For years now, restaurant developer Sam Fox has wanted to open a Tucson outpost of his popular fast-casual healthy eatery Flower Child.
But he could never find the perfect location.
That changed late last year when he bought the Old Chicago Pizza building at 2960 N. Campbell Ave., near Glenn Street. The building was demolished, and a new one built in its place to house Flower Child and Fox’s pizza and rotisserie chicken restaurant Doughbird.
“I was finally able to get the spot where I felt that it belonged,” the Tucson native said last Friday as he was making plans to come home on Saturday, April 1, to test-drive the restaurant with a special family and friends event.
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Flower Child, which features a menu of salads and bowls, many of them vegetarian and vegan, will open to the public at 11 a.m. Tuesday, April 4.
Flower Child, on the corner of North Campbell Avenue and Glenn Street, is located where the former Old Chicago Pizza once stood.
“I’m excited to bring it there and show it off,” said Fox, who launched his restaurant career in 1998 with the modestly upscale new American restaurant Wildflower at 7037 N. Oracle Road and grew it into an empire with 11 concepts and restaurants nationwide. “It’s always exciting to do new stuff in Tucson. Obviously Tucson’s been an amazing supporter of us and my career, and really a foundation for who I am.”
This is the first new Fox restaurant in Tucson since he opened Culinary Dropout at the old Grant Road Lumber Co. building in 2017. Two years later, Fox sold his Phoenix-based Fox Restaurant Concepts to Cheesecake Factory, which employs Fox and his company to create and open restaurants around the country.
Doughbird is expected to open in mid-May, Fox said. It will be only the third location for that concept, which he introduced in 2017.
Flower Child developer Sam Fox, far right, held a friends-and-family event on Saturday, April 1. Joining him, far left, was University of Arizona basketball coach Tommy Lloyd and his longtime friend and builder Brian Frakes of Common Bond Development Group.
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This year, Fox will open a dozen restaurants, including the new margarita speakeasy Pushing Daisies in Nashville, Culinary Dropout locations in Charlotte and Atlanta and Flower Child restaurants in Houston and possibly San Antonio. Fox said he will open 15 restaurants in 2024.
“We’re poised for a lot of growth,” he said.
In November, his 141-room boutique hotel The Global Ambassador will open at 4360 E. Camelback Road. The hotel, which will include three or four restaurant concepts unique to the hotel and a rooftop that he says will rival any in Phoenix, is located near Fox Restaurant Concepts’ offices on Phoenix’s east side.
“It’s my side hustle,” Fox said of the project, which has been in the works for six years.
Flower Child employees took a dry run during friends and family day at the restaurant on Saturday, April 1.
New restaurants and bars that have opened in the Tucson area in 2023
Sumaj
Sumaj commissioned Bolivian artists to design their food truck art and their logo, depicting a Bolivian-style empanada.
Sumaj is a mother-daughter-run food truck that serves up Bolivian street food.
Where: 403 N. Sixth Ave.
Website: Sumaj
Sumaj is a new food truck slinging Bolivian street food near downtown Tucson. It's the only place that makes Bolivian food in Tucson, and they make it all from scratch.
Chick-in Waffle
Albert Lopez, right, helps a customer with her order during the grand opening of Chick-in Waffle on May 19. This is the Missouri chain restaurant’s first Arizona location and first location outside its birthplace in Kansas City.
Chick-in Waffle is the first chicken and waffles restaurant in Tucson since May’s Counter Chicken & Waffles on East Speedway closed in 2018. Several Tucson restaurants, including The Drunken Chicken on North Fourth Ave., serve chicken and waffles, but none of them focuses on it exclusively.
Where: 5524 E. Grant Road
Phone: 816-800-4041
Website: Chick-in Waffle
A chicken-and-waffles chain is busting into the Tucson marketFor Star subscribers: A Kansas City, Missouri, restaurant has opened its first location outside its homebase in Tucson, with two locations coming soon to Phoenix.
Brillé Mead Company
David Woods of the Brillé Mead Company pours a mix of water and honey from Marana into a fermentation tank inside Dillinger Brewing Co. in Tucson. This batch – a prickly pear mead – will be ready in about three weeks.
Mead is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented honey and in Ethiopia, a version of mead called te’j is a familiar household drink, consumed out of long-necked vessels called bereles. Brillé Mead Company's David Woods is bringing te’j to Tucson.
Where: 3895 N Oracle Rd
Phone: (520) 207-2312
Website: Brillé Mead Company
Brillé Mead Company is a new place to find mead in Tucson. The mead is inspired by Ethiopian te'j, from owner David Woods' home country.
Doughbird
Doughbird Pizza, 2960 N. Campbell Ave. is opening Wednesday, May 31.
Rotisserie chicken and pizza is the premise of Sam Fox's six-year-old concept Doughbird, which opened its first Tucson location on May 31.
Where: 2960 N. Campbell Ave.
Website: Doughbird
For Star subscribers: Doughbird, a rotisserie chicken and pizza restaurant, is opening next door to another new Fox eatery, Flower Child.
Mr. Patron
While there are lots of Mexican sushi food trucks in Tucson, Mr. Patron is the first sit-down restaurant slinging the deep-fried rolls. It even has a patio.
Where: 5754 E. 22nd St.
