Wandering through Downtown Chandler AZ (Part 1)
Holy moly, downtown has changed a lot from when I last walked through it about 5 years ago. At that time I was selling office supplies door to door. Back then most of the places were empty and the ones that weren’t might as well have been.
So when I learned that the Library isn’t open on President’s Day I had the perfect excuse to wander through town and check things out. Starting from the Library I made it down E Commonwealth Ave to Arizona and then headed south to E Boston St where I came across a few shops of note:
- Tryst at Inspirador
- Brunchies
- The third and final store on Boston St’s east side of Arizona is the ‘Lingerie’ store. Which I did not go into, today anyway…
I turned the corner and headed down Arizona past Serranos, which I have heard is good Mexican food. I met Julio sitting on the bench outside enjoying a cigarette. We chatted politely about the day. He mentioned that he was with a group eating in celebration of one of their Union members passing on. I bid my farewell and continued down the road to E Frye Rd.
The only shops I passed at this point were garages and auto supply shops. At Frye I crossed West and headed back up Arizona. Almost back up to E Chicago St I come across The New York Deli which I will have to try sometime.
As I walk out of the Deli I see a sign for some MarketPlace hidden like a 3rd rate preschool being run out of some old home. As I get closer I see that there are a few shops nestled in there and one of them is the Better than Sex Cake Cafe which I have read about a few times. Too bad they are closed today but I will be back.
I make my way through the dirt lot just south of Boston, a few immigrants are still standing around hoping someone will come by to hire them for the day. Its almost noon though so things are looking slim. I get back to Arizona and head up to Boston and take a left to see what’s in store:
This is definitely the coolest stretch of shops in Chandler and maybe more. I spent time walking around diSciacca and was astonished at the great quality of work but also the really cheap prices for everything from glass-wear to art pieces. I talked with the receptionist/cashier for a bit and mentioned that the pieces here easily competed with what I have seen in Sedona. She mentioned that they sell some of the glass-wear to a gallery up there who then marks them up over 50%! They have an event coming up on the 29th of Feb from 4-6pm.
Urban Crib is a world unto its own. The space is small and stacked with amazing pieces. Its like a Razmataz but with stuff that you would actually want. A few pieces made me think of Beetle Juice but there are at least 20 things I would want form there. Of course imports from Bali are not cheap, but the prices seem to be falling to a bit more reasonable areas. I talked with the owner Sal for a few seconds and he seemed very cool.
Vivi’s Boutique is a hip clothing store. Its very much skull and cross bones shirts that are all the rage, but if people are buying them and they feel good about how they look then go for it. I talked with the owner, Vivian, for a good 15 minutes and got the low down on a lot of things going on there. For starters a Sushi place is going in next door to her by the owners of 98 South, the wine bar that is across the street. This should be done by March. She also talked about a multi story car garage going in the dirt lot that I had walked across.
Her take was that the one thing they really need is for a rich guy to come in and open a night club. I said we better find this rich guy. According to her Thursday nights are the good ones at 98 South, but that the weekends do get slow as everyone heads up to the clubs in Scottsdale. She mentioned that the Car Show this weekend would be very good and that things are picking up big time.
I made my way up San Marcos Pl past a few shops which I will cover next time…
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