14 June 15th–June 21st, 2023 phoenixnewtimes.com phoenix new Times | music | cafe | film | culTuRe | NighT+Day | feaTuRe | NeWs | OPiNiON | feeDBacK | cONTeNTs | anniversaries or pre-wedding festivities. Around the corner, James Harrison and his wife emerged from a ride-hailing vehicle with friends. All are recent empty nesters. They made the 10-minute trip from their homes for a night out and were headed to The White Rabbit. Harrison had the month’s password — “Hush Havana” — visible on his phone. Ever since their youngest child left for college last summer, the Harrisons have hit downtown about once a month, they say. Sometimes they have dinner at Joe’s Real BBQ or Postino, check out a show at the Hale Centre Theatre or, like tonight, barhop. “It’s nice to have a central- ized place where we can do all of that and not have to drive too far or spend a lot on an Uber,” Harrison says. Joe Johnston’s outsized impact If there’s one person who understands the Gilbert life- style it’s Joe Johnston, whose family has been instrumental in shaping the town. The man behind Joe’s Farm Grill and Agritopia found success as an early downtown restaurateur, first with Joe’s Real BBQ and then Liberty Market. Johnston moved to the East Valley city when he was 2. He grew up near downtown and recalled that, while not the hubbub of activity it is today, it was never a ghost town that needed reviving. The inspiration for his barbecue restaurant came during the expan- sion of his former Coffee Plantation coffee house chain that brought him to Texas. Barbecue joints housed in old brick buildings there caught his eye. He returned to downtown Gilbert and saw the historic buildings through a new lens. Pondering his next project, Johnston realized parallels between the coffee and barbecue businesses. When Joe’s Real BBQ opened in 1998, Gilbert’s population was 60,000, he says. The restaurant options weren’t plentiful. Gilbert’s popula- tion has more than quadrupled since. “It was gangbusters since day one,” Johnston recalls. In 1943, Ben and Mae Ong purchased nearby Liberty Market and operated it as a grocery store. In 2006, when the store came up for sale, Johnston decided to keep it local rather than see it become a bland outpost of a big box. He and wife Cindy renovated the space and it evolved into the restaurant it is today. Around this time, downtown started to bustle. The idea of a restaurant that served wine, beer and cocktails also picked up traction amid a sea of family-focused eateries. “Liberty was more urban, but over time it did well. That got people noticing that maybe not just a family restaurant but more urban restaurants may do well,” Johnston says. Across the street, however, it was a different story. That space experienced multiple unsuccessful establishments, including Gonzo’s from Luis Gonzalez, the hero of the Diamondbacks’ World Series run in 2001. The restaurant folded after a year. The Postino Effect That changed in 2012, when Postino opened. Lauren Bailey, co-founder of Upward Projects, the parent company behind Postino, says Johnston helped alleviate many doubts about expanding into the unproven area. Any residual reserva- tions were eliminated the day Postino opened. Bailey and co-founder Craig DeMarco under- estimated how busy they’d be right off the bat and called in employees from other stores to help. Bailey was filling drink orders and DeMarco was washing dishes. That pace inspired the opening of Upward Projects’ Joyride Taco House next door the following year. “There were a lot of chains, but I think that area was so hungry for hallmark favorites to come out there. They had to drive so far for a place to hang,” Bailey says. After Postino, high-profile establishments like O.H.S.O. Brewery and Distillery, The Porch, Whiskey Row and Sam Fox Restaurant Concepts’ Culinary Dropout and Zinburger followed. The proof was in the wine carafe. “A Gilbert person can succeed in Gilbert. But when a Phoenix person comes in and succeeds in a more urban and alcohol-centric environment, people stand up and notice,” Johnston says. An influx of high-paying healthcare, tech and other big industry jobs has created a community with income to spend. According to the 2021 Census, Gilbert has the second-highest median household income in the Valley at $105,733. It follows Paradise Valley’s $203,659, overtook Scottsdale’s $97,409 and is ahead of the $91,299 of nearby Chandler. “Gilbert has always been underesti- mated,” Johnston says. However, there is one aspect that was not. In fact, quite the opposite. ‘People don’t drink out there’ The public’s perception of Gilbert is that it’s a Mormon town. Yet, actual numbers are difficult to come by. The Census Georgann Yara Surprise resident Kayla Murillo planned her bachelorette party in Gilbert. Glow Up from p 13
