23 Jan 25th–Jan 31st, 2024 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | FULL BAR! BILLS OF $50 OR MORE Dine-In or Take Out Not Including Combinations Dinner Only Expires 12/31/24 Closed On Tuesdays $5 OFF 2050 N. Alma School Rd., #36 • 480.857.4188 At the time, Anhelo’s fine-dining repu- tation was picking up steam. When they moved in and walked their two corgis, neighbors asked Jacobo what he did for a living. He said he worked at a restaurant. He’d tell them the name if they asked. Thanks to online research, neighbors quickly found out he owned Anhelo and told him they yearned for a nice restaurant in the neighborhood. Many invoked fond memories of House of Tricks, which closed in 2022 after 34 years. The restaurant was located in an old house and deemed the last white tablecloth celebration restaurant in central Tempe. Jacobo says filling that void is one of his goals. He spotted the vacant structure on Mill that had been many businesses in the past, including a salon and vintage shop. With its rough edges and age, the structure may have deterred many restaurateurs. But Jacobo’s previous experiences allowed him to see past the imperfections. Before Anhelo’s swanky Orpheum Lofts address, it was located in the former Rose & Crown building at Heritage Square. Jacobo called that space “a complete disaster.” Still, he made it work and grew a loyal clientele that led him to make the move into Anhelo’s current spot. “All your past experiences make you the person you become. If I didn’t have that space before this, I would’ve been over my head for sure,” he says. However, when he walked up the few steps that led to the restaurant in Tempe, Jacobo knew the elevation meant digging wouldn’t be required for the plumbing. The quirks of the space that come with a resi- dential layout of a house built in the Depression era were non-issues. He recalls mentally placing where the dining room, service area and kitchen would be. “There is so much charm in that little building. It was perfect and I could totally see a neighborhood restaurant,” Jacobo says. Giving back and inspiring others Like Anhleo, Flour & Thyme will have a philanthropic side. At Anhelo, a portion of the house wine sales benefits Loveiam, a nonprofit that assists children with heart defects and their families. Jacobo gives gift certificates to nonprofits’ silent auctions and the Anhelo Scholarship Foundation benefits his alma mater, the culinary program at Estrella Mountain Community College. He plans to do the same at Flour & Thyme but with a different beneficiary. His goal is to have each restaurant tied to a specific nonprofit and hopes his fellow restaurateurs will be inspired to do the same. Jacobo was born in Mexico and moved with his family to Goodyear when he was 3 years old. His dad worked in construction and his mother in a warehouse. He loved watching the Food Network, which sparked his culi- nary interest. He is the first person in his family to go to college and he relied on paychecks from working at a fast-food restaurant to pay his tuition. Once, he started the school year without textbooks because he couldn’t afford them. A class- mate shared his books with Jacobo until payday. “Restaurants give me one more oppor- tunity that I can give to somebody else that I wish I had growing up,” Jacobo says. One of very few fine-dining minority restaurant owners in the Valley, Jacobo has slowly learned to embrace this fact. He talks about a recent conversation with a young Hispanic man who is going to school to become a pilot, a goal he didn’t think was realistic until a Hispanic pilot spoke at his high school. “I didn’t want to put myself out there as a minority because I didn’t want the restaurants to be known for that. But now, I’m OK with it,” he says. “I’m an example that if you put in the hard work you can become a restaurant owner regardless of the color of your skin. I never thought I could be the one doing the inspiring.” When Jacobo opened Anhelo, he did so with Ikea silverware and items bought on Black Friday deals. He did what it took to function and then slowly transformed it into the restaurant he’d dreamed of. With Flour & Thyme, it’s a different story. Jacobo will open with the chairs and tables he wants, not just settle for. Every glass, plate and piece of decor will be his first choice. “This time, it will be the restaurant I want from the get-go,” he says. “That’s the beauty… it’s opening as it should be.” Flour & Thyme Opening late January Opening Thyme from p 21 “RESTAURANTS GIVE ME ONE MORE OPPORTUNITY THAT I CAN GIVE TO SOMEBODY ELSE THAT I WISH I HAD GROWING UP.” The new restaurant is designed to be a more casual counterpart to Anhelo. (Photo courtesy of Flour & Thyme)