Arizona Grille Closes; 'Bootz' To Open In Its Place

Arizona Grille has closed and will be replaced by a new bar/restaurant under different management.

Bootz Saloon & Grill is expected to open next month after remodeling work is completed. The space will be leased from the building's current owner.

A representative from Bootz could not be reached for comment Monday morning.  

The Southwest-themed Arizona Grille opened in 2006 but was never able to find a consistent audience.

Owner Tom Tsopelas was pretty frank how business was going.

"Not good," he told me. 

Tsopelas blamed the slow sales on the lack of redevelopment on 27th Street. You don't need to look any further than Arizona Grille itself to see what Tsopelas was talking about - both of the parcels next to his are empty, with plans for strip malls yet to materialize.

Tsopelas was also critical of Oak Creek city officials for failing to deliver on redevelopment plans. Look for a story on Patch in the near future about 27th Street redevelopment efforts.

I wrote back in April.