On a Friday night this month, Roosevelt Street has no barricades or vendor tables associated with First Friday. Cars move past restaurants open for service, in a scene different from event nights.
First Friday, the monthly art walk that put Roosevelt Row on the map back in 1994, isn't happening here anymore. As of this month it's relocated entirely to Cannon Beach Entertainment Center in Mesa, a surf-and-entertainment complex out in the East Valley. That's not a small adjustment to an event calendar. That's the district's signature monthly gathering packing up and leaving the neighborhood it was named for.
The changes to First Friday unfolded against a broader backdrop of business activity in Roosevelt Row.
How First Friday's Format Changed
First Friday's format in Roosevelt Row changed in stages.
- March 2026 — A late-night shooting near Roosevelt Row after that month's event pushed public safety to the front of the conversation among business owners and city partners.
- April 16, 2026 — Roosevelt Row Community Development Corporation and Downtown Phoenix Inc. announced they would suspend the ARTS Market street closure and vendor setup "for the foreseeable future," citing community feedback and recent incidents.
- May 1, 2026 — The first First Friday without street closures or vendors took place. Galleries and restaurants stayed open. The tables, the food trucks, and the crowds that used to fill ten blocks did not.
- August 7, 2026 — Organizers confirmed the event itself was relocating to Mesa's Cannon Beach Entertainment Center, a complex currently anchored by the KTR Cannon Beach surf lagoon, the MiniCity indoor playground, and a challenge course, with an indoor go-kart venue, a movie theater, and two hotels still in development.
Vendors who depended on that monthly foot traffic felt the loss immediately. Uriel Leon, who has run La Leonada Munchies food truck at First Friday since 2021, didn't mince words about what the change meant for his bottom line. Straw and Wool Hat Company co-owner Ali Nervis was among the vendors who watched a fight break out nearby that police had to break up. Those are real, specific losses for real, specific small businesses, and they matter.
Restaurants with storefronts on Roosevelt Row were also part of the district's business landscape during this period.
Business Openings and Investments in Roosevelt Row
The examples range from open businesses to concepts with planned locations.
Prescott restaurateur Skyler Reeves and his Vivili Hospitality Group committed $4 million to three concepts clustered near First and Portland streets, just north of Roosevelt Row: Hero, a 2,800-square-foot Italian restaurant serving handmade pasta and steak; PIZZANISTA!, a Los Angeles import bringing its Vans and Thrasher Magazine-adjacent style to a 1,200-square-foot pizza shop; and Bar Saint Bruno, a 1,600-square-foot cocktail bar tucked behind it. As Phoenix New Times reported, Reeves said: "Downtown Phoenix just feels real to me."
The pattern holds across the rest of the district. Culinary Gangster, already established in Scottsdale, opened its second location at 513 E. Roosevelt Street, taking over the space that had cycled through at least two prior concepts. Dolce Italia by MEKK opened a full-day European-style cafe at Second and McKinley. Turquoise Wine Bar opened its first franchised location at Fifth and Roosevelt, built around a permanent tasting-room model, not a pop-up. Tropic Thunder, restaurateur Julian Wright's tiki bar on Second Street, joined his existing downtown properties Pedal Haus Brewery, Sake Haus, and Luckys Indoor Outdoor. Filthy, a martini bar hidden behind the steakhouse Cleaverman on Third Street, opened in December 2025 to tuxedo-clad service and live piano, months before the ARTS Market wind-down even began. Pablo's, a three-bar complex anchored by the nightclub Night Tiger, was on track to open at First Avenue and McKinley by mid-2026.
These openings and plans are part of Roosevelt Row's broader business and arts landscape.
Businesses and Arts Institutions in Roosevelt Row
Roosevelt Row's dining scene includes Matt's Big Breakfast, which serves its brunch crowd on Roosevelt; the French menu at the historic Farish House; the art-inspired dinners at Match Market + Bar; and the coffee counter at Kähvi Coffee + Cafe. The Churchill's food hall concept, Pedal Haus Downtown, and Greenwood Brewing are also part of the district's food-and-drink offerings.
Murals on Roosevelt Row include work by La Morena, Ashley Macias, Thomas "Breeze" Marcus, and Lalo Cota. Galleries like monOrchid and Eye Lounge anchor the district's original arts identity.
What Changes for Nearby Residents
For residents, the practical shift is straightforward. Parking that used to disappear for blocks on the first Friday of the month is available again. Crowds that once ran between 14,000 and 20,000 visitors, according to Artlink Phoenix's estimates cited in Phoenix New Times reporting on the event's evolution, aren't funneling through a ten-block footprint anymore. If you wanted to grab dinner at Hero or a nightcap at Bar Saint Bruno on a first Friday evening, you can now do it the same way you would on any other Friday: walk in, sit down, no detour required.
The organizations behind the event have said they're using this period to figure out what comes next. CDC board member Cindy Dach has described the original goal of the street closures as building enough foot traffic to support Roosevelt Row's galleries and restaurants. First Friday is now in Mesa; what comes next for the event remains to be seen.
First Friday's move marks a change for Roosevelt Row, while its restaurants, galleries, and other businesses continue to shape the district.
Keeping up with what's actually happening on the ground in Phoenix's core neighborhoods, whether it's a restaurant opening or a shift in how a district works, is part of what it means to know a place well. If you're curious about what's changing in Arcadia, North Central, Paradise Valley, Scottsdale, or downtown Phoenix and how it connects to the market, Mary King is always happy to talk through what she's seeing block by block.
