Restaurants come and restaurants go. It's an inevitable part of the food and beverage business. But occasionally, some restaurants close that leave memories of delicious food dancing in faithful customers' heads.
This year, many restaurants closed across metro Phoenix, but a few will be remembered and pined after for years to come.
Two new collaborations, Roland's Market and downtown EDM venue Track Club, didn't survive their first year while other restaurants that have been open for decades, including Mill Avenue mainstay Restaurant Mexico, finally closed.
From long-time diners to short-lived spots, these are the biggest Arizona restaurant closings of 2019.
Roland's Market
Fans of Chris Bianco's Pizzeria Bianco and Tacos Chiwas got understandably excited when the acclaimed pizza chef announced a partnership with the folks behind tiny but mighty taco joint, Tacos Chiwas. The collaboration, however, barely came to fruition before its doors were closed in February 2019. Bianco turned the space into another location of his sandwich restaurant Pane Bianco.
Doc & Eddy's
After a large fire burned all but the walls of Doc & Eddy's sports bar in March, the longtime Tempe restaurant was forced to close.
The restaurant, which had been open for more than 30 years, didn't have a sprinkler system and a fire that started in the back office quickly spread throughout the building. No one was hurt in the blaze.
In March, owners told The Arizona Republic they planned to rebuild the restaurant. There is no date yet determined for a reopening.
Don & Charlie's
For spring training fans, Don & Charlie's was the perfect restaurant. Couple that with a friendly owner and it's a recipe for heartbroken fans when the restaurant closed its doors in April.
Many of those dedicated Don & Charlie's fans were baseball greats. Sports journalists, coaches and players frequented the steakhouse and knew it as a meeting place. Baseball memorabilia decorating the walls made the restaurant feel like home.
The world of baseball lost an icon when the restaurant closed due to its imminent demolition to make way for a new hotel project.
Pig & Pickle
On July 3, popular Scottsdale pub and comfort food restaurant Pig & Pickle closed its doors. A note posted on the door told customers the landlord seized the space due to defaults on the lease agreement. The restaurant was open for nearly seven years.
P&P Provisions, a neighboring market that sold ingredients including meats and cheeses from Pig & Pickle, closed along with the restaurant.
Jerry's
Despite a campaign from neighbors to save the restaurant, longtime Phoenix diner Jerry's closed in June. After 53 years of business, the diner closed to make way for a new car wash.
Coppa Cafe
Sometimes great food can be found in strip malls. One such gem was Coppa Cafe in Flagstaff, although it didn't remain hidden for long. Chefs Brian Konefal and Paola Fioravanti, a husband-and-wife team, put Coppa Cafe on the map as one of Arizona's most acclaimed restaurants.
After 8 years, Konefal closed the restaurant in June after his wife died of cancer. But even if the doors are closed, Konefal hasn't stopped cooking. The chef hosted pop-up dinners in the woods of northern Arizona this summer and told The Republic that his journey in food is far from over.
Glass Half Full bars and restaurants
Glass Half Full Hospitality restaurant group abruptly closed three Phoenix restaurants in metro Phoenix this June.
Camp Social, a camping themed restaurant; Hatter & Hare, an Alice in Wonderland themed bar; and Old Town Gringos, a Mexican restaurant in Scottsdale all closed within several days of each other. Notices posted on each of the business' doors informed customers of the closures.
Bar Pesce
It was a rocky road for Bar Pesce, originally Crudo, that ended with the restaurant's closure in July.
The restaurant, led by chef Cullen Campbell, opened in 2012 as Crudo. After opening and consequently closing another restaurant concept, Campbell redesigned the nationally- and locally-acclaimed Crudo and launched it as Bar Pesce. The second iteration was open for less than a year before closing its doors for good.
Gordon Biersch
At the beginning of last year, Phoenix was home to four locations of Gordon Biersch. Now, there are only two. The German-style brew pub closed its Scottsdale location in April and its longstanding Tempe restaurant in July. The Mill Avenue location had been in business for more than 20 years.
Locations remain open in Glendale and Gilbert.
Taqueria Los Yaquis
The Taqueria Los Yaquis food truck served tacos outside popular Phoenix gay bar, Charlie's Phoenix, for years. Customers of the bar and nightclub fueled their dancing with the Sonoran-style tacos and residents of the neighborhood stopped by for late-night eats.
In July the truck left its home at Charlie's and closed temporarily after a dispute with management. Charlie's featured a different truck for a short time before announcing plans to start their own taco truck before the end of 2019.
Los Compadres
Longstanding Phoenix Mexican restaurant Los Compadres closed its last location in July. A previous location closed in October 2018.
There is hope, however, for fans of Mexican food cooked by the family behind Los Compadres. Three new locations are in the works around the Valley and are planned to be smaller, fast-casual restaurants.
Until the new locations are open, hopefully within the next year, owners told The Republic fans can enjoy Los Compadres catering services.
Pobrecito
Located inside the Churchill — downtown Phoenix's collection of bars, restaurants and shops inside shipping containers — Pobrecito closed at the end of August. Owned by Barter & Shake, the company behind UnderTow tiki bar and Phoenix's new train-themed bar Century Grand, the trendy Latin-inspired cocktail bar was open for about a year.
All ties, however, are not lost as Pobrecito's general manager took over the space and opened his own cocktail concept called So Far So Good in October.
Restaurant Mexico
Restaurant changeover is familiar along Tempe's Mill Avenue. And although Restaurant Mexico relocated to different locations within the area, the Mexican restaurant was a staple in the neighborhood for 42 years.
That changed in August when the longtime Mexican food restaurant closed its doors for good. Owner Carolina Chavarria, 83, told The Republic that the time had come for her to retire.
The restaurant was replaced with a Taco Bell Cantina, a causal restaurant concept from the national fast food chain.
The Melting Pot
Scottsdale's location of the national fondue chain The Melting Pot closed in September. The Hayden Road restaurant played an important part in many Phoenicians' lives.
Over the restaurant's 22 year run, the popular destination for celebration dinners and special dates was the backdrop for more than 470 wedding engagements, owners told The Republic.
Valley residents continue to have two other locations of The Melting Pot to enjoy in Phoenix and Glendale.
Track Club
After downtown's DeSoto Central Market abruptly closed in the summer of 2018, Phoenix developer Chuckie Duff bought the space and planned to open a Las Vegas-style nightclub and EDM venue in the historic building.
A collaboration with local music and cocktail greats, the club opened in early October and then abruptly closed before the end of its first month of business. Planned concerts were moved to other venues and there is no notice of Track Club reopening in the future.
Reach the reporter at tirion.morris@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on Twitter at @tirionmorris, on Facebook at Tirion Rose and on Instagram at tirionrose.
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From Don & Charlies to Coppa Cafe: Here are 2019's biggest restaurant and bar closures - AZCentral
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