The Arizona Republic, November 20, 2009
A bit more than a year ago, downtown Phoenix business owners wondered out loud where all the Arizona State University students were. There may have been more than 8,000 registered for classes downtown, they said, but they weren’t showing up in their shops and restaurants.
One year later . . . check that concern. Parts of downtown, particularly the region north of the downtown ASU campus, are being overrun with Sun Devils.
Or perhaps it is simply young people in general. Whoever these kids are, they are beginning to swarm throughout in impressive numbers at last. The most notable demonstration of the blossoming of the central city continues to be the First Friday events, of course.
On Nov. 5, the city closed off East Roosevelt from North Central Avenue to Seventh Street to traffic for the first time, allowing the throngs of attendees to overflow the streets without fear of automobiles.
The growing First Friday crowds and the widening ASU footprint have attracted entrepreneurs like Kyle Simone and Jeff Mann to open shops like their Phoenicia Association, a combination men’s clothier and art gallery.
The youth traffic persuaded restaurateur Wade Moises to open the popular PastaBAR at First Street and Pierce Street, in the same buiding with Sens Asian Tapas and the now popular Irish bar Turf.
First Friday itself is expanding exponentially. When the event began 15 years ago, 13 art galleries collaborated crated in busing patrons between Grand Avenue and Roosevelt Street. Now, more than 100 galleries and other businesses participate, and the event itself has expanded into Heritage Square.
Yes, the Valley’s central city is lurching in many respects, like all parts of this economically ravaged region. But to witness the kind of growth that we are seeing now, in this economy, is delightfully counterintuitive.
By rights, the new downtown farmers market should not be overflowing with customers in an economic downturn as fierce as this one. But on Saturdays, especially, it is choked with shoppers.
Once upon a time, the tiny, tasty Matt’s Big Breakfast was an anomaly. An outpost attraction in a desert of empty buildings and weedy lots. Now, lines of customers snake out of numerous downtown restaurants that seem to be sprouting regularly out of downtown’s bank of old buildings, especially as the weather cools.
A year ago, business owners were wondering out loud where all the ASU students were. “We definitely hope that it will get better,” one said.
In many surprising respects, it has. Even in these tough economic times, downtown – of all places – is beginning to thrive.
Tags: Downtown Phoenix
