Over the past year, the Arizona food and beverage community has had some major shake-ups, thanks in great part to bold moves by these industry leaders. Here are some of the biggest to date:
Cory Oppold
Until recent years, the Food Network Chopped winner and past AZ Central “Who’s Next in Food” honoree was beloved for his intricately plated tasting menus at long-time Valley fine dining haunt Atlas Bistro. However, Oppold has made the move to open his own concept in 2023. A two-in-one concept, to be more precise. In early 2023, Oppold will debut Course. During dinner service, the intimate Scottsdale outpost will offer five- and 10-course tasting menus meant to transport tastebuds to culinary heave. The menu will change every three months, roughly in line with the seasons and local bounty available. On Sundays, COURSE will transform into Morning Would. The concept is inspired by a pop-up Oppold did in partnership with Chula Seafood prior to the pandemic and will blast 80s and 90s pop music while serving a menu of approachable-yet-sophisticated brunch favorites with artful twists. Once up and running, Oppold also has plans for a quarterly dinner series in property called Solstice. The series will celebrate the season and feature a central theme focused on one ingredient, farm, or winery.
Alex Trujillo
By 2018, chef and entrepreneur Alex Trujillo already built a big reputation in Southern Arizona as owner and operator of the Patio Restaurant & Bar at Desert Hills Golf Course and Catering by Design both in Yuma. Eager to stretch himself further, that year he opened a concept called J.T. Bros. Handcrafted Sandwiches in the same area. His three sons’ names start with J, so he used their shared initials—J.T.—to inspire the name. Soon after opening, they decided to offer dinner pop-ups for patrons so Trujillo could dream up some upscale fare for patrons as well, naming the evening part program J.T. Prime to keep with the family theme. His elegant concept caught on quickly; so much so he was inspired to make his biggest move yet. In 2022, Trujillo ventured north to open a full-time J.T. Prime Kitchen in Scottsdale. Pairing modern steakhouse favorites with globally inspired flavors that his family loves most when they travel, the Old Town restaurant is already winning acclaim from guests and fellow chefs alike.
Jason Caballero
Arizona’s affable, dapper resident wine expert and co-founder of the Society of Arizona Sommeliers has been earning stark-raving fans across State 48 for more than 20 years. He garnered fans at Bourbon Steak at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess (where he famously led a series called Flight Club) and more recently at Maple & Ash. Caballero has now brought his liquid alchemy to one of the biggest culinary stages in the Southwest. In late 2022, Caballero—an Advanced Sommeliers in his own right currently working toward his Master diploma in the field—announced he joined the Wrigley Mansion as its wine director. Between each of Wrigley’s epic eateries and lounges (including Christopher’s at Wrigley Mansion, Geordie’s and Jamie’s Wine Bar), Caballero will lead the team in pouring 96,000 bottles of wine in 2023. The talented sommelier is also updating menus, collaborating on wine dinners, and helping to coordinate large-scale wine events on property. Cheers to that!
Joey Maggiore
Arizona’s Italian stallion of food and drink is already a household name thanks to his Maggiore Group, which owns and operates Hash Kitchen, The Sicilian Butcher, The Sicilian Baker, The Mexicano, The Italian Daughter and Tomaso’s. In 2023, he will become a national name. Why? Maggiore and his team have formed a capital growth partnership with private equity firm the Savory Fund to expand several of Maggiore concepts across the country, notably into Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Las Vegas to start. Maggiore also announced plans for two new concepts in Arizona coming in 2023: The Rosticceria, a Paradise Valley-area restaurant featuring wood-fried meats, Arizona’s first Italian rotisserie wood-fired grill, and a build-your-own antipasto bar; and The Italiano, a Scottsdale restaurant wholly dedicated to modern Italian recipes in honor of Maggiano’s father and Arizona cooking institution Tomaso Maggiore.
Christopher Collins
Arcadia native and fourth-generation restaurateur Christopher Collins closed Twisted Grove Parlor + Bar in 2022. However, the award-winning chef did so to transform the space into a wholly new concept. Now open as Collins Bros. Chophouse, he is crafting approachable steak and seafood fare as well as breathing new life into the Hayden Crossing neighborhood. And that is far from all. Collins—who under his Common Ground Culinary empire also owns and operates Grassroots Kitchen & Tap, Wally’s American Gastropub, The Collins, The Macintosh, Sweet Provisions, and Arcadia Catering Co.—also opened two other new concepts in recent months in Neighborly Public House and St. Urban, both in Central Phoenix. Neighborly has some of the most beloved dishes of all time from across Collins’ concepts as well as cleverly updated takes on sandwiches (shrimp and bacon roll, anyone?), salads, and slightly Southern-leaning entrees. St. Urban, located above Neighborly but accessible via its own entrance, is a chic cocktail and wine bar with an impressive array of small bites and shareables. Finally, as if that was not enough, Collins also rocked the hospitality world when he publicly announced all of his concepts would now be closed on Sundays to allow his team valuable weekend time with their families and friends.
Rochelle Daniel
Hot off her 2022 James Beard nomination for best new restaurant, Rochelle Daniel is following up her masterfully designed and delicious Atria in Flagstaff with three new concepts in the next 18 months. Yes, three. And each is just steps from Atria. A speakeasy concept will be coming first, likely summer 2023. Hidden under Atria, expect inventive cocktails, foraged ingredients, and modern classics as well as a tight menu of small bites. The other two—an updated Irish-style pub with gastropub influences and a full-on high-end steakhouse—expect to be open between fall 2023 and spring 2024. Like Atria and the speakeasy, the concepts will be one on top the other with the Irish pub using the former Maloney’s space next door to Atria and the steakhouse as of now set for underground, though it will have its own epic entrance.
Written by Alison Bailin Batz
Photography by Luke Irvin