Coffee bar Lux Central will open a second location August 2015 on Portland and First streets under the new name Lux Commonwealth and County.
But the new shop will keep the same aesthetic and urban feel of the original location, said Chuckie Duff, a Lux business partner.
Duff and project architect Artie Vigil, of AV3 Design Studio, who also designed The Vig Fillmore, revealed some information about the ongoing project at a monthly Evans Churchill Community Association meeting on Oct. 8.
The new building will still provide that fast casual element that the Lux on Central Avenue has. However, the word “commonwealth” represents the added full-service restaurant, and the word “county” stands for the small bar, Duff said.
The new location is still in the process of getting permits, Duff said.
The business will be inside a two-story building, with the first level holding the actual restaurant and the upstairs level serving as a residential space for owner Jeff Fischer and his family.
The building will take advantage of the Phoenix environment and install solar panels. The rooftop will also have a vegetable garden that will grow produce for the restaurant, Vigil said.
“This will probably be one of the first rooftop farming-to-table restaurants in Phoenix that we know of,” Vigil said.
The roaster that roasts Lux’s coffee will be out in the open to the public unlike the original location, which holds it in a closet. Duff said they hope to boost whole and retail sales of the coffee by keeping the roaster visible to patrons.
Duff said they are “choosing to be urban.” There are options for on-street car parking by the building, and the light rail and bike parking are also available.
Duff, who went to ASU for graduate school, said a student discount may be in the works.
The second spot will be near other coffee shops on Roosevelt Row.
Billie Speece, barista at Jobot Coffee and Dining, said this brings more coffee options to the area.
“We don’t see it as competition, but adding to the coffee culture,” Speece said.
Jeff Fischer, the owner of Lux, said that the “identity and scope” of the restaurant is always changing, and so he doesn’t want to get too specific on details.
Lux on Central Avenue was crowned as the Best Coffee Shop in the Central Phoenix area by Phoenix New Times in 2013.
An art teacher and frequent customer at Lux, Cass Henderson said she loves the lighting at the original Lux as well as the large tables to work on. The only thing she would change would be adding more plug-ins for electronics.
“When I come here I know I’ll see somebody I know, which I like. It makes Phoenix feel smaller,” Henderson said.
Duff said Fischer often jokes that it will probably open on the hottest day of August next year. He also said Fischer is brilliant at creating “communal spaces that are very welcoming” and that he has new ideas every week.
Contact the reporter at mdlope15@asu.edu
