The place offers a maze of possibilities. You could grab a slice of pizza, then stumble into Peaches Sex Shop for some fun new toys or turn up for a Vegan Social brunch, then mosey into Cleo and Clementine to marvel at custom wedding gowns.
So when the outdoor space anchored by a historic home and sprinkled with food trucks announced its closure on Instagram, locals were understandably upset. But the sudden news was even more distressing for longtime tenants like Melanie Franco, the founder of Black Amethyst. The gem and stone gift shop opened at The Pemberton in April 2021.
"I've built my own little community. My younger son has been raised in that space, he calls it our shop. It's a home away from home and a place I've built up slowly. It's definitely a part of me," Franco says.
When she first heard murmurings of a closure in late January, Franco reached out to True North Studio, the developer and owner of the space. True North is involved with many popular downtown projects including monOrchid, Cambria Hotel, Ghost Donkey, Palma and Cham Pang Lanes.
The email response obtained by Phoenix New Times was succinct.
"The property permits are set to expire and the City decided not to renew, so Pemberton will indeed be transitioning. The south parcel tenants will need to be vacated by the end of February. House tenants will need to be vacated by the end of March. Notices will be forthcoming next week," wrote Debbie Cooper, who works in operations for True North.
"Sorry for the changes. Hopefully you'll end up in a better position," the email continued.
But Franco says she never received the notice. Now, after almost three years in the space, she is scrambling to find a new location as the clock ticks on her time at The Pemberton.
She describes her experience there as both beneficial to her budding business and extremely frustrating. She says management failed to extend her lease after its expiration, despite her many attempts, and basic necessities, like outdoor lighting, also fell by the wayside, she says.
Franco detailed some of these concerns in a July 2023 email to True North Studio CEO Jonathon Vento.
"I am emailing you with immense concern in regards to the Pemberton’s current appearance. I have attached photos of what the entrance to the grounds looks like (taken Friday 7/28). From these photos you can see it appears as though we are closed. Additionally the front porch/seating area to the house no longer has functioning lights to make it more inviting," Franco wrote.
She suggested some changes, including a tenants' meeting and moving other businesses to the front of the property. "Operating under these conditions is completely unsustainable," she wrote.
The two met and Vento seemed open to ideas to revitalize the space, Franco says. But he later changed his tune.
"I don't know if you realize that the downtown community is so small and so closely knit and once they cancel a place, that place is kind of canceled. We're only surviving off of tourists right now," Franco recalls telling Vento. "He pointed out of his office window at a building that was being built and said, 'Well we have hundreds of people moving to Phoenix every day and it's unfortunate that the downtown community feels that way, but that's not something we have to worry about.'"
True North Studio did not respond to multiple requests for comment by New Times.
‘The place was always horribly managed’
Racan Alhoch, the founder of Saint Pasta, a food truck that garnered a cult-like following during its 16-month stint at The Pemberton, also criticized how tenants were treated."The place was always horribly managed. The way that they closed The Pemberton in that they didn't give anybody news and it was very sudden, that's just how they operate," Alhoch says.
He described handshake deals that bypassed the very leases that would protect tenants in a situation like the upcoming closure, poor communication and a lack of lighting that resulted in many vendors paying out-of-pocket to provide their own string lights.
"We paid thousands of dollars to have things like the dish pit fixed or their ice machine fixed or some plumbing work done for the propane that the landlord should have been doing, but they just didn't do it. They'd say we don't have money or something," Alhoch says. "And they know that if you want to continue doing business there, you're just going to have to put the money into it."
Saint Pasta left the space in August 2022. The departure came after Vento suggested the popular food truck move to the back of the property following Alhoch's many complaints about failed infrastructure and a lack of leases for other tenants, Alhoch says.
"This is somebody that owns a lot of buildings here and has a lot of power in this city and he's constantly rolling over small businesses and he doesn't have to — he can just do good business," Alhoch continues.
In a statement to New Times, The Pemberton wrote that "ownership plans to turn it into a new sort of community concept" and that it would be "sending out a press release in the coming months."
As tenants at The Pemberton seek new locations, Franco plans to stay until the very end. She will hold a fundraiser on March 2 at The Coronado and Dark Hall Coffee to support Black Amethyst's upcoming move.
"We will be open at the space until they kick us out," she says.
