Moving to a new place can be difficult, especially if you don’t know your way around town. The Downtown Devil staff compiled a list of important places to know about while living downtown. While there are plenty of places that didn’t make it onto the list, here a few places to get you started while you get used to your new home.
Campus
Sun Devil Fitness Complex
This building that opened today directly next to the Lincoln Family Downtown YMCA has five floors, complete with a couple dozen pieces of cardio equipment, weights, classrooms, a basketball gym, running track and rooftop pool.
Information Commons
The Downtown campus’s information commons, or library, is in the lower level of the University Center. Students can use this space to use computers or study rooms and check out books.
Writing Center
ASU offers a free tutoring service for writing essays and other assignments in the lower level of the Post Office. Students can walk in or call 602-496-4278 to schedule an appointment.
Dining
Fair Trade Cafe
If you’re looking for coffee, tea or a snack between classes, head over to Fair Trade Cafe in the lower level of the A.E. England Building in Civic Space Park.
Jobot
Another coffee option a little further from the ASU campus is Jobot near Fifth and Roosevelt streets. This coffee shop has a wide selection of coffees, teas and food and is open until midnight during the week for late night drinks, snacks or hanging out.
Phoenix Public Market Cafe
This eatery opened at the beginning of the summer at Pierce Street between Central Avenue and First Street with a wide selection of meals. The Phoenix Public Market Cafe is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day of the week.
Melt
Melt is the latest and sweetest addition to entrepreneur John Sagasta’s Fifth Street empire. It serves ice cream and sorbet from noon to midnight seven days per week.
Food Trucks
Let’s not forget about downtown Phoenix’s mobile restaurants. Every Wednesday night and Friday afternoon at the Phoenix Public Market and on First Fridays, the food trucks are out offering gourmet foods like hotdogs, pizza, burritos, pies and burgers.
Carly’s Bistro
A short walk from the Downtown campus near Second and Roosevelt streets, Carly’s Bistro offers gourmet food at café prices. Carly’s offers an array of original sandwiches, soups and salads.
Moira Sushi Bar
Moira, located on the bottom floor of the 215 East McKinley condominium complex, offers a trendy, low-lit environment with an open kitchen and Asian-chic decor. Among downtowners, the restaurant is best-known for its late-night happy hour, featuring numerous sushi options for $5-$6.
Entertainment
First and Third Fridays
These events are self-led art walks across all of downtown Phoenix, but most of the activity centers around Roosevelt Street between Central Avenue and Seventh Street and a little west of there along Grand Avenue. First and Third Fridays provide the opportunity to see local artists display their work and check out the art galleries.
Museums
Heading north of the campus along Central Avenue, you run into the Phoenix Art Museum and Heard Museum. Southeast of campus, you’ll find the Children’s Museum of Phoenix and the Arizona Science Center. These locations offer different experiences for students and the Information Commons carries Culture Passes for all but the Heard Museum, allowing two free admissions.
Lawn Gnome Publishing
This used bookstore near Fifth and Garfield streets not only offers good reads, but also hosts a slew of events like speakers, poetry slams and small concerts. Check their website for the event schedule.
Crescent Ballroom
Crescent has made the city’s central core the premier destination for musical acts of all sizes. And if the music wasn’t enough, Crescent offers a nearly unmatched selection of beer, wine and liquor, and a choice menu of food. Some shows are 21 and up.
Shopping
Bodega 420
Nestled between a mixed-use vacant lot and Fifth Street, Bodega 420’s inviting lawn is as welcoming as the community it serves. The converted residence is Roosevelt Row’s only locally-owned grocery store, but feels more like a home than a market.
Cellar Door Vintage
Cellar Door Vintage is a clothing store owned by a husband and wife duo that opened in Februrary on Sixth Street between Roosevelt and Garfield streets. The majority of the store’s stock is T-shirts, but there are many other items for store dwellers to browse like purses, bags, luggage, and movie memorabilia.
Contact the reporter at news@downtowndevil.com
