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Enjoy Tempe, Phoenix too

Tempe is a hot town. And not just because it’s an even money bet to hit 100 degrees in September as  football fans drop by for a visit.

Tempe is a compact college town with more than 100 restaurants, bars, nightclubs and shops within the historic downtown district along Mill Avenue, a pedestrian-friendly avenue with wide sidewalks and plenty of shade. It’s a good place to spend the Friday night before a highly hyped college football game.
‘Sparky’ the Arizona State Sun Devils mascot does performs in the student section durng a 2007 game.
 
The park along the shore of Towne Lake in downtown Tempe draws people year around.
 
The University of Georgia football team travels west to play Arizona State University in Tempe Sept. 20. It’s the Bulldogs’ first regular-season trip west of the Rockies in decades and thousands of fans are expected to tag along.

For those pigskin pilgrims we offer a brief guide to enemy territory.
Tempe sits just east of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport — the cheap seats at

ASU’s Sun Devil Stadium are a good place to watch the airliners come in for a landing. To the north is Scottsdale, an affluent town with plenty of upscale resorts, expensive restaurants, trendy boutiques and nightclubs. Think Buckhead, but with straight, four-lane streets.

The grid system of streets, by the way, makes navigating Tempe and the Phoenix metro area — The Valley of the Sun, the chamber types call it — very easy.
But you really don’t need to drive much. Everything you need to stay busy for a long weekend can be found within two miles of the stadium. Snag a room in the right hotel and you may not have to get in a car except from the airport and back.
The mantra in real estate — even pay-by-the-night real estate — is “location, location, location.” There is no more convenient place to stay than the Tempe Mission Palms (480 894-1400;

The AAA 3-diamond hotel has 303 rooms at the corner of Mill Avenue and Fifth Street, easy walking distance to both the stadium and the buzz of downtown.
Other spots a short drive from downtown: the Four Points Sheraton Tempe (480-968-3451; ; The Buttes (602-225-9000; ); and Hyatt Place Tempe/Phoenix Airport (480-804-9544

The Mill Avenue District has been gentrified over the last decade so you’ll find a number of corporate eateries downtown — Ruby Tuesday, Hooters, P.F. Chang’s, Pizzeria Uno. Two long-standing local spots are Monti’s La Casa Vieja (480-967-7594; ), an old-school steakhouse on the north end of Mill Avenue and House of Tricks (480-968-1114; , a quintessentially funky place comprised of two early 20th century houses and connecting outdoor patios. The House of Tricks, which has a wine cellar holding 2,500 bottles, is on Seventh Street about two blocks west of Mill Avenue.

More than 40 wines by the glass can be found at Cafe Boa (480-968-9112; , a bistro and wine bar in the middle of the action along Mill. The spot has been named “best happy hour” by the local alternative weekly newspaper and received Wine Spectator

Magazine’s Award of Excellence in 2007. Sit outside — after dark, of course — for great people watching.
If your taste runs more to beer — well, it’s a college town — you’re in luck.
There are a lot places that serve a lot of different beers. Two places make beer on premises.

Gordon Biersch Brewery, one link in a national chain, has a second story balcony looking down on Mill. Another great spot for people watching.

A better spot for beer, however, is Four Peaks Brewery (480-303-9967; . This home-town micro-brewery offers up to 10 different beers on tap in the Old Bordens Creamery, a brick building built in the 1890s. Four Peaks is about 1.5 miles from the stadium, but worth the designated driver trip.
Wear shorts, the old warehouse can be a little warm.

There are dozens of golf courses nearby and one is little more than a three wood from the football stadium. The ASU Karsten Golf Course (480-921-8070; is a Pete Dye designed course rated “four star’ by Golf Digest. Green fees are $35 before 11 a.m. and $25 after 11 a.m.
———————-
Here are three Tempe tips from Stuart Kent, UGA Class of 1986 and president of the Phoenix chapter of the UGA Alumni Association.
• Get an early tee time. Visitors are unprepared for how hot it can be in Arizona in September.
• Don’t plan on traditional tailgating before the 5 p.m. kickoff. “It’s just too hot,” Kent says, “and there is no shade, no leafy oaks like there [are] in Athens.”

Stay hydrated by alternating bottled water and adult beverage of choice.

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Tempe Marketplace a ‘destination’
Mall has ‘created new place of community’

“Destination” is the magic word for mall builders, and the creators of Tempe Marketplace and Gilbert’s San Tan Village, both of which debuted within the past year, seem to have worked the magic and made their outdoor malls destinations for thousands.

Mesa Riverview has been slower to develop but its theater district will soon come to life with the same mix that is making the others two of the hottest new gathering places in the Southeast Valley.

