13 Sept 28th–Oct 4th, 2023 phoenixnewtimes.com phoenix new Times | cONTeNTs | feeDBacK | OPiNiON | NeWs | feaTuRe | NighT+Day | culTuRe | film | cafe | music | continues to recover from COVID, it will also take people running after-hours events, even if they lose money at first. “It’s just a matter of someone being willing to stick their neck out, step up and open up,” Sagasta says. “They’ll have to have all the right things in place, like location and staff.” He’s already testing the waters. Earlier this year, Sagasta began bringing in Mexican food carts like Baja Roots to operate until 2 or 3 a.m. in front of Jobot. Lanning says the Valley’s current nightlife hubs need to develop further. “Late-night places are going to tend to be around areas with a lot of housing density: Old Town Scottsdale, downtown Tempe and downtown Phoenix,” she says. “And I think you’ll see more as more people moving there to adopt an urban lifestyle. We’re playing catch-up in the density department.” Scottsdale’s entertainment district already has a handful of after-hours spots, including a hookah bar (Oasis), a taco joint (Mesquite Fresh Street Mex) and two pizzerias (Gus’s and Joe’s NY Pizza). Sean Watson, a veteran club scene DJ, says the smarter bet for developing a late- night hub is on Roosevelt Row. He points to a steady influx of new late-night restau- rants and bars in the area in recent years, including spots like pan-Asian eatery Disco Dragon and its adjacent speakeasy Fuck You Pay Me. And there are more on the way. “From my knowledge, there’s going to be a bunch of new venues opening up that are catering to late-night people,” he says. “People love new … and new is coming.” While Watson was mum on further details, he says RoRo also offers the neces- sary urban density, public interest and cool factor to succeed. Plus, the area might be getting a big assist from the city. In June, Phoenix offi- cials began the preliminary phases of creating an entertainment district down- town. According to Christine Mackay, the city’s Community and Economic Development Department director, the project would be part of expanding the Phoenix Convention Center and would also include a walkable area with 24/7 nightlife. As Mackay told “Arizona Horizon,” the public affairs show on Arizona PBS, the district would be akin to bar-heavy areas like Austin’s famed Sixth Street or Honky Tonk Highway in Nashville. It also could potentially include RoRo, she says. “Clearly, it would be around (Chase Field) and (Footprint Center), and then our convention center, but when you think about Roosevelt Row and the First Friday art walk and walking up into that area, it feels like it should connect all the way up into that area,” Mackay told “Arizona Horizon.” The Phoenix City Council voted unani- mously on June 28 to hire consultants to guide the project forward. It could be years in the making, but Martinez says the enter- tainment district is a potential game- changer for Phoenix nightlife. “I think (Phoenix is) finally coming around to wanting to have an entertain- ment district,” he says. “They’re coming to terms with what Scottsdale did years ago (with its entertainment district) to have more life downtown. We might be finally starting to see something truly vibrant down here.” Top: Steven Rogers (right), owner of The Works, DWNTWN, The Grand and other past and present Phoenix after-hours spots. (Photo courtesy of Steven Rogers) Bottom: One of the entrances to The Grand in downtown Phoenix. (Photo by John Chakravarty)
