I have a standing date with my boyfriend at the Teharu in Scottsdale every other Friday and we decided to bring a friend of ours to the one in Tempe because we loved ours so much and this was close to her. The two experiences were worlds apart. When we walked in, the tables half of the belt was closed and only the bar was seating, as is typical for slower hours, but there were about six other parties waiting when we walked in the door and another six or so had come in by the time we finally got seated and it wasn't until halfway through our meal (and who knows how many more incoming parties) that they finally opened the other half of the belt and began seating at the tables. I can't see any excuse or justification for a business to willingly keep half the seats in their restaurant empty when there are about 20 hungry paying customers waiting at the front.
Even though we were off to a bad start, the food and service were both good. Not wonderful, but good, though not nearly as good as the Scottsdale counterpart. Three stars because the service (once we were seated) and the food were good but not good enough to make up for the fact that they were happy to allow scores of patrons to stand there for 15-20+ minutes staring at the empty tables they aren't being sat at.