21 June 15th–June 21st, 2023 phoenixnewtimes.com phoenix new Times | cONTeNTs | feeDBacK | OPiNiON | NeWs | feaTuRe | NighT+Day | culTuRe | film | cafe | music | Row on Roosevelt City board blocks Federales, a taco and tequila spot planned for downtown Phoenix. BY SARA CROCKER A Phoenix board sided with critics of a controversial taco and tequila spot on June 1, unanimously voting to block Federales’ path to land on Roosevelt Row. An appeal from two residents repre- senting concerned neighbors and business owners moved the city’s Board of Adjustment to renege on the approval of use permits and variances that would have allowed the development of the new concept on the northeast corner of Second and Roosevelt streets. Federales has locations in Chicago, Dallas and Denver. Four Corners, the hospitality company that owns the concept, wants to bring the indoor- outdoor restaurant and bar — known for tacos, margaritas and shot glasses made of ice — to downtown Phoenix. But the Federales name, along with other issues, sparked concern among Roosevelt Row neighbors. During a hearing on June 1, board members raised concerns about parking, size and impact to the neighborhood in their questions to representatives from Four Corners. “I am left with the impression that the applicant is trying to fit a square peg in a round hole here,” board member Ashley Hill said during the hearing. “I find it would cause an adverse impact… and I think the large showing of the community is evidence of that.” Some 25 businesses, six community and merchant groups, three churches and nearly 300 residents opposed Federales through letters and petitions. The 7-0 vote to overturn the zoning approval was met with applause from members of the audi- ence at City Council Chambers. “What’s shining though for me right now is an entire neighborhood just learned that their voice matters,” Kimber Lanning said following the vote. She spoke at the hearing as a represen- tative of the Roosevelt Row Merchant Association. Lanning owns Modified Arts, which opened on Roosevelt Row in 1999, and has been a proponent of the area for decades. Lanning is also CEO of Local First Arizona, though the organization is not involved in the debate over the develop- ment of Federales. What is Federales? Prior to the vote, Four Corners representa- tives shared a mix of surprise and frustra- tion at the negative response to their proposed restaurant. “This is one of our most well-received concepts we’ve created in 21 years,” said Four Corners owner Matt Menna. His group operates 11 restaurants and bar concepts that range from pizzerias and pubs to steakhouses. Most are located in Chicago. Menna describes the Federales concept as “tacos and tequila and a fun indoor- outdoor vibe” under a retractable roof. The Phoenix location was planned to feature 4,000 square feet of dining room space and 2,000 square feet of patio space. In total, about 275 seats. Carla Wade Logan, co-owner of Carly’s Bistro which is located across the street from the lot on which Federales would be built, shared concerns over the size of the project and the volume of liquor that would be served. Logan is also a member of the Roosevelt Row Merchants Association. Critics of the Phoenix location also shared concerns about the venue’s moniker. “Federales” is a slang term for the Mexican national police that can have negative or derogatory connotations. Menna says Four Corners agreed to change the name of the Phoenix spot after conver- sations with neighbors last year. Menna said renaming and rebranding the restaurant would start once he had the permit in hand for the project. Yet that didn’t appease concerned neighbors. “You can say you’re gonna do it, but have you done it? No,” Logan said. Neighbors were concerned about a host of other issues, ranging from the size of the space to how the proposed concept fits with the character, style and ethos of a neighborhood rooted in the arts. Critics also are wary of what they saw as a lack of transparency in the portrayal of the concept. Logan said Federales was being presented as family-friendly, serving lunch, dinner and brunch. After looking online and talking with people in other cities, local opponents of the concept say it functions more like a nightclub. “We realized we’ve got to do our own due diligence here because we’re kind of getting a couple of different stories,” Lanning said. In Denver and Dallas, the Federales outposts are in arts and entertainment districts similar to Roosevelt Row. They are located in the River North Art District, or RiNo, and Deep Ellum, respectively. “Be very aware (Federales) is not a restaurant, this is a club,” Denver artist Andi Todaro wrote in a letter that critics of the Phoenix outpost included in their appeal and provided to Phoenix New Times. Todaro also wrote that the addition of Federales “has had a very ill effect not only on the neighboring businesses but on the safety and appeal of the district as an arts hub.” When the Dallas location opened in 2022, the Dallas Observer — which is owned by the parent company of New Times — echoed sentiments that the restaurant and bar cultivates a party atmosphere. “Federales is not a taqueria,” the review reads. “It’s more like a swag-dripping day club that just so happens to serve tacos.” Party vibe or refined restaurant? That party vibe gives concerned residents deja vu of the ill-fated and since-shuttered Golden Margarita, which closed after Roosevelt Row neighbors complained of violence in and around the restaurant and nightclub, including an alleged homo- phobic attack. There also were allegations that staff members were not being paid on time or at all. “I think that the community was looking for some assurance about how [Federales] would be run, especially since the operators are out of town,” Logan said. Menna points to Four Corners’ history as restaurateurs and says the Federales in Phoenix would be adjusted to fit in with the neighborhood. But Lanning and Logan were troubled by what they saw in online reviews of Federales locations, including allegations of aggressive security staff and discrimina- tion based on race and sexuality. When they brought their concerns to Four Corners, they say their questions were met with defensiveness. “They acted hurt about the fact that we elevated the more than 80 reviews they have online as hurtful to them as opposed to hurtful to the people in the community that have been discriminated against,” Lanning said. Menna said most of the negative reviews are not credible. Yet Four Corners has taken to heart the concerns and are responding to and internally reviewing comments — bad and good — and any staff who are part of those interactions, he added. ‘It was unusual’ Logan said she was caught off guard when she first learned of the proposed bar and restaurant through a letter that stated that Four Corners’ was seeking zoning changes. Local business owners are required by the city to be notified of any new projects — a process that Logan is familiar with. But the letter was the first she’d heard of the project at all. “It was unusual to not have community outreach prior,” Logan said. She also is familiar with the land owner, Hubbard Street Group, which is devel- oping Skye on 6th, the 26-story apartment complex at Sixth and Garfield streets that is set to be completed this summer. Logan said the community outreach surrounding that project was great. Hubbard did not respond to requests for comment. By the time neighbors learned of the Federales proposal, began asking questions and met with the project team, opponents said there seemed an unwillingness to reconsider the use of the land, the scale of the space or the concept, and how it fits in an area with a rich history in the arts. “It felt a lot of it was going through the motions,” said Leah Marché, an executive board member of the Roosevelt Row Community Development Corp. She recalled one recent meeting in May with concerned neighbors, Four Corners and Hubbard. “You can’t tell the community what it wants. You have to truly listen to them,” she said. One proposal to modify the develop- ment adds office space for creative indus- tries atop the restaurant ▼ Chow Federales faced pushback from neighbors, and had its zoning approvals overturned on June 1. Four Corners >> p 22