Tempe economic development manager Sheri Wakefield-Saenz says it hasn’t taken even a year to make one thing clear: “That mall has created a new place of community and entertainment in a very warm, inviting and entertaining space.

“They know the taste of their demographic shopper and did a lot of homework to make sure they have the mix correct. It’s mainly Generation Y, but Xers like myself and baby boomers like it, too. Their shopping, restaurants, music – the way you can enjoy strolling around – put it right up there with the best destinations in the Valley.”

San Tan Village has used a similar mix to draw crowds since it opened in October.

Summer Katzenbach directs marketing for Tempe Marketplace, and says, “We consider ourselves a destination because you can come here and happily spend an entire day, an entire evening and never run out of things to do.

“I love walking around the mall and seeing people lounging on the couches, students studying for finals, people sitting around in groups talking or walking in and out of stores, people enjoying the entertainment we have . . . people just coming here and spending hours and having a really fun time.”

It’s not hard to see why turning a mall into a “destination,” as opposed to a place where you make a quick shopping trip, is so important to mall makers. When the American town center, where people could while away the day strolling to shops and restaurants, gave way to shopping malls, it became clear that the more one could make a mall like the old town center, the more successful it would be.

The point became to create a place where a clever blend of shops, restaurants, theaters, entertainments and activities give people a sense of community and make them want to stay.

Creating “community” became something of a science. It’s one that David Larcher, executive vice president of Vestar Development, the Phoenix-based company that built the mall, evidently knows well.

“Tempe Marketplace’s success isn’t just good luck. It’s the result of the vision David Larcher began to develop 10 years ago,” Katzenbach said. “He wanted to create a mix of clothing stores, restaurants, theaters, a bookstore and entertainments – a mix that would make us a gathering place.

We hear people say, ‘it’s the perfect place for us to meet with friends and family,’ and that is exactly what we want to hear.”

At Tempe Marketplace that “mix” means about 60, “power-center/big box stores” like Target, Old Navy, Best Buy and Cost Plus World Market on the south side of the mall, and on the north side a densely packed “District” of boutiques like Urban Angels, Hottie World and Divaz, as well as specialty stores, restaurants, a Barnes & Noble bookstore and a Harkins movie theater complex.

“There’s something to meet almost every shopping need and it adds up to what we call a “lifestyle center,” Katzenbach said.

Friends Jennifer Walsh, 31, of Gilbert, and Katie Murray, 32, of Ahwatukee were sitting together in Tempe Marketplace recently, chatting and watching their children play in the Splash Pad, a water feature designed for toddler play.

“Our kids love the splash area, and while they play Katie and I can talk,” Walsh said, as the children jumped about in the water.

Murray said the convenient location of the mall – at the intersection of the 101 and 202 freeways – makes access easy for her.

“Also, the big stores on the one side have everything you can imagine, and the little boutiques have a lot of really cute stuff. And the restaurants are excellent.”

Lots of other folks seem to agree.

Katzenbach said a recent count showed about 500,000 vehicles coming to the mall monthly, with an average of 2 1/2 people per car: which means about 1.25 million people are showing up each month.

Westcor, which owns San Tan Village and many of the other big malls in the Valley, does not release monthly customer traffic figures. But information gathered in recent years suggests Tempe Marketplace has quickly entered the top tier of Valley malls.

Katzenbach says that one ingredient at Tempe Marketplace that seems to be emerging as one of the most important parts of the “destination” recipe is the amount of entertainment offered.

“We showcase all sorts of entertainment from Thursday through Saturday on the District Stage,” she said. “And we have acoustic music Friday through Sunday at the Barnes & Noble fountain area. Also, we have a major concert once a month, large-scale events, community events . . . the list goes on and on.

“But what it adds up to is a lot of entertainment that young people love. We know it brings a lot of people here, some from a long ways away.”

That would include people like Anna Lampe, 20, who lives in north Phoenix. Lampe says she’s willing to make a long drive to Tempe Marketplace, “because this mall is exactly what I want.”

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Fun, food, music take SanTan Village beyond shopping

Nick and Rhonda Fuduloff brought their dogs and lawn chairs to SanTan Village last weekend for the final performance of the center’s spring concert series.

The couple’s Saturday night plans usually include a concert at the Gilbert shopping center. The mall is close to home and pets, Brutus and Booboo, can come along.

Rock and Roll cover band, The Chadwicks, played to a crowd of about 300 people.
The concert series is one way the outdoor mall that opened in October has become a gathering place for the community, said Jennifer Munn, senior marketing manager.

Across the street from the concert, kids packed the mall’s play area.

The playground boasts a splash pad where the water was turned off because of unseasonably cool temperatures that evening.

