Gilbert wanted restaurants. But residents hate idea of being 'another Old Town Scottsdale'

A sign over the road welcomes visitors to the Heritage District, a quaint downtown Gilbert street lined with century-old buildings adorned with plaques telling their histories. On a recent afternoon, there wasn't an empty table on any of the misted restaurant patios, where groups of friends and families caught up over brunch. Neighbors walking dogs or pushing strollers stopped to say hello as they passed each other on the sidewalks, waving to people on the patios.

At the heart of the Heritage District sits a small, grassy area where kids ran between picnic tables where people sat eating ice cream and ribs from neighboring restaurants like Topo and Joe's Real BBQ. Two young boys took turns throwing cornhole bags in front of a small cottage. It housed Bergie's Coffee for 14 years until the shop closed at the end of 2022 when the lease was not renewed after the building sold to Wags Capital.

Now the empty cottage is expected to be torn down to make way for a new location of Bottled Blonde Pizzeria and Beer Garden. Bottled Blonde currently has locations in Old Town Scottsdale and a few other states including Florida and Texas. Residents argue that despite the name, the business is more of a nightclub than a restaurant.

Gilbert is not the only city fearful of becoming 'another Old Town Scottsdale'

Earlier this year, residents and business owners in downtown Phoenix banded together to try to stop a controversial bar from being built on Roosevelt Row. Now, the community in Gilbert is facing a similar situation with the proposed opening of Bottled Blonde.

While the two bars are unrelated, the community responses have been the same: residents don't want the culture of their neighborhoods changed with the introduction of businesses that are more nightclub than restaurant in the heart of family-friendly, walkable downtown districts.

Earlier this summer, residents tried to block Federales, a taco and tequila spot with locations in Chicago, Dallas and Denver, from opening on Roosevelt Row in downtown Phoenix. The proposed bar would have taken over what is currently an empty lot that's often used during First Friday events for art displays and live music.

Residents said reviews from the restaurant's other locations made clear that Federales was more of a nightclub than a restaurant, according to city meeting records. Some felt it didn't fit the culture of the arts district and others cited previous issues with violence at nightclub-type bars such as The Golden Margarita, which closed last summer.

During a Board of Adjustment meeting on June 1, Sean Johnson of the Evans Churchill Community Association said Federales would encourage binge drinking and excessive alcohol consumption — the restaurant is known for its specialty "ice shots."

Michael Maerowitz, representing Federales, disagreed with Johnson and said Federales is first and foremost a taco restaurant focused on its food, hence the need for a large kitchen.

But downtown Phoenix resident and business owner George Vo said he lived near a Federales location in Chicago and always knew of it as a rowdy nightclub environment.

Yelp reviews for the Federales Chicago location appear to support Vo's claim.

"As we walked over we can hear the music blasting and see the crowd lining up to get IDed. ... The inside was an epic party. Every inch of the inside was taken and we had to wiggle ourselves to the bar. ... The crowd seemed really friendly but it had night club vibes and I am over that phase," wrote Van D. on Nov. 13, 2022.

"It's pretty loud. ... A good place to celebrate. Wouldn't recommend bringing kids," wrote Adrian M. on May 30, 2023.

Four Corners Hospitality did not respond to a request for comment at the time of writing.

Why Gilbert residents feel Bottled Blonde will put their community 'at risk'

Gilbert residents also point to other locations of Bottled Blonde to support arguments that the business would be disruptive to the community.

A user named Ashley B. posted the following in a Change.org petition on June 22: "The establishment of Bottled Blonde will have a direct and concrete impact on the residents of Gilbert. Families and individuals alike will be affected by the increased noise, disruption of peace, and potential rise in unlawful activities associated with such establishments. The peaceful and safe environment that we have all come to cherish in Gilbert will be compromised, and the well-being of our community members, particularly children and the elderly, will be put at risk."

Her worries related to Bottled Blonde are founded in part on the reputation of the bar's other locations. The Scottsdale location came under fire in 2021 when Trump adviser Boris Epshteyn was accused of groping two women at the nightclub. Bottled Blonde faced criticism for exceeding COVID-19 era capacity limits in Texas, as reported by Eater Dallas. And a now-closed Chicago location had its liquor and business licenses revoked for operating as a nightclub after allegedly misleading the city by claiming to be a contemporary Italian restaurant, reported Eater Chicago.

The petition had 4,437 signatures as of Nov. 6.

Gilbert councilmember Yung Koprowski, in a response to Ashley B.'s Change.org petition, confirmed that the property was sold through a private transaction in December 2022.

