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Urban Vine, the Central Phoenix restaurant owned by chef Michael O’Dowd and business partner John Rothstein, has closed its doors for the summer months and may be sold. Depending on the new owners — should a sale actually happen— Urban Vine may not reopen at all.
O’Dowd says several parties are interested in buying the restaurant, which is located in a renovated historic home in the Coronado neighborhood. He also says both he and Rothstein are busy with “larger broad-stroke projects and consulting opportunities” this summer.
“We love the neighborhood but consulting and off-site projects are growing and demanding more time of both of us,” O’Dowd wrote in an e-mail to New Times.
“It was a very profitable run but we may look for larger space that we can grow into,” according to the chef.
Urban Vine opened about a year ago in the house that once held the well-loved Coronado Cafe. The 80-seat restaurant offers cozy dining rooms and a covered outdoor patio. Prior to opening this restaurant, O’Dowd earned a reputation as one of the Valley’s most innovative chefs while working as executive chef at the short-lived Renegade by MOD in North Scottsdale. He also headed up the kitchen at Kai, Arizona’s only Forbes five star and AAA five diamond restaurant, for several years.
For updates about the restaurant, keep an eye on the Urban Vine Facebook.
