Dining Trends

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Diana Brandt
Founder, Arizona Foodie

 

Dining in Arizona is growing in leaps and bounds. As a professional in the real estate industry, it’s important to be a neighborhood expert. That means knowing what restaurants are sprouting up around town and being able to share that knowledge with your clients. Our food scene is only going to continue to grow, so let’s break away from those chain coffee shops or lunch spots and take your meeting to one of the local eateries in your area.

You may have been going to that same sandwich shop because you think it’s fast, easy, cheap and decent. With the way our food scene is expanding, many local restaurants have made their menu more accessible. Nicholas Campisano from Clever Koi in Gilbert believes we will see more reasonable priced, well executed quality foods with smaller plate offerings and tech driven delivery – allowing diners a larger variety of dishes. Other trends he sees coming to town will be less pretentious atmospheres, to allow all types of guests to frequent the ‘cooler’ places.

The Valley is also seeing Chefs getting inspiration from their customers. Tommy Plato of Second Story Liquor Bar in Scottsdale says that he’s noticed restaurants listening to their customers more and driving business by putting out dishes that are in tune to their guests. He believes the cuisine will shift by using more regional and locally made products. Local is definitely a popular selling point here in Arizona. It’s important to support our local restaurants, local farmers and purveyors – eating local means eating fresher foods and consuming less processed items.

Instead of taking your casual meeting to an unhealthy eatery, you can opt for some of the newer healthy fast food spots like Farm & Craft in Scottsdale. They’re serving up kombucha on tap with healthy veggie and protein bowls. Ahi Poke Bowl with multiple locations in town gives you healthy options and lets you choose how much food you want in your meal. Worth Takeaway in Mesa is a hip spot to get your sandwiches in a pinch. Noble Bread in Phoenix is another sandwich shop favorite and leDinersaur in Phoenix will deliver fresh baked bread sandwiches to your office meeting.

That’s right, food delivery is starting to take our food scene by storm. How many times have you sat at your desk and wished you could have Short Leash Hot Dogs in Phoenix or pizza from Forno 301 in Phoenix? Fear not my professional friends. From Postmates to UberEats, you can get some of your favorite food items by using your phone. Gabe Williams, the local Community Manager at Uber, says business professionals typically have only a few options; quick service restaurants within close proximity to work or office catering, if that’s something the company provides. With UberEats, people can now get the food they want from the local restaurants they love at the touch of a button – without ever leaving the office.

All of these options open up a whole new level of cravings and a more progressive way to eat for you and your clients.

 

Diana Brandt is the founder of Arizona Foodie, a local blog based around all things food in Arizona. You can follow her food journeys on social media or her website at www.azfoodieblog.com.