When dining out, Teresa Nguyen had a conundrum – she’s an adventurous eater and her boyfriend has more basic food tastes. When looking for a spot that could please them both during their travels, she often found the variety they craved under one roof at a food hall.
“This way we didn’t have to compromise,” Nguyen says.
With a desire to share that experience with others, Nguyen has opened Tempe Eats near Southern and Mill avenues.
The eight-restaurant food hall has been a four-year “labor of love,” Nguyen says. She also owns Yogi’s Grill, a fast-casual teriyaki and sushi franchise in Tempe Marketplace, and started thinking about Tempe Eats during the pandemic. She piloted some of the Tempe Eats concepts inside Yogi's during that time.
“The food hall was a good way of bringing more of what I love and sharing that variety with more people,” Nguyen says.
“Really for us, it was about, people want to connect … so let’s make this food hall about connection, community and variety,” Nguyen says.
Food halls – think the mall food court without the mall and where the Orange Julius has been replaced with a local independent eatery – have ebbed and flowed here in the Valley. The format is seeing a resurgence with the opening of Tempe Eats and two more halls in the works for Chandler and Mesa.
When Nguyen talks with people about Tempe Eats, she agrees with the mall comparison, but adds that it's “like a food court at the mall but elevated.”
And, there are a few other key differences. Nguyen and her team oversee all of the restaurants and bars inside Tempe Eats. Also, ordering is all done at your seat through your smartphone. There’s a drive-thru available for picking up a meal or cocktails.
The restaurants are:
The food hall includes a large dining area that encircles the main bar, Tempe Drinks. A selection of 80 wines is available through Sobremesa and Craft U allows guests to select from 42 taps to pour their own beer, cider, draft wine and batched cocktails. One cocktail Nguyen is excited for people to try is the Ca Phe Tini, Tempe Eats’ take on an espresso martini “using Vietnamese coffee from my motherland,” she says.
Located off the dining room is a covered patio space replete with greenery and TVs to give “biergarten vibes,” Nguyen says. Located beside Sobremesa is a second, separate dog-friendly patio. 
“They’ll walk you through (the menus) but they’ll also make sure that you have a high-touch experience where you’re not frustrated by the technology,” Nguyen says.
The Tempe Eats menus and ordering are accessible through a QR placed at each table or bar seat. Menu items from any of the restaurants or bars can be added to one tab from your seat. This differs from most food halls – there's no getting up to wait in line at one spot, pay and then move on to the next, "so that solves the problem of having to separate from your friends,” she explains.
For those not wanting to read on their phone, an island of menu cards sits near the entry for guests to peruse.
On a visit during the soft opening, which began on Feb. 7, there were some hiccups. One restaurant’s menu was displaying improperly. When asked, a server manually added the order. One diner couldn’t get a coupon code to work, but several staffers rallied around an iPad to ensure the guest received it on their ticket. Guests at another table asked, and were obliged, to just give their order directly to the staff member helping them.
Nguyen concedes that there have been some expected “learning moments” and kinks to work out with the ordering technology. As the food hall gets up and running, she’s asking for kindness and understanding from diners.
Once an order is placed, the kitchen gets to work and brings out dishes as they’re ready. If a diner decides to order more food or refresh a drink, it can be added to the current bill through your phone or by a roaming server, Nguyen says.
In addition to dining in, Tempe Eats offers a walk-up ordering window and online ordering, with a pickup drive-thru for “a lazy takeout Tuesday or a Netflix night.”
“We’ll take time, we’ll make your food right, and then you’ll get a text that says you can drive through,” Nguyen says. “You can still come through our drive-thru and instead of just doing a basic Taco Tuesday, you can do Taco Tuesday with margaritas to-go.”
Seeing neighbors come in and getting to know them has been among the highlights for Nguyen so far.
At the weekend-long grand opening party that begins Friday, diners can expect food samples, giveaways, food and drink specials and live DJs – something the venue will continue every Friday and Saturday night.
“We really want to be everyone’s favorite neighborhood bar that we welcome people to again and again,” she says. “We’re looking forward to building a community where foodies become family.”
Friday 10:30 a.m.-midnight, Saturday 11 a.m.-midnight, Sunday 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
85 E. Southern Ave., Tempe
“This way we didn’t have to compromise,” Nguyen says.
With a desire to share that experience with others, Nguyen has opened Tempe Eats near Southern and Mill avenues.
The eight-restaurant food hall has been a four-year “labor of love,” Nguyen says. She also owns Yogi’s Grill, a fast-casual teriyaki and sushi franchise in Tempe Marketplace, and started thinking about Tempe Eats during the pandemic. She piloted some of the Tempe Eats concepts inside Yogi's during that time.
“The food hall was a good way of bringing more of what I love and sharing that variety with more people,” Nguyen says.
Tempe Eats features a variety of options, including the flagship eatery and wine bar Sobremesa, which boasts a TV-free dining space. It sits next to owner Teresa Nguyen's first culinary endeavor, Yogi's Grill.
Sara Crocker
Like a food court, but elevated
An avid traveler who has been to more than 70 countries, Nguyen wanted to create a dining experience that draws on some of her favorite places and foods, while also giving people space to connect with their loved ones. Growing up, Nguyen and her five siblings would gather around the dinner table sharing their good and bad news of the day.“Really for us, it was about, people want to connect … so let’s make this food hall about connection, community and variety,” Nguyen says.
