a first-to-market new fall and winter menu at its Peoria restaurant and feature sports decor as a nod to the city’s spring training complex next door.
Postino will feature its new cocktail menu and weekend brunch in Peoria including a rotating selection of boutique wines, newly introduced cocktails and craft brews. It will also sport a design based on the surrounding community.
By Audrey Jensen – Reporter, Phoenix Business Journal
