Pasta Bar closed its doors after being open for nearly two years, while Verde, a nearby restaurant, shut down in December 2010 after being open only seven months. (Salvador Rodriguez/DD)
It was an easy decision. I wanted to go somewhere nice on my first day back in Phoenix, and Pasta Bar was the destination.
It’s one of those hot spots that every city has — the one with great food, maybe a little expensive, but is a must-try for anyone wanting to be considered a real local.
On the list of great Phoenix restaurants, Pasta Bar was way up there. It was a starter on the All-Star team, the kind of place you tell out-of-towners about so they’re impressed with your city. The quality of food was top notch — some of the best in downtown Phoenix — and the atmosphere was great.
Too bad it was never busy.
Which explains why the doors were locked and the lights were off when I got there. The sign outside said it was open 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays, and it was only about 8 p.m.
The next day I heard from a friend that it was closed for good.
Thus began the stages of grief, starting with denial. There was no way Pasta Bar could have closed. It had a great location, close to the Downtown campus — less than a five-minute walk — and the food was delicious. It didn’t make sense.
After denial came the anger and guilt. Why had we, the Downtown campus, let Pasta Bar down? Everyone talks about how much they hate the dining hall and how Aramark’s convenience store prices are ridiculous, but no one wants to put in the effort of finding alternatives. This is why we can’t have nice things!
And it happened barely a month after Verde, a little north up First Street, closed just seven months after opening. That’s two places within leisurely walking distance of the campus. Both were the kind of restaurants that focused on the quality of their food more than anything else, but struggled to bring in the necessary clientele. Are we ignoring Phoenix’s best food for the expediency of the dining hall, the convenience store and the nearby Subway restaurants?
There are other stages of grief, but after a talk with urbanism expert Yuri Artibise I skipped to acceptance. Artibise reminded me of the sad truth that restaurants fail all the time. For a restaurant to close after two years — Pasta Bar was nearing its second birthday — is not surprising in a bad economy.
In fact, Artibise said, we probably have too many restaurants downtown for our relatively low population. And with the influx of 12 new restaurants in CityScape that have opened or are going to open this year, something had to give.
“There’s a big push for entertainment and a big push for restaurants,” Artibise said, “but you just can’t have dozens of restaurants downtown without all that many people. And then with CityScape opening up … you know, it’s tough.”
Plus, Pasta Bar was expensive. Only two entrees were less than $14 and even the appetizers cost as much as $12. When college students make up a large percentage of a restaurant’s business, things need to be affordable.
So it wasn’t all our fault. Pasta Bar was too expensive to be a regular stop for ASU students and too far from the sports arenas to benefit from game days.
But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing we can do in the future. Maybe we do have too many restaurants, but we can never have too many good ones.
“What students can do,” Artibise said, “is save your job money, and don’t be restricted by where your meal card gets you.”
Even if Pasta Bar’s closing wasn’t our fault, there’s more we can do in the future. ASU students make up a significant portion of the downtown population, so if we enthusiastically endorse a business, it stays. But it does take enthusiasm. The choices ASU students make will be integral in defining downtown Phoenix as an up-and-coming area rather than one that struggles through the recession. If the city of Phoenix can invest hundreds of millions of dollars in this campus, we can invest $15 in a great bowl of pasta, at least every once in a while. On date night or when your parents come to town, take advantage of Phoenix’s unique restaurants.
So here’s the silver lining to the cloud of Pasta Bar’s closing. Because of Pasta Bar’s great location, we had two other delicious options nearby after finding it locked up: Sens Asian Tapas and Turf Irish Pub. There are other great restaurants that we can support. The city of Phoenix needs ASU to help keep its best businesses afloat.
Be an advocate. You don’t have to spend all that much, but when you do leave the dining hall, make sure the businesses you endorse are important to your community. When it comes to good food downtown, use it or lose it.
Contact the writer at john.l.fitzpatrick@asu.edu
Nice article. Although I’m sad to see PastaBar gone, I think the restaurant made some mistakes that accelerated its demise. That’s not the best discussion to have right now, though. Instead, I like your forward-looking call to support those restaurants that continue to operate near ASU Downtown. There are many: Matt’s Big Breakfast, the Turf, the Breadfruit, Sens, and Moira all come to mind.
Regarding Yuri’s statement that Downtown has too many restaurants, I think we’re in a difficult chicken-or-egg situation. Sure, one can look at population statistics and reach the conclusion that there are too few people living nearby to support dozens of restaurants; however, it’s difficult to lure new residents Downtown without a base of appealing places to eat within walking distance. Ultimately, it’s a question of what the market will bear — not only in terms of which restaurants can appeal to nearby residents, including ASU students, but also which restaurants can make themselves such memorable destinations that people from throughout the metro area will make a trip to enjoy them.
I’d add the cafe at the Urban Grocery and Wine Bar (Phoenix Public Market) to your list.
You can also put some of the blame on the restaurant owners here, too.
From what I can tell, they did zero advertising. They did zero marketing. They offered no special deals for huge fans. They didn’t join any local groups or community organizations.
Compare that to say, Liberty Market in Gilbert. Joe is everywhere. Everyone knows him. He volunteers, he treats his customers like kings and honestly, the food at his places is good, but it’s not Pasta Bar quality. Liberty Market, along with his other two places, survive because they are fun places to eat that I gladly would drive out of my way for.
Pasta Bar just made people feel like dicks if they wanted substitutions.
I think it’s all on the residential at this point. We need more of it. Roosevelt Square is 97% leased, Alta is over 90% leased, there are no homes for sale in my condo building, etc. We need more supply, b/c the demand is there. Hopefully Monroe44 helps out with that some, but they’re doing shit for marketing – which unfortunately seems to be a theme with the downtown business community.
We have enough restaurants and events and activities – downtown is easily one of (if not the most) active and eclectic places in the Valley. We just don’t market it very well to combat the perception problem that persists from what downtown was 10 years ago.