Food halls – think the mall food court without the mall and where the Orange Julius has been replaced with a local independent eatery – have ebbed and flowed here in the Valley. The format is seeing a resurgence with the opening of Tempe Eats and two more halls in the works for Chandler and Mesa.
When Nguyen talks with people about Tempe Eats, she agrees with the mall comparison, but adds that it's “like a food court at the mall but elevated.”
And, there are a few other key differences. Nguyen and her team oversee all of the restaurants and bars inside Tempe Eats. Also, ordering is all done at your seat through your smartphone. There’s a drive-thru available for picking up a meal or cocktails.
The St. Louis Ribs plate from Mardi Q at Tempe Eats, which is accompanied with two sides of the diner's choice.
Sara Crocker
What food is available at Tempe Eats?
Tempe Eats has eight restaurants, a full-service bar, a pour-it-yourself craft beer and cocktail wall and a wine bar.The restaurants are:
- Sobremesa, the hall’s flagship concept and wine bar, is a tapas-style eatery with shareable bites and charcuterie as well as larger plates such as roasted chicken, braised short rib or the Oozy Wellington burger – a Wagyu beef patty wrapped in puff pastry and injected table-side with a syringe of cheddar cheese sauce.
- Yogi’s Grill serves a variety of sushi rolls, teriyaki, noodles and appetizers such as gyoza and shrimp tempura.
- Wings & Wagyu cooks bone-in and boneless wings, fries, chicken sandwiches and American Wagyu burgers.
- Fork Off makes handheld bites, such as tacos, empanadas, burritos and street corn.
- Mardi Q serves New Orleans-inspired bites like jambalaya, po’boys and beignets, as well as smoked meats including brisket and St. Louis ribs.
- Pastiazza features house-made pasta and pizzas served on a sourdough crust.
- Mixwich crafts sandwiches, from a Cubano to a meatball sub, and salads, such as an Autumn Medley Salad using roasted kabocha squash and Peri Peri Shrimp Salad with feta, watermelon, pepitas, tortilla strips and a pear-balsamic vinaigrette.
- Maison Bijon is the spot for desserts, serving gelato, sorbet and cakes. For those who can’t decide, Maison Bijon also offers a dessert flight.
Craft U features more than 40 pour-yourself taps featuring beer, cider, wine and house cocktails.
Sara Crocker
Located off the dining room is a covered patio space replete with greenery and TVs to give “biergarten vibes,” Nguyen says. Located beside Sobremesa is a second, separate dog-friendly patio.
The dining area at Tempe Eats draws on nearby Arizona State University's maroon and gold and includes scannable QR codes at every table to view menus and order.
Sara Crocker
How does Tempe Eats operate?
When guests walk in, they’re greeted by a concierge who seats them, explains the ordering process and is on hand to help or answer any questions.“They’ll walk you through (the menus) but they’ll also make sure that you have a high-touch experience where you’re not frustrated by the technology,” Nguyen says.
The Tempe Eats menus and ordering are accessible through a QR placed at each table or bar seat. Menu items from any of the restaurants or bars can be added to one tab from your seat. This differs from most food halls – there's no getting up to wait in line at one spot, pay and then move on to the next, "so that solves the problem of having to separate from your friends,” she explains.
For those not wanting to read on their phone, an island of menu cards sits near the entry for guests to peruse.
On a visit during the soft opening, which began on Feb. 7, there were some hiccups. One restaurant’s menu was displaying improperly. When asked, a server manually added the order. One diner couldn’t get a coupon code to work, but several staffers rallied around an iPad to ensure the guest received it on their ticket. Guests at another table asked, and were obliged, to just give their order directly to the staff member helping them.
Nguyen concedes that there have been some expected “learning moments” and kinks to work out with the ordering technology. As the food hall gets up and running, she’s asking for kindness and understanding from diners.
Once an order is placed, the kitchen gets to work and brings out dishes as they’re ready. If a diner decides to order more food or refresh a drink, it can be added to the current bill through your phone or by a roaming server, Nguyen says.
In addition to dining in, Tempe Eats offers a walk-up ordering window and online ordering, with a pickup drive-thru for “a lazy takeout Tuesday or a Netflix night.”
“We’ll take time, we’ll make your food right, and then you’ll get a text that says you can drive through,” Nguyen says. “You can still come through our drive-thru and instead of just doing a basic Taco Tuesday, you can do Taco Tuesday with margaritas to-go.”
Tempe Eats features a variety of seating, from a community table that can become a semi-private event space, to a bar and patio.
Sara Crocker
A ‘diamond moment’
Nguyen says that throughout the project, people have remarked at her perseverance. She calls the journey to getting Tempe Eats open her “diamond moment,” where after a long, challenging process, she’s coming out better on the other side.Seeing neighbors come in and getting to know them has been among the highlights for Nguyen so far.
At the weekend-long grand opening party that begins Friday, diners can expect food samples, giveaways, food and drink specials and live DJs – something the venue will continue every Friday and Saturday night.
“We really want to be everyone’s favorite neighborhood bar that we welcome people to again and again,” she says. “We’re looking forward to building a community where foodies become family.”
Tempe Eats
Grand opening celebration:Friday 10:30 a.m.-midnight, Saturday 11 a.m.-midnight, Sunday 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
85 E. Southern Ave., Tempe
