Let me start by saying the space is fantastic. Steve and Andi Rosenstein have put the time into this place to make it great. The attention to detail doesn't go unnoticed.
I've been coming to this building for a few years now, both for events and to occasionally check out the couple's retail concept, R&R Surplus, which has occupied the heart of the building for a while now. When they trucked in the bar from an old Capone Chicago haunt about a year ago, I knew something special was brewing.
I love the patio space, with ample hangout room, close proximity to the bar area and easy view of your food cooking on the open grill or in the airstream trailer kitchen. The flat-screen TV has become a go-to spot for Suns games, which I'm totally cool with.
Inside, it can be a bit of a sensory overload -- let's see... there's a bar, a coffee bar, a soda fountain, a produce stand, the R&R Surplus area, a flower shop, a milk stand (yes), a gym, bleacher seating and rehabbed old school Schwinns littered about. There's even foliage in there, so it's hard to concentrate on one thing. I respect what they're doing, but I can't imagine many people will be walking up to the coffee area's streetside window. We'll see.
I'm not crazy about the parking situation. I'm not sure if it's out of necessity, but it seems the place at least shares a couple of adjacent lots, and the fences and blockades around the parking areas make it a bitch to get in and out (seriously). I've been here a couple of times now, and when it's packed, you can wait a long time to get your car back, even if it's parked within eyesight.
Yes, the cocktails are a bit pricey. But, I've been impressed with each I've tried so far (Moscow Mule, screwdriver and a punchy spiked lemonade). The $3 beers ain't bad, either.
They seriously need to do something about paying at all the different sections. I don't know if they need a computer system or what, but opening a tab at the bar, then closing it, then paying for food at the kitchen, then paying for food at the grill, then going back to the bar (and that's just food and drink!) is absurd. I offered this suggestion to an employee and pretty much blew it off. Not what I was hoping for.
Yes, there are some kinks, but the potential of the concept is hard to ignore. This could really be a shining jewel of the Warehouse District. And no, it's not really off the beaten path, people. It's three blocks from US Airways Center.