Downtown Tempe is not generally a destination where campers find themselves wishing to pack a bag and set out to. However, a new and unique restaurant, The Lodge Sasquatch Kitchen, will have you feeling like you're in a wooden lodge in the mountains.
In reality the restaurant is a place to escape the blistering heat, large crowds or maybe that essay you have due tomorrow.
Spotted: Sasquatches in Downtown Tempe as @TheLodgeTempe prepares for its opening in August. @statepress pic.twitter.com/XQ3RG2YpeH
— Ryan Santistevan (@ryanerica18) July 18, 2015
Co-owner and chef Aaron May is a Phoenician and explains that Tempe seemed the right fit for the addition of the chain. The two other restaurants reside in Tucson and Fort Collins, Colorado.
May says they wanted to create an atmosphere that fit their crowd surrounding.
"This one has more of a neighborhood tavern kind of feel," May said. "You'll see some stuff on the menu that's maybe skewed more to a health conscious crowd."
Although the menu offers some luxurious options, May assures that there are still affordable meals such as chicken fingers and burgers for the student wallet. With that being said, ASU is a group of people The Lodge is catering to.
"With everything that is going on at ASU in the way it continues to grow, the huge face of students that it has there, the great faculty that it has there and the way that the sports program is really starting to take off and the way the sports program is really starting to take off a bit with some of the achievements they have, having such a great neighbor, it would be crazy to not reach out to them," May said.
ASU students should wander into the wooden doors as there is Wi-Fi available for their convenience.
The Lodge will be supporting the university by offering free shuttles to football game when the upcoming season begins. The restaurant is a great place to grab a bite to eat and head over to catch a Sun Devil game.
The accounts of people spotting Bigfoot has been popular with television shows such as "Finding Bigfoot" on Animal Planet with no solid evidence of its existence. Chef May has never seen Sasquatch with his own eyes but that won't stop him from believing that they are real.
"I think that they are so special," May said. "I'm a believer in Sasquatches. I think if you're a believer in the things that are magical, that anything is possible and that there is a mystery around every corner. I think it's an exciting way to look at life, right? We like to embrace the Sasquatch for those reasons."
Not only does the interior offer entertainment through video games such as "Big Buck Wild" or "Golden Tee Live," but once outside, cornhole and a Belgian game called Rolle Bolle.
Thirty televisions can be found around the restaurant with several options to catch a sporting game as well as other channels.
There is not only a bar inside to welcome its guests but an accompanying one some feet away outside to give a couple options.
From college students to businessman to families, this is a place for everyone to dine in.
The Lodge Sasquatch Kitchen will be opening its doors to the public at the beginning of August. A grand opening celebration is to take place on August 19, and according to May, it will be something you won't want to miss out on.
"I mean, it's a lot of secretive, high-level planning that's going on right now," May said.
The restaurant is located at 26 S. Farmer Ave., in Tempe, Arizona.
Reach the reporter at ryan.santistevan@asu.edu or follow @ryanerica18 on Twitter.
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