In 2007, self-taught cook Stacey Weber—who made national culinary headlines when she built the Arizona Cardinals’ lauded culinary department—launched a personal chef and catering company grounded in local ingredients and wellness-minded recipes. Despite her timing (it was the height of the Great Recession, after all), she flourished. By 2017, Weber expanded, opening EAT at Tatum and Shea Boulevards, creating a storefront for meal kits, seasonal family dinners, and thoughtfully prepared grab-and-go fare.
Ready to expand her edible empire further, in 2023, Weber began her newest chapter, opening Amelia’s by EAT in McCormick Ranch. Named in honor of her grandmother, Amelia’s builds on everything guests have long loved about Weber’s style of cooking, except on a grander scale. The 2,500-square-foot dining room, plus a generous patio, feels airy and inviting, where desert minimalism meets neighborhood warmth. Neutral whites and tans, circular floating wall lamps, and glass garage doors create a sunlit backdrop. Petite potted cacti top each table. Leather banquettes, woven leather chairs, and a slatted wood accent wall frame a rectangular bar anchored by a dramatic floor-to-ceiling wine wall. An open kitchen energizes the space, while a grab-and-go refrigerator and boutique-style market corner filled with books, spices, glassware, and gourmet treats make it easy to take a taste of Amelia’s home.
The menus span breakfast to dinner. Throughout, Weber spotlights Arizona purveyors, including Noble Bread, Steadfast Farm, Crow’s Dairy, Frites St., and Sweet Republic, ensuring each dish reflects the bounty of the region. Specialty coffee drinks crafted with organic espresso beans, house-made syrups, and organic milks elevate the morning ritual, whether guests opt for a classic latte or an imaginative infusion of maple, rosemary, orange, or cardamom.
Boards are the heart of the experience as day turns to night. Weber cleverly offers a build-your-own-board menu that invites diners to compose a meal from three categories: Main, Garden, and Roots and Grains. Proteins range from citrus herb rotisserie chicken and pan-seared wild salmon to red wine-braised beef short rib and a comforting Italian lasagna layered with zucchini noodles and a rich pork-and-beef ragu. The board may even be made up with Weber’s famed green chili pork stew and her beloved chicken rice enchilada, not to mention grass-fed tri-tip, Southwest chicken, wild salmon, and falafel, adding playful versatility.
Garden selections brighten the board with warm tangerine chili olives, citrus salads drizzled with red chili olive oil, honey-miso-roasted carrots, lemon-garlic broccoli, and crisp little gem Caesar. Organic mixed greens layered with fennel and radish reinforce the commitment to local farms. Roots and Grains brings indulgence with beef tallow steak fries, roasted sweet potatoes kissed with Calabrian chili glaze, and house-made root vegetable chips.
Happy hour adds to the conviviality with deeply discounted small bites and an abundant noshing board brimming with cheeses, charcuterie, fruit, nuts, olives, house-made crackers, crostini, and honey.
Dessert is anything but an afterthought. A decadent ice cream sundae pairs flourless chocolate cake with Sweet Republic vanilla bean ice cream and salted caramel. Salted caramel bread pudding showcases orange cardamom brioche and Medjool dates for a deeply comforting finish. Root beer floats and rotating seasonal sorbets offer nostalgic and refreshing alternatives. There is also a massive pastry case that tempts from the moment guests walk in, stocked with signature glazed sugar cookies, gluten-free salted chocolate chip and almond butter cookies, lemon bars, s’mores bars, mini flourless cakes, muffins, and buttery almond croissants that seem destined to disappear before reaching the car.
Beyond the dining room, Amelia’s doubles as a thoughtfully curated wine market. The shelves feature sustainable, organic, biodynamic, and natural bottles sourced from producers who prioritize their land and communities. Guests can enjoy their selections on-site or mix and match six bottles to receive a discount.
For those who especially love the in-house selections, there is even a wine club. Offered at $40 per month, club members receive two small-production bottles hand-selected by the in-house sommelier, along with an invitation to a lively third Wednesday pickup party. These gatherings pair the featured wines with chef-curated bites, offering members the opportunity to connect, expand their palates, and enjoy exclusive savings on retail purchases.
Oh, but there is more! Community takes center stage during the monthly Sunday Supper Series. Each of these dinners boasts five courses, complete with wine and cocktails, and always highlights seasonal ingredients sourced entirely from Arizona farms and artisans such as Duncan Family Farms, Inspire Farms, Los Milics Vineyards, Mortimer Farms, Mount Hope, The Meat Market of Cave Creek, Roxx Vodka, Steadfast Farms, and more. The menus change monthly and remain a surprise, underscoring the creativity of the kitchen and the vibrancy of the region’s growers and ranchers.
written by: alison bailin batz
photographed by: grace stufkosky
𖡡 8240 hayden road unit b 106, scottsdale, az 85258