New businesses coming to Tempe

More than a dozen new businesses coming to Tempe — meet them Thursday afternoon

A bright spot in a tough national economy, Tempe has about a dozen businesses announcing and opening new locations within the city, many of these within the Mill Avenue District.

These include:
The Irish Pub
Five Guys
Jimmy Johns
Bright Horizons Daycare
Smashburger
Dave’s Electric Brew
Suckerpunch Sally’s Cafe
Spark Magazine
Sea Life
Regions
Total Wine & More
Vanity on Mill
Pancheros
Media is invited to join the City of Tempe, Downtown Tempe Community (DTC) and Tempe’s newest businesses on Thursday, Sept. 10 at 2 p.m. for introductions to some of the city’s newest offerings and the announcement of the Mill Avenue Retail Competition winners. Meet at Centerpoint on Mill, located at the southwest corner of Sixth Street and Mill Avenue in Tempe.

City of Tempe Mayor and Council, DTC representatives and local entrepreneurs will be present to talk about their new business ventures in the Mill Avenue District.

“We are excited about all of our new businesses that are adding to the great destination that is the Mill Avenue District, both those that won our contest and those who independently chose to make Tempe their business home,” said Nancy Hormann, DTC Executive Director.

Mill Avenue Retail Competition winners will receive a year of free rent with three-year lease, free website design and development by Synapses Studios and free one-year-membership from the Tempe Chamber of Commerce.

Twenty business plans ranging from retail shops to restaurants to music venues were received. These were judged by a committee comprised of DTC, local retailers, City of Tempe staff and development owner DMB.

“This is an impressive list even in a great economic cycle. It’s a strong indicator Tempe remains the best place to do business, and is a great dining and entertainment venue,”said Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman.

Both Entrepreneur and BusinessWeek magazines recently named Tempe one of the 10 best places in the country to start a new business.

Dave’s Electric Brewpub will bring a grill to share with other restaurants to cook samples of some of their best dishes. Spark Magazine has a new issue coming out. Check out one of the custom-built motorcycles by Suckerpunch Sally’s and hear about their new, first in the nation café, which will be open 24 hours several days a week, complete with a homemade doughnut buffet.

These are the first Arizona locations for mid-size companies such as Five Guys, Smashburger and Pancheros. Others are mom and pop operations taking a chance on their first store.

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