Rosie McCaffrey's Irish Pub & RestaurantWe were psyched to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day at Rosie McCaffrey’s this year, as we do every year. Then, the pandemic hit, and — cruelly — March 17 happened to be the day Governor Doug Ducey told the bars they had to shut down by 8 p.m. Since then, there haven’t been many days we’ve […]
BethAnn McLaughlinOnce upon a time, there was a bisexual, Native American anthropology professor at Arizona State University who stood up for the abuse of women in science and died of COVID-19 on July 31. The professor was known to about 2,400 followers on Twitter, including many followers in academia, as @Sciencing_Bi. They retweeted news of the […]
M3FThe pickings in this category were slim, thanks to a pandemic that forced the cancellation of all local music festivals after mid-March. But even if that hadn’t happened, M3F (also known as the McDowell Mountain Music Festival), which took place days before the concert industry shut down, would likely still get the nod. As with […]
The Rebel Lounge's T-Shirt DriveWhen the pandemic forced live music venues to close their doors, it left their hard-working security guards, bartenders, and sound engineers without a steady source of income. Club owners set up several fundraisers aimed at providing a financial lifeline to their employees. Some offered donors incentives like ticket discounts to use when the clubs reopened. […]
32 SheaThe drive-thru experience is often a trade-off: You get convenience, and you don’t have to leave your car’s air-conditioned interior, but most of the food that’s available through a window isn’t particularly healthy or tasty. Not so at 32 Shea. The tiny north-central Phoenix eatery began life as a photo mat, and the building retained […]
My Sister's ClosetIt’s been nearly three decades since the chic resale shop My Sister’s Closet opened in metro Phoenix. True to its name, the enterprise — which has since opened multiple locations in the Valley and California — is run by a pair of sisters with a flair for helping savvy customers find just the right item or […]
LovecraftAny old bar in metro Phoenix can provide some booze, food, and a human being to talk to on the next stool if you’re so inclined. But Lovecraft is a bar that doesn’t just serve its north Phoenix neighborhood — it enriches it. Before the pandemic hit, Lovecraft regularly held events like tarot card readings, […]
Bar SmithEarly 2020 was a series of bummers for downtown Phoenix’s Bar Smith. After shutting down in March following Governor Doug Ducey’s stay-at-home order, the club’s windows were smashed by thieves who made off with most of its liquor supply. Weeks later, the owners were hit with enormous utility bills, even though the club had gone […]
Seances and Spiritualists TourIs it possible to converse with those who’ve gone to the great beyond? The Victorians certainly thought so. Not to speak ill of the long-since deceased, but these people eagerly believed in paranormal poppycock like Ouija boards, seances, and mediums, the popularity of which was born of the era’s obsession with death. Such subjects are […]
