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Luxurious apartment towers to replace Devil's Advocate Sports Grill

From sports bar to skyscrapers: Devil's Advocate closes after 15 years to make way for luxury living

Community-Devil's-advocate-follow-up
The Devil's Advocate Sports Grill, a staple in the ASU and Tempe community on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023, in Tempe.

After 15 years of serving as an integral part of the ASU and Tempe community, Devil's Advocate Sports Grill closed its doors on Dec. 28.  

From Sun Devil games, graduations, birthdays, lunch dates, or just celebrating the end of a rough week, Devil’s Advocate was the place to go for over a decade. 

"We wanted a place that celebrated ASU, and I think we achieved that," said Devil's Advocate owner and ASU ‘04 alumnus Jarred Stetser in an email. 

In August 2023, rumors began of the sports grill's potential closing after Aspirant Development, a Scottsdale-based division of Empire group, bought the land Devil's Advocate was located on.  

Aspirant Development bought two pieces of the property, equaling 3.66 acres of land for $16 million, according to Vizzda, a real estate database. Despite the change in property ownership, Stetser had no intention of moving, closing, or selling the lease until it expired in September 2029.  

"While we did have a few years left on the lease, you never know what can happen in the future," Stetser said in an email. "We wanted to go out on a high note and on our own terms, so Devil’s will be remembered at its best."

READ MORE: Devil's Advocate is not closing yet, despite plans for demolition

On Dec. 17, the restaurant announced, via Instagram, that it made the difficult choice to sell the long-term leasehold back to the property owners. 

"We felt that it was the right time, we've had several amazing years, and business levels have been more than we could have ever imagined," Stetser said in an email.  

The plans for the new project include two apartment towers, with a total of 539 units, according to Randy Grudzinski, partner and head of capital markets for Empire, in an interview with AZCentral.  

These two high-rises will offer studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom units. One building is predicted to reach 18 stories and the other 15, according to AZCentral.  

The luxurious housing will be marketed toward high-paying residents, not students specifically, according to AZCentral. Plans submitted to the city include an amenity deck with a pool, high-end gym and green space joining both towers.  

An emphasis on luxury is being placed on the new housing due to its prime location. Recent expansion in the Novus Innovation Corridor at ASU includes offices, hotels, apartments and restaurants making the area more attractive to developers.  

Plans for relocating or rebuilding Devil's Advocate have not been ruled out completely. Aspirant Development offered to reopen the sports bar in their new project, Stetser said in an email. The Aspirant Development group did not force them out but instead have been compassionate and pleasant to work with, Stetser said.

Although this addition brought more housing and expansion to the Tempe area, many Devil's Advocate fans were devastated by the closing. 

"The response has been overwhelming; it's been bittersweet to find out just how much Devil's meant to so many," Stetser said in an email. 

Frequent customers shared mixed feelings in the comment section of the post, some requesting their favorite recipes and others expressing their grief at the closure.  

Venkata Praneeth Reddy Kakarla, a junior studying mechanical engineering, decided to visit the grill for the first time before it closed.  

He said he believes that "luxurious is nothing but a term". He would have preferred to have a social club over new housing, not necessarily for drinking but for students of all ages to hang out.   

"They're just turning this place into a monopoly," said Dean Hopkins, a senior majoring in business entrepreneurship.

Hopkins, a regular customer at the bar, said the closing was a "national tragedy," and the bar was a part of the ASU experience. 

"Progress is hard to prevent and I'm sure the project will be amazing," Stetser said in an email. "Tempe won’t be the same, though." 

Edited by Senna James, Sophia Ramirez and Natalia Jarrett.


Reach the reporter at nrodri74@asu.edu

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Natalia RodriguezCommunity Reporter

Natalia is a sophomore studying journalism and mass communication with a minor in creative writing. This is her second semester at The State Press.


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