2 top chefs team up to help open new Scottsdale cocktail lounge. Here's what to know

Celebrity chefs Scott Conant and Beau MacMillan are joining forces to help open Tell Your Friends.

October 23, 2023

Image: Tell Your Friends is scheduled to open in Scottsdale this spring.

Tell Your Friends is scheduled to open in Scottsdale this spring. Tell Your Friends

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Celebrity chefs Scott Conant and Beau MacMillan are collaborating on a new cocktail bar in Scottsdale. The duo helm The Americano and Cala respectively. The new concept, called Tell Your Friends, is set to open in the spring.

The new bar will be connected to The Americano and accessed through a side door at the restaurant. From there, customers will descend a black-tile staircase to experience the underground bar and live music lounge.

Tell Your Friends will have an opulent aesthetic with maroon velvet drapes, mirrored walls and dramatic floral wall coverings, according to a news release. The center of attention will be a bar with overhead lighting that connects it with the stage where nightly performances are planned. Expect vocalists, musical acts and entertainers to perform while customers sip cocktails and enjoy the show.

click to enlarge

Overhead lighting will connect the bar with the stage at Tell Your Friends.

Tell Your Friends

The cocktail menu will feature classic and craft cocktails that rotate seasonally. Wine and small bites from the celebrity chefs will also be available.

Conant is a chef, cookbook author, judge on "Chopped" and the mind behind restaurants around the country including Mora Italian and The Americano in Arizona. MacMillan, who has also made his fair share of television appearances on "Beat the Chefs," "The Next Iron Chef" and "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives," is the culinary advisor for Cala Scottsdale.

The new concept is a collaboration between Conant and MacMillan along with restaurant developers and operators Creation Hospitality and Clive Collective.

"North Scottsdale has long been waiting for a refined and one-of-a-kind nightlife destination tailored to a discerning crowd," Kevin Ferguson, director of operations for Creation Hospitality said in the release. "Tell Your Friends is exactly that."

Construction started on the new space this week and the "ultra-luxe underground lounge" is expected to welcome its first customers in early spring 2024.

Tell Your Friends

Opening spring 2024 at The Americano
17797 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale

Tirion Boan is the Food Editor of Phoenix New Times where she’s worked since May 2022. Tirion keeps a close eye on restaurant openings and closings, offers dining recommendations and reports on metro Phoenix food news and trends. She also publishes major annual lists like Top 100 Bars and Top 100 Restaurants, and contributes to the Best of Phoenix project. Tirion previously worked for publications including The Arizona Republic and The Tucson Weekly. She holds a bachelor’s of arts in journalism from the University of Arizona.

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