Rudri Bhatt Patel
Audio By Carbonatix
Phoenix restaurateurs aren’t shy about teaming up to create unique, bold experiences for Valley diners. Now, the restaurant group behind Tacos Chiwas and Espiritu will partner with the team that made Postino a household name in Phoenix and beyond.
These restaurateurs plan to open Lado A Lado, a wood-fired Mexican restaurant inspired by Sonora, this fall. The restaurant, whose name means “side by side” in Spanish, will replace Joyride Taco House in Uptown Phoenix on Central Avenue and Colter Street.
Chefs Armando Hernandez, Nadia Holguin and Roberto Centeno are the founding trio of Chiwas Hospitality Group, whose growing roster of restaurants also includes Main Burger, Cocina Chiwas, Aruma Cafe and the forthcoming Tucson tortillaria and restaurant, Tortillas Chiwas. The three are past James Beard Award semifinalists for their work in the kitchen and running restaurants.
Upward Projects, helmed by co-founder and CEO Lauren Bailey, is the Valley-based culinary juggernaut that counts Postino, Federal Pizza, Windsor, Churn and Joyride among its restaurants.
The partnership grew out of a natural connection, Bailey said in a news announcement.
“We’ve been big fans of Armando, Nadia and Roberto and their restaurants for a long time, and in the summer of 2025, our teams got together, started talking shop, and completely clicked,” Bailey said. “They are brilliant at what they do, and after throwing around some ideas we thought we could bring something unique and cool to the neighborhood.”
Illustration by Nicolas Graffanino
What’s coming to Central Avenue?
Upward Project’s five signature eateries, clustered on both sides of a block of Central Avenue, transformed the Uptown dining corridor. The group brought Joyride, a restaurant they initially launched in Gilbert, to Uptown in 2013.
There, Joyride serves SoCal-inspired tacos, burritos and margaritas in a colorful Midcentury building with a picturesque, tree-shaded patio. The restaurant will remain open until Aug. 2. For the last few weeks before it closes, Joyride will say goodbye by extending its Taco Tuesday deals on tacos and select margaritas to every day of the week.
After the last diners are served on Aug. 2, Joyride will close and the teams will begin transforming the space into Lado A Lado. Joyride’s original Gilbert location will remain open.
Open-flame cooking, a signature of the Chiwas team’s other restaurants, will be a feature at the new concept, as will “familial shared meals of the Sonoran region,” according to the release. Diners can expect to see a raw bar and parrillada in the restaurant. Few details about the menu are available, outside of promises of a “contrast of fire and sea, and smoke and citrus.”
In a joint statement, the Chiwas Group’s owners expressed their appreciation for the Upward Projects team and applauded the way they connect with guests.
“For us, it’s always been about delivering a genuine experience and celebrating culture through food,” the Chiwas team shared in the joint statement. “We’ve wanted to bring our flavors to North Central Phoenix for a long time, and doing it alongside partners who care about this community as much as we do makes it really special.”
Joyride Taco House
Closes Aug. 2
5202 N. Central Ave.
Lado A Lado
Opens this fall
