18 Feb 2nd–Feb 8th, 2023 phoenixnewtimes.com phoenix new Times | music | cafe | film | culTuRe | NighT+Day | feaTuRe | NeWs | OPiNiON | feeDBacK | cONTeNTs | ultimately collaborate with Postino to bring the restaurant west. “With Gilbert, I had to work to convince people the demographic would support those restaurants. I think the Southeast Valley is making people want to explore the West Valley. Everyone’s eyes are going to be open and think, ‘Why aren’t we out here?’” Frakes says. One of those people is Lauren Bailey, co-founder of Upward Projects, which is responsible for Postino and a number of other restaurants. Heading into areas where there aren’t many local choices is a huge incentive. This was a reason she decided to open in Gilbert. Today, that location is one of the busiest of the eight Postino restaurants in the Valley, she says. The powerful voices of West Valley fans, however, were responsible for putting the Peoria plan into motion. “To hear that Postino is really desired there — never in a million years I thought that would happen,” Bailey says. “People really want to have their spot in their community, and I hope Postino fills that for people in a way that bigger chains can’t.” For Row, the desire to have Postino closer to her north Peoria home was the seed that grew into Upper West Side PHX, a Facebook group that turned into a website for small business resources and Row’s full-time job. Before buying her house in Peoria, Row and her husband lived in Phoenix for several months. She knew Postino and other local favorites well. In Peoria, she started keeping an eye on promising shop- ping centers that could bring in the options she wanted closer to home. Every time she’d see a sign advertising a new center with restaurants opening soon, she’d cross her fingers and hope, “Please let this be upscale,” she says. Row shared her wish for a West Valley Postino on community app Nextdoor. After her post generated 500 comments, it evolved into Upper West Side PHX and a new occupation that led the insurance professional to quit the job she moved to be close to. Through Upper West Side PHX, Row connects interested business owners with commercial real estate agents and others in a position to assist them with finding a space. In addition to touting the West Valley’s business potential, the website provides information on existing local businesses to help generate support. Paid listings in the online business directory and consulting to help businesses reach the hyper-local community through social media generate revenue to keep the website running. There’s also a link that allows individuals to donate to the cause. Her Facebook posts tagged restaurants that followers wanted in their backyard. Row received messages from Bailey and Maggiore and is also in talks with Barrio Queen. When Postino announced its Peoria expansion, followers thought Row would retire. But she knew her work wasn’t finished. Today, she’s got 32,000 followers clamoring for more restaurants and updates about other independent busi- nesses headed west. “I’m an accidental influencer, but just because I want the best quality of life for myself and the residents of my commu- nity,” she says. Putting Peoria on the Map Row referenced lesser-known one-offs that, a few years ago, joined Lucidi’s quest to expand the dining scene: Fabio on Fire and Mochilero Kitchen in Peoria, Urban Margarita in Glendale, and Peoria Artisan Brewery. “What we’re doing is bringing aware- ness to this part of the map,” Row says. The area is calling out, “‘Hey, we’re up here, we want to spend our money,” she adds. A government official also has joined the campaign. In 2017, Jennifer Stein, the economic development director for the City of Peoria, sent Bailey the first of count- less emails. The message was always the same: Bring Postino here. “She was relentlessly reaching out. I was thinking, ‘She is obsessed with Postino coming to the west side. I love it,’” Bailey recalls. Like her fellow West Valley residents, Stein was accustomed to the long drive for certain restaurant experiences. Her battle to shorten that commute for herself and the city’s other 195,000 people has been years in the making. She kept hearing resi- dents bemoan not having specific local restaurants, so she decided to pursue them. “We can provide parks and libraries, but we’re not restaurateurs,” Stein says. So instead, her department made a concerted effort to provide the infrastructure — curbs and lighting, for example — that restaura- teurs request. “Thankfully, the secret is out. The city has all the right ingredients for restaurants to be successful,” Stein says. “The commu- nity has been craving these opportunities. They work hard, they play hard, and having a full-service community and amenities go hand-in-hand.” A slew of high-profile establishments are finding homes in Peoria, more so than Glendale, Avondale, or Surprise. Stein cites the city’s location and access to multiple freeways as a reason. About 15 years ago, North Italia opened at 67th Avenue and Beardsley in Glendale, in the heart of upscale Arrowhead Ranch. But the seemingly bulletproof Sam Fox concept closed three years later. Today, locally owned Urban Margarita thrives about a tenth of a mile away from where North Italia stood. ‘Scottsdale of the West Valley’ After decades of unfilled promises and false starts, the current independent restaurant movement appears to have legs. But considering the history, it begs some questions: Why now rather than five or 10 years ago? Is it a phase? Boosters in the area say a combination of residential growth, a younger demo- graphic, higher income, and West from p 17 >> p 20
