21 May 9th-May 15th, 2024 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | Pizza Pairing Arizona Distilling Co. collabs with pizzaiolo to launch new Tempe menu. BY LAUREN TOPOR T he Tempe location of Arizona Distilling Co., poised on the corner of University Drive and Roosevelt Street, will soon offer wood-fired pizzas and shareable plates alongside its award- winning spirits and craft drinks. Ryan Moreno, the seasoned pizzaiolo behind downtown Phoenix’s SnapBack Pizzeria on Grand Avenue and the mobile pizza popup, The Hungry Homie, is taking over the Tempe distill- ery’s kitchen with his latest concept, &Juliet Neapolitana. The partnership was born from an introduction orchestrated by a mutual friend in the spring of 2023. After a few successful summer pop-ups at the Tempe distillery space, the collaboration got the green light. “They’re big advocates of shop- ping local, buying local, supporting the homies, supporting other small businesses and that’s always been my M.O. as a business owner,” Moreno says about the Arizona Distilling Co. team. Jason Grossmilller, co-owner and head distiller at Arizona Distilling Co., wants to bring “great spirits, great cocktails, and great food,” to the Tempe community. “Ryan is going to bring that,” he says. “We’re excited to have his collaboration.” In 2012, co-owners Grossmiller and Jonathan Eagan opened Arizona Distilling Co. in an industrial site west of downtown Tempe near Fifth Street and Farmer Avenue. In 2016, they moved the distillery into its current location. A few years later, the team launched their cocktail bar Old Walrus under the direction of tenured mixologist and Arizona Distilling Co.’s beverage director Micah Olson. Late last year, Arizona Distilling Co. opened a facility in downtown Mesa. The Mesa site, double the size of the Tempe outpost, is set to take over the bulk of the distillery’s production process. In Tempe, just behind the bar and through a metallic swinging door, Moreno cooks Neapolitan pies in a fire-engine-red Forno Bravo wood oven that Grossmiller and Eagan purchased during the pandemic. “My whole restaurant could fit in this oven,” Moreno says, laughing. At SnapBack, where New York-style pizza rules, Moreno’s Neapolitan pies are a popular request. Soon, Moreno will be able to “give the people what they want,” which in this case, is flame-smooched pizza topped with tangy tomatoes and melty cheese. The menu at &Juliet Neapolitana will feature a shortlist of shareables including salads, antipasti, pizza and (eventually) pastas, what Moreno calls a “start the night, end the night kind of thing.” Like the romance of Shakespeare’s lovers, Moreno hopes &Juliet’s Neapolitan pies will capture the hearts and taste buds of gastronomically inclined guests, not at first kiss, but at first bite. “I love doing Neapolitan, this is kind of what I have always been known for,” Moreno says. A tomato pie is first out of the oven. Moreno keeps it simple with Bianco toma- toes, olive oil, shaved garlic and basil. Later, Moreno fishes out another pie with a comi- cally long pizza peel and tops it with Bianco tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and dry-aged Ezzo pepperoni. Moreno’s whipped ricotta is presented with a healthy amount of Calabrian chile oil and blocky wedges of lightly charred bread made with Caputo flour. “The bread dough is just pizza dough,” Moreno says. “It’s just a big crust when it cooks.” For his caprese, Moreno swaps mozza- rella for the softer burrata. The dish comes together with local sunshine-yellow toma- toes, basil and balsamic. “I definitely want to play a lot with the booze and those flavor profiles and incorpo- rate their product into ours,” he says, noting his vodka sauce recipe already features Arizona Distilling Co.’s Mission Vodka. Moreno also has plans to put the pizza oven to work for other wood-fired dishes, including a bourbon-braised skirt steak with chimichurri sauce. In Phoenix, Moreno uses his platform and restaurant to champion industry up-and-comers through collaborations. In Tempe, he aims to spotlight chefs, mixolo- gists and small businesses from the East Valley with collaborative events. Grossmiller and Eagan are on board. “We want to do cool stuff in the space here,” Eagan says. “We’re always open to collaborations.” As of mid-April, Arizona Distilling Co. is waiting for the City of Tempe to approve new signage for the building, which includes representation for &Juliet Neapolitana and a redesigned Arizona Distilling Co. logo. As for the back of the house, Moreno says, “we’re ready to roll.” &Juliet Neapolitana will operate during Arizona Distilling Co.’s regular business hours. Moreno is pushing to open &Juliet Neapolitana by the end of May. &Juliet Neapolitana at Arizona Distilling Co. 601 W. University Drive, Tempe Arizona Distilling Co. teamed up with Phoenix pizza maker Ryan Moreno (left) to bring a new concept, &Juliet Neapolitana, to the kitchen of the Tempe bar. The menu will include Neapolitan-style pies. (Photos by Lauren Topor/Good Karma Photo) ▼ Food & Drink Food & Drink From Birdhaus to Bang Bang Phoenix family takes over neighborhood coffee shop. BY RUDRI PATEL A connection with family and community gave birth to Bang Bang Coffee, a new cafe in central Phoenix. Bang Bang Coffee opened its doors in the space formerly occupied by Birdhaus. Bang Bang Coffee’s owners, Ben Rushlo and Julie Higginbotham, had no idea their son’s job would pave the way for them to own a new business. “My son, Joel, started working for Birdhaus two years ago and we got to hear about all the regulars and how the coffeehouse was such a big part of the community,” Rushlo says. When Birdhaus closed, Rushlo and Higginbotham approached the owners, Dylan and Michelle Bethge, who agreed to sell the coffeehouse. The Bethges own Oven & Vine, a restaurant and wine bar located next door. Rushlo and Higginbotham took over the cafe and changed the name in mid-February. Even though Rushlo’s day job as an executive at a tech organization requires a different set of skills and, he nor Higginbotham had any hospitality expe- rience, they both didn’t want to pass up an opportunity to make a positive differ- ence in their community. >> p 23 Made-from-scratch waffles are available at Bang Bang Coffee. (Photo by Jacob Heimlich)
