A new cafe is opening in Phoenix Art Museum. What to know about Temporary

Bahar Anooshahr, Arizona Republic
Updated ·2 min read

Phoenix Art Museum has partnered with Conceptually Social catering company to open a new restaurant to replace Palette in 2024. In the meantime, the group plans to open a cafe, called Temporary, in the lobby on Aug. 2.

"We are very excited to officially share the news of our partnership with Conceptually Social to bring a new,innovative food and beverage program to our community," Jeremy Mikolajczak, the Sybil Harrington director and CEO of Phoenix Art Museum, said in a press release. “Over the coming months, we will be working to re-envision the Museum’s on-site restaurant space, with an eye toward fresh, thoughtful design that provides an entirely new dining experience for our visitors and community members."

Phoenix-based Conceptually Social, owned by Troy Watkins and Kyu Utsunomiya, first opened in 2014. The partners' past endeavors include The Dressing Room and Be Coffee and they currently own and operate Kaizen Sushi + Omakase and The Larry, both located inside the Lawrence building in downtown Phoenix. The company also catered the 2023 Super Bowl LVII Exclusive Tailgate Party at the Cardinals Stadium.

The cafe will offer pastries, coffee, sandwiches and salads to museum visitors. For the main restaurant, opening next year, Conceptually Social plans to create a menu that connects art, design and cuisine.

“We look forward to working with the team at PhxArt to offer culinary experiences unlike anything else in the Valley,” Utsunomiya said in a press release.

What's on the menu at Temporary?

Temporary offers coffee and a variety of Viennoiseries, Danishes and scones; salads, like chicken Caesar, Southwestern turkey and buffalo cauliflower plus sandwiches, like chicken club and caprese.

The cafe will be able to accommodate vegan and gluten-free patrons.

Temporary is slated to open on Aug. 2 in the museum’s JPMorgan Chase Lobby.

Details: Phoenix Art Museum lobby, 1625 N. Central Ave., Phoenix. phxart.org.

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Reach the reporter at BAnooshahr@azcentral.com. Follow @banooshahr on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Temporary cafe is opening at Phoenix Art Museum. What to know