Ducati Motorcycle Dealership Turns Restaurant
Sam Fox has done it again. The opening of the third Culinary Dropout slipped into this emerging Phoenix neighborhood quietly opening what is now dubbed as, “The Yard.”
Fox and his co-horts, WDP Partners renovated an existing metal structure that was once a Ducati Motorcycle dealership to create a 53,000 square restaurant that is fast becoming the cool place to hang. This former garage which is located on the corner of North Seventh Street and Montebello was acquired and renovated by Fox.
During this process much of its original bones were kept intact. The entire project seemed to be dictated by the original building’s blueprints which created a restaurant to fit the building. This is an idea that seems to work for Sam Fox and his food concept empire.
Being the cool place to hang needs more than a re-purposed building, with a huge outdoor patio, some wing back chairs and a few pin pong tables, to make it work. It also needs to have a keen eye on the menu and the food, in walks James Beard Award nominee; Andrew Ashmore. Chosen in 2011 in the Rising Chef of the Year category, Ashmore has taken this urban-hang out to new heights, after working in other of Fox’s restaurants and getting his start in the business at the tender age of 14, Ashmore looks more like a hipster than a chef. With no dress code he encourages his staff to stand out as much as he does. Urban never looked so good.
The Yard offers a full menu of pub inspired fare with a huge selection of draft beer and specialty drinks all listed on their own menu appropriately entitled, Vices.
What to order?
If you’re going for St. Patrick’s Day, try the soft pretzel bites and Provolone cheese fondue, it’s a generous portion that can be shared.
Next on the menu, order the real Beer Battered Fish & Chips, fresh Cod cooked to perfection and served on brown craft paper which only enhances the pub-like presentation. Top it all off with the Monkey Bread, another variation of a classic, this one baked to order using a cinnamon apple brioche and served with vanilla gelato.
The foodie crowds in the valley have been lining up since its opening last month and the place is not even finished. Whatever brings you to this neighborhood a trip to The Yard will have you returning often, but, be mind full of the parking, come early and circle twice.
