On First Friday this November, downtown Phoenix will say goodbye to restaurants and gathering places along Roosevelt Street before their pending demolition.
Alliance Residential Company, a national property developer, is building a mixed-use — combination housing and retail — residential complex on Roosevelt, Third and Fourth streets. The project will mean the destruction of Paz Cantina and the site of shuttered community grocery store Bodega 420.
The area was slated for demolition by developer Wood Partners earlier this year, but the company withdrew its plans following community protests.
Adrian Fontes, who operated Bodega with his wife until spring 2014, said he heard about Alliance’s plans about two months after Wood decided against development.
Related: Community grocery store Bodega 420 closes as owners look to spend more time with family
“I still had an office there until recently,” Fontes said. “My initial reaction was the same as it was whenever I hear of an old building getting ready to get torn down. Folks who, dollars-and-cents-wise, you’d think they were the smartest people around if you measured riches that way. Too bad they can’t figure out ways to keep a little bit of history in their developments.”
Fontes said he appreciated that one of the people involved in the development took the time to visit Bodega, sit on the porch and talk to artists in an attempt to connect more with the community.
“I think at least these guys are listening to the community and if they end up putting out a product in this development that follows through with the sentiment they’ve been talking about, preserving some of the flavor … then they’ve done a hell of a lot better than most of the other developers in town have done,” Fontes said.
But not every business that occupies the area will be permanently displaced. Michael Reyes, owner of Paz, said Alliance reached out to him and offered his restaurant a space in the final development. The new Paz will open in 2017, Reyes said.
As the taco shop works to find a temporary home for the year without a space, Reyes said he is evaluating additional options such as operating food trucks to maintain Paz’s presence in the community.
“We have an identity and we know who we are; we’re very excited about taking it to the next level, but still establishing the principle things that got us here, which are art, culture and the community,” Reyes said.
Related: ‘Love, peace and taco grease’: Paz Cantina sees success where other businesses have failed
Both Paz and Bodega will be holding special events to commemorate their last First Fridays. For Bodega, it’s a farewell. Fontes has organized a gathering on Facebook and invited members of the community to swing by the building for a party on the lawn.
Fontes said he previously attempted to purchase the property from the owners but was given a high $750,000 price point, and the deal fell through.
“The only regret I have is that I didn’t win the lottery in time to buy the building,” he said. “I’ve gained so much, I’ve gained so many friends and gained so much experience and learned so much about people … It was just a wonderful place and I don’t regret the fact that I had a few years to spend there.”
For Paz, however, it’s an opportunity to look toward the future. This First Friday will not only be the last one for this version of the restaurant, but also its one-year anniversary. The celebration will last Nov. 6-8.
“We’re going to be telling a story about how we’re going to be doing this and how we’re going to stay active in the community, and the story of our new casa that’s going to be built here on Roosevelt Row,” Reyes said. “This whole thing’s going to come down, but it’ll rise back up.”
Alliance did not return requests for comment.
Contact the reporter at travis.arbon@asu.edu.