"The proposed use is allowed by right under HVC zoning. Provided the business adheres to the requirements of the Town’s municipal code and land development code, as well as other applicable Town codes, and receives approval through the development process, it is permitted to operate in the Town of Gilbert," wrote Koprowski on June 27.

The developers believe Bottled Blonde is exactly what downtown Gilbert needs

Bottled Blonde's developers claim the Gilbert location will not be the same as the Scottsdale location. Aaron Wagner, CEO of Wags Capital, the real estate group developing the new location, said they've already made adjustments to their design to better fit the vibe of downtown Gilbert.

Wagner said he believes some of the confusion regarding Bottled Blonde came from publications using photos from the Scottsdale location when announcing the Gilbert location. He said the Gilbert bar will have a different and unique look, in contrast to the open-air design in Scottsdale.

He showed the Gilbert bar's design to residents at a town meeting held in early September. The proposed design is more closed off than the Scottsdale bar and features ample sidewalk space for residents to walk by.

"If you look at what the city has put out, in terms of the buzzwords that they're looking for, terms like vibrant food, drink, nightlife, those are all the things that the city has said is what they want. And so I think this brand matches and conforms to exactly those kinds of buzzwords and those descriptors," Wagner said.

As a real estate developer, Wagner said the backlash against Bottled Blonde was not unlike the usual response he's seen from residents when a new project is announced, whether it's a bar or a grocery store. But he said those opposed to past projects have always come around eventually, and he hopes the same will happen in Gilbert.

"I think it's just common human nature to go to the worst place and the worst-case scenarios right when they hear about things. But then when the reality comes to fruition, they realize that this isn't that bad of a deal. Like, you know, it's a great little sports bar, and people are enjoying it. That kind of stuff just settles in, and a lot of the worries just kind of dissipate away," Wagner said.

A case in point, Gilbert residents previously pushed back on another bar in the Heritage District. Dierks Bentley's Whiskey Row opened in 2017 despite similar backlash from the community. Six years later the bar and grill seems to fit right in.

Lynne King Smith, the owner of Thrive Coworking, a space aimed at empowering professional women in downtown Gilbert, told The Republic that she remembers how the owners of Dierks Bentley's Whiskey Row were able to reimagine their concept to fit the family-friendly nature of the Heritage District. They now offer brunch during the day and live music at night and while it's still first and foremost a bar, she said it isn't one that she's hesitant to walk in front of with children.

"Upon entry to Gilbert, they were quite friendly and open," she said. "We have brunches in there and you see families attending, and people go to see the live music, which I love. They've grown into becoming good neighbors to the area."

One of Smith's major concerns about Bottled Blonde is their alleged practice of "using attractive women as a draw to the space," which she views as sexual objectification that is in direct conflict with her business's mission to "help women become their best self."

Smith, who owns the building directly next door to where Bottled Blonde will be built said she has not been approached by the proposed bar's developers at all regarding the new project. Her daughter, who manages the building, allegedly sent an introductory email to Bottled Blonde but had received no response at the time of writing.

Residents are also concerned about losing historic community spaces

Some residents are also concerned that the building at 309 N. Gilbert Road, most recently home to Bergies Coffee, is a historical property, according to Ashley B.'s petition.

The building was originally built in 1918 by Forrest Clare and opened the following year as Clare's Sheet Metal Shop. However, the original structure was already torn down and rebuilt once in the 1970s, according to the Gilbert Historical Museum.

"The only building in Gilbert on the National Register of Historic Places is HD SOUTH — The Home of The Gilbert Historical Museum, the site of the original Gilbert Elementary School, built in 1913," wrote the museum's president and CEO, Denise Lopez, in an email to The Republic.

Though several of the buildings in the Heritage District are at least a century old, none of them are officially recognized on the National Register of Historic Places. To get a historic building designation, the buildings' owners would need to submit an application.

Who will prevail in the battle between residents and developers?

Federales was blocked from moving forward in Phoenix by a city council board at the June 1 meeting.

But, as of now, plans for Bottled Blonde are expected to move forward, as there are no legal conditions or restrictions on the land to prevent it.

"I know that this is going to be a long road, you know, none of this is going to happen really fast," said Smith, who added that perhaps a compromise can be reached, perhaps they will adjust their business model to make the bar feel more appropriate within the context of the community, but given the lack of communication, she remains wary. "I was trying not to overreact early on, in the heat of the moment."

At the time of this writing, there are no additional community meetings scheduled to discuss Bottled Blonde.

The restaurant is expected to open in 2025.

Reach the reporter at endia.fontanez@gannett.com. Follow @EndiaFontanez on X, formerly Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Gilbert and Phoenix restaurant openings causing outrage. Here's why