With 14 new businesses opening on Mill Avenue, a revival has hit Tempe’s most renowned street.
Downtown Tempe Community and the city of Tempe will showcase seven of the 14 new businesses from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday at Mill Avenue and Sixth Street.
Canteen Modern Tequila Bar, Stan’s Metro Deli, Dixon Golf, Dog Town Chili Dogs, Poppa Maize Gourmet Popcorn, School of Rock and Jimmy John’s will hand out food samples and information.
Casaundra Brown, director of marketing and public relations for Downtown Tempe Community, hopes the showcase will banish any rumors of Mill becoming a ghost town.
Throughout the past year, many businesses have closed their doors on Mill Avenue because of funding, Brown said.
“We also had some developments put on hold with the down economy so those spaces had to be re-leased,” Brown said.
Generation: Mill, a new marketing campaign designed to attract more people to the city’s old street, started at a September meeting between Brown and the city of Tempe about the economic development of Mill Avenue.
A new image was created for the Generation: Mill campaign, Brown said.
“We were just saying it’s like a new era and … a lot of [businesses] are independent,” Brown said.
Poppa Maize Gourmet Popcorn, a Phoenix-based store, is opening up a second location on Mill Avenue near MADCAP Theatres on Sixth Street in November, co-owner Qiana Shaw said.
“Popcorn is a pedestrian-type snack and Mill Avenue has a lot of pedestrian traffic,” Shaw said.
At Thursday’s event, the popcorn shop is bringing 10 of its 26 flavors for people to sample.
“We’re looking forward to opening on Mill and becoming part of the Tempe family,” Shaw said.
Poppa Maize will also bring taffy, cotton candy and beverages to Mill Avenue, Shaw said.
Many of the new businesses have opened in the past year, such as Cutie’s Hot Dogs and School of Rock, but a few will be opening up in a couple months.
Lars Havens, owner of School of Rock, opened his nightclub in September.
“It’s been great,” Havens said. “We got some really successful Friday and Saturday nights.”
Havens and other Mill Avenue owners are getting together to market Mill Avenue to liven up business.
“We’re going to try to make Mill the entertainment district,” Havens said.
School of Rock will be handing out cotton candy, Red Bull and water at the showcase and telling people about their promotions and weekend night events, Havens said.
Canteen Modern Tequila Bar will open on Friday.
Blondie’s, a bar that has an original location in Las Vegas, started construction and will open in a little more than a month on Mill Avenue and Fifth Street.
Kevin Rogers, general manager of Blondie’s, said they chose Tempe and Mill Avenue for their second location because they love Arizona sports and ASU. He said he wants the bar to be considered the official bar for ASU students.
“No one has tapped into a home of Arizona State sports,” Rogers said.
Blondie’s will have 30 different TVs and will be the “sports fan paradise,” Rogers said.
The kitchen will deliver food until early morning.
Mellow Mushroom Pizza will also be joining Mill Avenue in the next couple of months.
Reach the reporter at mpareval@asu.edu
