Roosevelt Tavern, an older house quietly nestled on Third Street south of Garfield Street, currently sits empty, waiting for someone to switch on its dim lights and pour another craft brew. Instead of returning from its summer hiatus, Roosevelt Tavern, open since December 2006, has permanently closed, owner Matt Poole said.
Although Roosevelt Tavern has closed, the building will re-open in a different incarnation. Poole and his wife, Erenia Poole, are working on a new concept for the former space.
They said they are continuing to rent the space and plan on opening something still in the realm of food, but won’t reveal any further details.
The tavern served craft beer, wine and various bar food.
Community members already miss the Tavern and the loss will take time for people to get used to, said Cindy Dach, acting director for the Roosevelt Row Community Development Corporation.
“It was one of our first taverns downtown. For a lot of people it felt like home,” Dach said.
The Pooles made the decision to close the tavern toward the end of the summer. The couple has had their hands full juggling family life and their other businesses, Giant Coffee and Matt’s Big Breakfast.
“As much as we love our tavern, it just doesn’t fit our lifestyle right now,” Matt Poole said.
The decision was difficult to make but has been a good one since they have more time to spend with their only son, Matt Poole said. Poole and his wife have a hands-on attitude with their businesses, he said, but the late hours of Roosevelt Tavern made it harder to oversee closely and still have time for their 11-year-old son.
“We loved running the Tavern. We love our customers, but we also love our son,” Matt Poole said.
During the first two years it was open, the tavern took a summer hiatus to give the Pooles vacation time. None of their other businesses took hiatuses. The tavern was not at its busiest over summer, but still received a decent amount of business, Matt Poole said.
“Like any business in Phoenix, we were slower in the summer, but Phoenix is different than it used to be. It doesn’t die over summer anymore,” he said.
Roosevelt Tavern’s summer hiatus this year was taken to give the Pooles some time off and time to open up the new and bigger location of Matt’s Big Breakfast, now located at 825 North First St.
“We’re just not a big operation, we’re mom and pop. We have our breakfast (Matt’s Big Breakfast) — it’s twice as big and busy. And we have the coffee place and the airport. It was fun but it wasn’t for our lifestyle,” Poole said.
The recent increase in bars and restaurants in downtown Phoenix with a good craft beer selection is giving people other options for a late night drink, Poole said, but the increased competition in the craft-brew scene was not a factor in the Pooles’ decision to close Roosevelt Tavern.
“We don’t worry about other businesses, we just always try to do the best job we can at our place,” Matt Poole said in an email.
Poole cited the new Angels Trumpet Ale House, Blue Hound Kitchen & Cocktails in the recently opened Palomar Hotel, and The District American Kitchen and Wine Bar in the Sheraton Hotel as examples.
Eric Dahl, owner of the Lost Leaf bar on Fifth Street south of Roosevelt Street, has also noted the recent increase in businesses that specialize in craft beers. Dahl said the increased focus on craft beers has positively impacted the area, attracting more people downtown and increased the quality of local beer as well as the demand for it.
Despite closing one business, the Pooles are staying busy with planning a second location of Matt’s Big Breakfast, which will open in Terminal 4 of Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport in mid-2013.
Although sad to see Roosevelt Tavern close, Stacey Champion, with Champion PR+ Consulting, is excited for anything new Poole decides to do.
“I think there’s enough going on that I don’t necessarily see the closing having a huge impact. Downtown continues to thrive and grow. The more business are open the better,” she said.
Contact the reporter at Carolina.m.lopez@asu.edu
