Sam Fox opening Yard concept in downtown Gilbert

on December 2, 2016

Sam Fox, the mastermind behind Fox Restaurant Concepts, which has developed concepts such as The Henry, Flower Child and North Italia, among others, has announced plans to open Culinary Dropout at The Yard in downtown Gilbert.

The 25,000-square-foot space, which is Fox’s biggest development yet, will open off Gilbert Road, adjacent to the Powerline Trail in the Heritage District — directly across from Heritage Marketplace, a popular restaurant development.

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Sam Fox

PROVIDED BY FOX RESTAURANT CONCEPTS

FRC and development partner Common Bond Development obtained the rights to the land from the town of Gilbert, and is slated to open in fall 2018.

Fox’s concept Zinburger already has a location at downtown Gilbert’s Heritage Marketplace.

“The sense of community in downtown Gilbert is contagious. It’s one of the reasons we’re so proud be a part of the town, and build an additional place where everyone can come together,” Fox said in a statement. “We are still working on details but The Yard at Gilbert Heritage District will definitely be designed with the whole family in mind.”

Culinary Dropout will be the space’s only tenant, occupying two floors. The first floor will have a full dining room, outdoor patio seating, bar, and two yard gaming areas, one for adults and one for kids; while the second floor will include The Coop, a 150-person event space. It’s the first time the concept has made space for a children’s area.

Fox opened his first Yard concept in uptown Phoenix a few years ago, which features multiple tenants with Culinary Dropout as the anchor. FRC opened its second concept in Tempe in the Farmers Arts District, which cost $11 million.

The Gilbert parcel cost considerably less for slightly more than $1 million, or $50 per square foot. Gilbert is leasing a hundred parking spaces to the restaurant as well.

The Gilbert development will be the seventh Culinary Dropout location, with locations in Scottsdale, Las Vegas and a recently opened Culinary Dropout at The Yard in Austin. A Tucson location is slated to open next year.

Downtown Gilbert has been in the midst of a restaurant boom in recent years with several high-profile Valley restaurateurs and groups opening concepts in the Southeast Valley city.

Last lighting of Grant Road lumber sign marked before repurposing to The Yard in Tucson

on September 9, 2016

 


Sam Hauert and his sons, David and Steve closed the Grant Road Lumber business last August after 66 years and held a last lighting ceremony with family and friends of the iconic Grant Road Lumber sign at 2543 E Gran Road in Tucson before the sale of property closed on September 1st.

Sam Fox, through affiliate company, Common Bond Development Group (Brian Frakes, manager) purchased the property for $1.325 million ($14.50 PSF) for land value of the 2.1-acre parcel located at Grant Road and Tucson Blvd.

Fox plans to transform the former Grant Road Lumber facility into The Yard in Tucson. “We have a vision that that whole area gets repurposed, and we hope we can be the genesis to jump-start that,” said Fox, who will incorporate the salvaged bricks and boards from the original structures into the new construction. “We like to find old buildings that have soul and character and repurpose them.”

Dean Cotlow of Cotlow Company represented the Hauerts in the transaction. “This will be one of the biggest and most significant redevelopment projects underway in Tucson,” said Cotlow. “The Grant Road Lumber Sign and some of the building walls are to stay in place.”

It will certainly be Fox’s biggest and most ambitious Tucson venture in the 18 years since he launched his restaurant career with upscale Wildflower on North Oracle Road in 1998. This will also be his first new concept here since 2007, when he opened Blanco Tacos and ZinBurger.

The restaurant at the center of the sprawling 19,000-square-foot Yard in Tucson complex will include a covered “yard” with couches, fireplaces, corn hole games, foosball tables and other backyard-style activities. A 150-seat dining room called The Coop, where Fox said they will hold private parties, weddings and corporate events, rounds out the project.

The concept is to be similar to The Yard in Tempe at the Farmer Arts District that opened in 2014. The Arizona Republic at the time called that the biggest project Fox had ever done. The Tucson concept will cost less than the $11 million Fox spent building the second Yard in Tempe.

