After years of legal and financial hurdles, Dean Thomas is bringing his popular Cornish Pasty Co. restaurant to Phoenix.
Thomas took over the former Monroe’s Wine and Spirits on Central Avenue and Monroe Street in 2009 but faced issues regarding city codes that prevented him from opening the new location. A lack of funding stalled renovations since then, but now the funding is in place and designs for the new restaurant are in the works. The English pub and restaurant is set to open late January or early February.
Thomas, a Cornwall native, used to bake pasties with his grandmother and brought her recipe to the United States and into his company. Alongside Thomas is his right-hand man, a self-described title of the position Lauren Almeter holds.
“No one’s ever asked me what that means before,” Almeter said. “The position didn’t actually exist before he offered it to me, so I came up with the title of executive assistant, and he shut it down and said it was too corporate. That just kind of gives you the feel of how our company is, very relaxed.”
Almeter is excited for the new opening in Phoenix because it’s been such a long time coming. She believes the relaxed vibe the company carries is why it’s doing so well.
“I’m happy to see this dream come true. I’m really excited for this Phoenix opening,” she said. “When we first opened in Tempe we had no idea what we were doing. Now we’ve had a few more opportunities so it isn’t super new in Phoenix. It should be beautiful.”
Customers are also excited to see the company move to Phoenix. Erik Isaacson, a newer customer, said he tried the restaurant just a few months ago and loved it.
“It’s a great place to hang out. Not only that but I had never even heard of a pasty before until my friend dragged me to this place,” he said. “I go to Phoenix because I have friends down there, so it’ll be nice to take them to one of my favorite places.”
Almeter agrees that there isn’t a restaurant quite like theirs in the Southwest.
“Honestly we don’t have that much competition here,” she said. “But when you have such a great product, especially if it’s uncommon, people will take notice.”
People have taken notice. Anne Dulberg, a customer of the Tempe location, said she couldn’t be more excited for the opening in Phoenix.
“I go to the downtown campus as well as the Tempe campus at Arizona State University so I’m in Phoenix a lot,” she said. “I love to come here with my friends, or even to just pick up a snack before or after class, so it’s really neat now that it’s within walking distance for me downtown.”
Almeter is as excited as any customer. She’s been with the company almost since it’s started, and she’s glad they’ve taken it so slow.
“Other companies move to fast and they lose who they are, or they become too corporate. That’s what makes us so unique, we refuse to lose the integrity of this company, and that plays into our success,” she said. “That, and luck.”
Contact the reporter at sarahbrooke1317@gmail.com.