Phone: (520) 372 2346
Website: Mr. Patron
11 new restaurants have recently opened in Tucson. Find a second location of Indian Twist, a new pupuseria in a food truck park and a Japanese-style sandwich spot at American Eat Co.
Hideout Steakhouse & BBQ
The Hideout Steakhouse and BBQ is expected to open in February at Tucson Spectrum on Irvington Road near I-19.
This small chain, started in Myton, Utah, has one restaurant in Casa Grande and opened its third location in Tucson on April 3. They offer steak cooked on a hot stone right at your table along with other steakhouse classics.
Where: 5475 S. Calle Santa Cruz
Phone: (520) 702-2227
Website: Hideout Steakhouse
For Star subscribers: The Hideout Steakhouse and BBQ will open next year on Tucson's south side, creating about 50 new jobs.
Gyro Shack
Idaho-based Gyro Shack, serves up Greek staples in a "fast-causal" setting.
Where: 5775 E. Broadway Blvd
Phone: (208) 853-5840
Website: Gyro Shack
The new Greek-inspired joint will host its soft opening on April 14 across from Park Place Mall.
The Backyard Food Truck Park
420 Taco Truck is one of the five core food trucks at The Backyard food truck park and will be available 20 days out of the month.
The Backyard has a rotating roster of 20 trucks, though a core few will be posted up 20 days of each month and 7-8 are featured at a time. The park is open daily, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Where: 890 W. Grant Road
Phone: (520) 668-0074
Website: The Backyard
The Backyard, located on Grant Road, is Tucson's newest food truck hub. With a roster of 7-8 food trucks at a time, you'll find Mexican sushi to Persian-inspired coffee.
Zyka Twist
The garlic naan at Zyka Twist is $4.25.
Where: 621 N 4th Ave
Phone: (602) 544-6766
Website: Zyka Twist
Tucson's Indian Twist just opened a second location, this time on 4th Ave. Zyka Twist serves a curated selection of items you love from Indian Twist's midtown location.
Flower Child
Flower Child, on the corner of North Campbell Avenue and Glenn Street, is located where the former Old Chicago Pizza once stood.
Flower Child features a menu of salads and bowls, many of them vegetarian and vegan.
Where: 2960 N Campbell Ave. #110
Phone: (520) 276-4550
Website: Flower Child
Kava Den
Kava Den is a new extension of the Kava Bar, which offers Kava drinks and products.
Where: 67 E. Pennington St.
Phone: 520-323-1832
Website: Kava Den
Uptown Burger
Justin Fitzsimons prepares a French dip burger at Uptown Burger, 6370 N. Campbell Ave.
Uptown Burger is a counter-service, fast-food restaurant that serves a half-dozen eclectic burgers, salads, fries and gelato.
Where: 6370 N. Campbell Ave. suite 160
Phone: (520) 638-6182
Website: Uptown Burger
For Star subscribers: The scion of Tucson's famous Italian restaurant family has dove into his passion for burgers.
Yellow Brick Coffee
You can purchase Yellow Brick Coffee at their brick-and-mortar store, 3220 S. Dodge Blvd. It was founded in 2012.
Yellow Brick Coffee is at a new location offering hand- and batch-brewed coffees, espresso-based beverages and pastries made in-house.
Where: 800 N. Country Club Road
Phone: (520) 226-4068
Website: Yellow Brick Coffee
For Star subscribers: A Tucson-based coffee roaster is opening its flagship location at the iconic Benedictine Monastery in midtown.
Comida Park
A new food truck park opened in February at the Tanque Verde Swap Meet.
Where: 4100 S. Palo Verde Road
Phone: (866) 440-2810
Website: Comida Park
Blue Front
Tucson restaurateur Patricia Schwabe drew from childhood memories of eating classic American fare during visits from Mexico for her new restaurant, Blue Front Fine American Food, 110 E. Congress St.
Blue Front, home to American comfort foods, opened in January.
Where: 110 E. Congress St.
Phone: (520) 849-7964
Website: Blue Front
Dave’s Hot Chicken
The chicken on the menu comes in seven degrees of hot, from "No Spice" to "Reaper."
Where: 5615 E. Broadway Blvd.
Phone: (520) 613-2420
Website: Dave’s Hot Chicken
Portillo's
A row of dogs gets loaded up on the line at Portillo’s, 3761 E. Broadway Blvd., in Tucson.
This popular chain that specializes in Chicago-style hot dogs opened in February where Claim Jumper once stood at the El Con Center.
Where: 3761 E Broadway Blvd
Phone: 520-246-2300
Website: Portillo's
Main Event
Pictured is the Triple Lava Burger at Main Event, which comes with three patties topped with American cheese ... and then smothered in creamy cheese and caramelized onions.
Main Event is a family-friendly bowling, arcade and entertainment venue that opened its first Tucson location in March.
Where: 4700 S Landing Way
Phone: (520) 503-3301
Website: Main Event
Check out some of Tucson's newest restaurants, including upscale American comfort foods and Argentine empanadas.
Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at cburch@tucson.com. On Twitter @Starburch
Cathalena E. Burch
Reporter
Cathalena has covered music for the Star for more than 20 years. She's a graduate of Arizona State University has worked at Sedona Red Rock News, Niagara Gazette in Niagara Falls, New York; and USA Today.