Munn said the mall’s about 100 retailers and restaurants have seen business increase with the events. “We don’t want people to get their stuff and go,” Munn said. “We are trying to become the town center for the community.”

Concerts will begin again in the fall, and another community event SanTan Village planners hope will draw people to the center will be the Taste of SanTan Village in October. The mall also hosts a Kids Club that meets twice a month.

“With the concert series, it took us a while to build it,” Munn said, “but each week it has been growing.”

For the Fuduloffs, the concerts are a way to get to know their neighbors.

“We’ve met a lot of people,” Rhonda Fuduloff said, “and look forward to seeing them and their dogs.”

The couple said they wouldn’t come to the mall on Saturdays if it wasn’t for the concerts.

“And when we come, we shop,” Nick Fuduloff said, “even if we’re not planning on it.”

The mall’s attractions give mother Sara Windes of Gilbert time to shop without distractions. She drops her kids and husband off at the play area and heads to Gymboree and the Children’s Place, which are located in the same corridor as the playground.

“Almost all of us (moms) do that,” Windes said. “Then we can shop. They don’t have to go with us, and the kids can have fun.”

Windes said she loves that all the children’s stores are clustered near the playground.

“We come here almost every weekend and get the kids tired out,” she said.

Parents and kids use the play area as early as 8 a.m., Munn said. Moms even come with beach towels so they can and watch their children play.

“Morning, noon and night that play area is packed,” Munn said.

The mall has other amenities, such as Wi-Fi in the food court, to keep people there, she added.

“We want people to have a sense of place when they come here,” Munn said. “Families come out and have a place where they can play. We do want people to sit and gather and for the mall to be more of a destination.”

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It’s never been easier to get to Mill Avenue District

The Mill Avenue District has long been known as one of the only truly urban, walkable downtowns in the Valley. However, over the years, issues of parking and traffic have overshadowed that iconic image of downtown Tempe.

Thanks to efforts by the city and Downtown Tempe Community Inc., soon visitors can choose among multiple transportation types and also find it easier to maneuver their way to abundant parking if they drive their own cars.

Among transportation alternatives available, visitors and employees can give their cars (and their wallets) a break by using Valley Metro, Orbit, Flash, and the upcoming light rail. Orbit, the newest addition to Tempe’s public transportation program, has shown a 15.9 percent increase in ridership just in recent months. This is due in part to rising gas prices and also the ease of accessibility from residential neighborhoods to popular destinations, such as the Mill Avenue District.

The free Orbit is only one of several options provided by the city, which has earned rave reviews from residents. The Mill Avenue District is a major stop on all access routes, and service has recently expanded to connect to the Scottsdale trolley, too!

If your car is a must, parking in the Mill Avenue District is easier than you think. In the coming months, visitors and residents will notice new universally recognizable blue and white parking signs being installed throughout the Mill Avenue District. These signs will better direct visitors to several parking locations that many never realized existed.

With more than 10,000 spaces available, it is hard to believe that anyone would have a hard time parking in downtown Tempe! If the cost of parking is an issue, it might help make paying for parking a little more agreeable to realize that if there were no charge for parking in the Mill Avenue District, it’s probable that 50,000 ASU students would take every single spot available in order to avoid paying ASU parking permit fees.

To ease the impact on your pocketbook, if you park in one of the four participating lots, which include Centerpoint Surface Lot, Brickyard Garage, Centerpoint Garage, and Hayden Square Garage, your first hour of parking is free.

With better instructions on how to locate all the available parking and with such great access options, it will be easier and easier to visit downtown Tempe’s Mill Avenue District. There are so many new things to see and do, whether that includes wine tasting at Caffe Boa, listening to live JAMN Jazz at Monti’s, or picking up the latest trends at Here On The Corner. The Mill Avenue District encompasses the fun, edgy, and eclectic energy that represents the heart of Tempe and the Valley of the Sun. Starting now, getting here has never been easier!

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Situated just south of Scottsdale is the fast-growing city of Tempe, site of Arizona State University. It has the fun, youthful vibe typical to a university town and Mill Avenue’s collection of fun and funky boutiques, eateries, pubs, and clubs is one of the few areas in the Valley, aside from downtown Scottsdale, where people ditch their cars and pound the pavement. There are also a handful of museums, galleries, and sites of interest around the college campus area; the most impressive is the Gammage Auditorium 1200 S. Forest Ave.; box office Mon.-Fri. 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; 480-965-3434; a Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece that plays host to regular theater performances. Another, rather unexpected, attraction here is the 2-mile stretch of Tempe Town Lake 80 W. Salido Pkwy; created in 1999 by the damming of the Salt River, it today invites exploration via pedal boats, kayaks, and other watercraft.

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