Downtown Lowdown

{Downtown Lowdown is written and photographed by Jamie Manser, jamie@downtowntucson.org}

Downtown Business Updates

Changing Hands

The longtime lunch destination Mongelli’s recently became Emily’s Neighborhood Cafe, which has “basically the same menu with some enhancements,” said new proprietor Don Whitney.

Whitney has been in retail for 22 years, but came full circle when opening Emily’s because “One of my first jobs was in a restaurant.” He chose to undertake this task because “I like Downtown, and it’s just (working) mornings and lunches.”

Emily’s features new breakfast items and a vegetarian menu along with the previous meal options of Mongelli’s menu. They are open from 7:30am to 2:00pm, and deliver until 3:00pm if the order is placed by 2:00pm. Call 798-FOOD (3663) for more information.

Steven Monks passed Pennington Street Market, 73 E. Pennington St., back to its original owner, TwoFeathers, in October. TwoFeathers also owns Epic Café at 745 N. 4th Ave. Co-owner Eric Osborne said the market is making “steady improvements and showcasing local artisans.”

Open from 7:00am to 11:00pm, the store still features its previous amenities of reasonably priced ice cream, snacks and soda, as well as coffee. If you are interested in showing your art at the market, call Eric at 623-3540.

Switching Spaces

After 18 years as the Italian Kitchen at 27 W. Congress St., the restaurant has changed its name to Enoteca Pizzeria/Wine Bar and moved to 58 W. Congress St.

The pizzeria will still feature the same dishes, with the addition of Neapolitan cuisine and fine wines. The Iannacone family is basing the format of the restaurant on an ancient Roman tradition where citizens stop in the Enoteca for a glass of wine and some simple food.

They plan to open in mid-December.

Several years have passed since 48 E. Pennington St. had a resident.

As of December, the space will be home to both Voices, publisher of 110º magazine, and new charter school City High School.

The 110º magazine is written by Tucson youth between the ages of 14 to 21 with the help of professional mentors and publishes annually. 110º project director Sean Fitzpatrick said the move was motivated by the need for more room as well as the opportunity to partner with City High School.

City High will emphasize place-based learning and focus its curriculum on real-world issues in the Tucson community. Its administrative offices open on December 1 with plans to open the school in the fall of 2004.

City High School is currently enrolling ninth and tenth grades and can be contacted at 250-5201 or through their website at www.CityHighSchool.org.

Voices can be reached at 622-7458 or at www.VoicesInc.org.

The Tucson Downtown Alliance, the umbrella organization for It’s Happening Downtown – publisher of the Downtown Tucsonan—moved to 52 W. Congress St. in early November, joining the Rio Nuevo Office and the University of Arizona College of Architecture Downtown Design Studio. The Alliance’s main telephone number remains the same at 547-3338. TDA’s Security Department can be reached at 940-1038; the Maintenance Department’s number is 940-0806 and the Downtown Tucsonan can be reached at 547-3342. The Alliance office had been located at 71 E. Pennington Street for the last three years.

New Faces in Established Places

Joan O’Dwyer opened Wilde Playhouse Theatre last month at 135 E. Congress St., the previous home of Dinnerware Contemporary Art Gallery.

The playhouse gives you the chance to get your Irish on with European-fashioned live theatre and an espresso/wine bar.

The stylish and comfortable setting allows patrons to “relax while sipping the finest coffees and teas, beer and wine,” and “eat melt-in-your-mouth pastries or aged cheese,” says the brochure.

With a namesake that pays homage to Irish playwright Oscar Wilde, the theatre’s fall season started on November 28 – and continues through December 21 - with “Gross Indecency,” a play based on Wilde’s real-life trials for his participation in a love affair with Lord Alfred Douglas.

The venue has shows Wednesday through Sunday, with $5 bargain night on Wednesday, and the espresso bar is open at 7:00 a.m. Monday through Friday.

Call 770-1000 or log on at www.WildePlayhouse.com for information about upcoming shows.

Over the last several years, 296 N. Stone – at the southeast juncture of Stone Avenue and Toole Avenue – has been home to nightclubs The Outback, Metro and Tiki Bob’s Cantina.

Thursday, November 20 was the grand opening for Coconuts, the newest incarnation at the large warehouse space. Coconuts promises to be “the ultimate dance party, the best in local and national bands,” with a “huge happy hour buffet.”

Call 884-0600 for more information.

New Business

Last month, proprietors Natasha Winnik and Josephine Thomason opened their complementary businesses Originate and The EPA Center in the warehouse at 526 N. 9th Ave.

