Owner Teresa Nguyen says the decision to “return to our food hall roots” was driven in part by Rexford White, the owner of a Cajun Breakfast Joint, who first hosted an event at Tempe Eats and began a month-long pop-up at the spot on Southern and Mill avenues in April.
“We’re finding our balance now of events versus food hall,” Nguyen says, calling White a great fit for Tempe Eats. “At our core, we’re still about remarkable food and remarkable chefs in a space that is all about community and convenience and variety.”
Three dining options are open now, with two more slated to open on May 1.
What is Tempe Eats?
Tempe Eats originally opened in February 2024, featuring eight dining options that ranged from a casual sandwich and salad spot to a wine and tapas bar. All of the eateries were operated by Nguyen and her team – a contrast from more traditional food hall models where several restaurant owners operate independently but share a communal dining space.In January, Nguyen shared that Tempe Eats would close its day-to-day operations and shift its focus to hosting events. The owner made that decision 11 months after the food hall opened because it struggled to attract crowds outside of bustling weekends.
In March, White hosted a Mardi Gras party at the space. After trying White’s food and hearing about his plans to develop other Creole-inspired eateries, Nguyen decided to reconsider her plans for Tempe Eats.
“He was a great culture fit,” she says. “He will contribute well to what Tempe Eats is about.”
Bringing Cajun to the desert
At the start of April, White relocated his breakfast restaurant from Chandler and opened two new restaurants: Creole Bowls To Go, offering jambalaya, gumbo and house-made beignets, and Seafood Boil AZ.It was seafood – and blue crab in particular – that vaulted White from a corporate career in logistics in North Carolina to running restaurants in the desert.
Amid the pandemic, White was laid off from his job and went through a divorce. As he considered the next chapter of his life, he was sure of one thing.
“I wanted to build something significant,” he says.
That started with a simple idea of getting fresh seafood to people’s homes. White took his business know-how and started sourcing and selling blue crab, including in bags ready to boil at home, bundled with other seafood, vegetables and spices. He also began packaging and selling sauces and spice blends under the name Jax Seasonings.
Cajun Breakfast Joint owner Rexford White also sells spice blends under the name Jax Seasonings.
Sara Crocker
“My mother cooked every day because that was her love language,” he says.
In October 2020, White opened his first restaurant, Seafood Boil NC.
“I said whatever space I decided to go into – or industry or category – I’m going to build it out,” he says. “I just planted my flag and said, ‘What can I do in this industry?’”
White was eying expansion in North Carolina, but at the suggestion of a friend who lives in the Valley, he booked a trip to check out Arizona and its dining scene.
“In one day of being here, I said, ‘You know I think you’re right,’” White recalls about his friend's suggestion to move to the Valley.
He sold his North Carolina restaurant and headed for the desert in December 2024. White opened Cajun Breakfast Joint in Chandler in July. It was a concept that he had tested before in North Carolina, offering brunch once a week.
“I wanted to see if we could cultivate a menu,” White says. “I built it as a concept that we could move.”
In Chandler, Cajun Breakfast Joint’s menu was packed not only with brunch dishes including chicken and waffles, crawfish biscuits and gravy and French toast with a praline syrup, but also items that have now been parsed across his other concepts. Creole Bowls To Go and Seafood Boil AZ serve po boys, rice and pasta bowls and a bountiful boil of crab, shrimp and mussels.
“All these concepts lived in one house,” White says. “Now (at Tempe Eats) they’re starting to have a life of their own.”
As the chef and owner introduces more diners to his Cajun and Creole cooking, he has aspirations of growing beyond Tempe. Right now, he’s focused on building an audience at Tempe Eats.
“I promise you by June this place is going to be rocking,” he says. “It’s going to be a fun, fun growth excursion.”
More openings anticipated at Tempe Eats
Two more restaurants will open at Tempe Eats on May 1.Nguyen will bring back an outpost of Yogi’s Grill, the teriyaki and sushi franchise that she also owns in Tempe Marketplace. Chef Martin Lopez is adding his spin on the previous Tempe Eats concept Fork Off, which offered handheld tacos and empanadas. The chef is also adding new offerings to the menu, such as birria ramen, Nguyen says.
With its large, flexible dining area, pleny of kitchen space, a drive-thru window, a full bar and the ability to sell cocktails to-go, Tempe Eats hasn't only piqued White's interest. Nguyen says diners can expect more restaurants to open as the summer progresses.
“We’ll bring back more in June,” she says.
Now, the team at Tempe Eats is getting used to a new balance of daily restaurant service as well as hosting special events.
“We’re listening to our customers and recognizing the demand for variety, convenience and community,” Nguyen says, “which is really at the heart of our food hall model.”
Tempe Eats
Open daily 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.85 E. Southern Ave., Tempe