Fox anticipates starting construction immediately for a September 2017 opening of The Yard in Tucson.

Trevor Cohen represented the buyer, Common Bond Development Group, also doing the work, an affiliate company with Fox and fellow Tucson native Brian Frakes.

For more information, Cotlow can be reached at 520.881.8180 and Cohen can be contacted at 602.803.1160.

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Sam Fox bringing The Yard dining entertainment complex to Tucson

on May 19, 2016

Arizona restaurant mogul Sam Fox will bring The Yard, his sprawling entertainment and dining complex, to his hometown of Tucson in 2017 at the old Grant Road Lumber, 2543 E. Grant Road.

It will be his biggest, most ambitious Tucson venture in the 18 years since he launched his restaurant career with the upscale Wildflower on North Oracle Road in 1998. And it will be his first new concept here since opening Blanco Tacos and Zin Burger in 2007.

Fox estimates the project will cost just under the $11 million he invested in The Yard in Tempe at the Farmer Arts District, which opened in late 2014. The Arizona Republic pegged that project as the biggest Fox has ever done.

Fox said he won’t close on the Grant Road property until September, so he’s reluctant to call it a done deal. But he already has begun courting the city’s blessings and has applied for a liquor license for Culinary Dropout, the restaurant at the center of the sprawling 19,000-square-foot complex that will include a covered “yard” with couches, fireplaces, corn hole games, foosball tables and other backyard-style activities. A 150-seat dining room called The Coop, where Fox said they will hold private parties, weddings and corporate events, rounds out the project.

In February, Tucson Planning and Zoning officials signed off on the preliminary design concept and a noise analysis that determined the project will not create an issue with neighbors, according to city documents.

“We’re excited about it,” Fox said. “We love the site, we love the history. It’s my hometown and we get a lot of requests to bring a lot of our concepts to Tucson.”

Grant Road Lumber closed last August after 66 years in business.

Fox is hoping his move to Grant Road will spur a mini-renaissance of the area, which includes two neighboring restaurants: the popular Kingfisher Bar & Grill, which has been a Grant Road mainstay for more than 22 years; and Dante’s Fire Cocktails & Cuisine, which has been around for several years.

Fox said he has witnessed similar renaissances in Tempe and central Phoenix, where he opened his first Yard in a 55,000-square-foot motorcycle garage and dealership in early 2013.

“We have a vision that that whole area gets repurposed, and we hope we can be the genesis to jump-start that,” said Fox, who will incorporate the salvaged bricks and boards from the original structures into the new construction. “We like to find old buildings that have soul and character and repurpose them.”

“I think that already in that area, with Kingfisher and some other great venues, there’s certainly the potential for creating sort of a mini-district that could be a destination for food and entertainment,” said Tucson City Councilwoman Karin Uhlich, whose Ward 3 includes that stretch of Grant Road. “Campbell Avenue already has that brand and is building on it. I think that it’s certainly possible.”

Uhlich said she believes a resurgence of the area will be market-driven, but “I can see where (Fox) will see that if he’s successful, other like investments could be drawn to the area,” she said.

“If you look at the stretch of Grant Road from the Country Club area east all the way to Swan, most of those properties are already commercially zoned and have some type of activity,” she said.

Fox anticipates starting construction in September and opening The Yard in September 2017.

The work is being done by Common Bond Development, a company he has with fellow Tucson native Brian Frakes.

In addition to several Fox Restaurant Concept projects over the past couple years, Common Bond developed Chandler’s new pedestrian-friendly retail center The Plant, set to open in the summer with Sprouts as a main anchor.

Culinary Dropout is a chef-driven gastropub with everything from breads and cured meats made in house. The menu includes a charcuterie section of meats and cheeses, meal-sized salads, burgers and entrees that range from house-made meatloaf to 36-hour pork ribs glazed with jalapeño and molasses.

Tucson’s Culinary Dropout will be Fox’s sixth. In addition to three Phoenix-area locations, he has a Culinary Dropout in Las Vegas at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and is opening one in the fall in Austin, Texas.

Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at cburch@tucson.com or 573-4642. On Twitter: @Starburch

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