Winnik’s Originate is a natural building materials showroom that “specializes in interior finishes that are environmentally friendly, non-toxic, durable and made from natural and renewable resources,” according her website www.OriginateNBM.com. Trained as an architect, Winnik said she “found it difficult to use these types of materials because they weren’t available locally.”

The women bought the space in the middle of June with the “idea that the building is a community and demonstration center,” Winnik explained.

Thomason’s EPA Center is a school for ecological building, permaculture and art that will cover subjects such as building with rammed earth and strawbale, water harvesting, desert gardening and paper and printmaking.

The schedule of upcoming classes is available at www.EPACenter.org or by calling 792-4410.

The Originate showroom will generally be opened during the week, after 10:00am. Call 977-3277 for more information.

Leaving the ‘Hood

Two Downtown businesses moved out in November: Rings of Wood Collaborations, at 302 E. Congress St., and Walgreens, 44 N. Stone Ave. Walgreens had been at the Pima County-owned Pennington/Stone location for half a century, but closed its doors on November 29. Walgreens management had contemplated the move for the last few years, as its prescription drug sales lagged, but had been persuaded to stay on as its lease neared expiration. The Walgreens at 1540 W. St. Mary’s Rd. will take over the prescription and photo information of the downtown store and can be reached at 622-0944.

Etherton Gallery – Movin’ & Shakin’

Congratulations to Terry Etherton and the folks at Etherton Gallery for being recognized last month as one of the top ten photography galleries in America by Departures magazine.

In September, Tucson Weekly readers voted them “Best Fine Art Gallery” for the twelfth year in a row.

“It’s nice to know that local people are taking notice too. It’s nice to know that when you put a big effort into things, people are paying attention,” Etherton said.

Etherton also recently closed his Joesler Village location in the Tucson foothills after three years. He said it was “a decision mostly based on logistical reasons. When I weighed the work, it seemed better to put it in this space.”

Adding walls created two smaller rooms within the space, located at 135 S. 6th Ave., helping to accommodate art consolidation between the two galleries.

Fencing in Style

Think the word fence, and it probably evokes chain-link imagery. This is not the case, however, with the style-minded folks at Hotel Congress.

Utilizing the $25,300 Back to Basics grant awarded to them last year, the hotel is currently constructing a fence around the perimeter of its parking lot.

Co-owner and attorney Richard Oseran said they originally were thinking about using brick as part of the fencing, but it proved to be too expensive.

In keeping with some of the art deco themes in the hotel, the steel fencing – being done by Jim Jenkins of Mission Art Glass – is a rust-like patina color. Oseran said the purpose is to not only visually improve the property, but primarily to define an area to be used for events and performances.

In the past, the hotel would have to get temporary fencing and a temporary extension of premises. The permanent structure “allows us to do more public activities,” thereby bringing more people downtown, generating tax revenue for the city.

Oseran estimates the hotel’s events bring upwards of 30,000 people downtown each year.

Home Sales on Congress

First, one could reserve a loft on Congress Street. This month, you’ll be able to buy a house or sign an apartment lease there.

Rio Development Company is taking a cue from Deep Freeze Development in promoting its new Downtown-area housing development at a new sales office to open December 15 at 264 E. Congress St.

Deep Freeze has marketed its Ice House Lofts and Barrio Metalico residential opportunities at 120 E. Congress for several months, and now Rio Development—a partnership of local builders Tom Wuelpern, Michael Keith, Jim Gray, and Dante Archangeli, and managing partner Gerald Dixon—will be marketing 116 single-family detached and attached homes, 60 apartments, and 24 townhomes to be built along with 16,000 square feet of retail space on a 12.8 acre site on West Congress between the Santa Cruz River and Grande Avenue.

KXCI Updates

This month, your community radio station celebrates its 20th anniversary with an open house at the station and a performance by Leftover Salmon at the Rialto Theatre. Both events are scheduled for Saturday, December 6. The open house runs from 10:00am to 2:00pm, 220 S. 4th Ave., and the concert starts at 9:00pm at 318 E. Congress.
Last month, Downtown Tucsonan’s publisher, Dave Olsen, was made a board member in a unanimous vote by KXCI’s Board of Directors.

Currently, KXCI is collecting donations for the Toys for Tots drive. Toys can be dropped off at the station during regular business hours.

Corrections

Last month in the events section, the Open Studio Tour (on the weekend of November 15) was erroneously attributed to the Central Tucson Gallery Association. The Tucson Arts District Partnership is responsible for the tour and has been for the last eleven years.

In the Downtown Live music listings, a benefit show at 7 Black Cats on Saturday, November 15 was listed as a fundraiser for KXCI, 91.3FM. It was actually a benefit for the KXCI Democracy Initiative, a separate entity. The Downtown Tucsonan regrets these errors.

---

---

BACK