Here's the scoop on ice cream parlor
Sullivan's Eatery & Creamery begins churning today at 6444 N. Oracle Road.
Owners Kathy and Jerry Sullivan have dropped their alliance with Swensen's Ice Cream and are scooping on their own.
Housemade ice cream has been the speciality at the location since 1977; the Sullivans have owned the ice cream parlor since 1986, Jerry said.
The Sullivans left the franchise so they could continue to make their own ice cream and not be compelled to order products from a central distributor, said Kathy.
The shop will continue to offer about 40 flavors of ice cream, many with new names. Aside from a few nonfat flavors, a couple sherbets and a sorbet - it's all superpremium at 16 percent butterfat, she said.
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You can still find the traditional December treat - eggnog ice cream, a cool confection that seems ideal for holidays amid record warm weather. It's $2.30 for a single scoop, said Jerry.
The Sullivans won a Caliente Food Fight competition for best ice cream in 2010, and for best milkshake in April 2008.
Banners, menus and signs with the new name are set to make their appearance this week. Call 297-9974 for more information.
Ann Brown
Magpies Pizza closes East Speedway site
If you're hoping to get Magpies Gourmet Pizza delivered to your house in the East Speedway and North Swan Road area, you're out of luck.
Although that location at 4654 E. Speedway still appears on the company's website, it's been closed about six weeks.
"We wanted to expand in a different avenue and we didn't want to invest anymore in that location," said Halina Sindrich, Magpies chief financial officer. "We are considering opening more locations down the road."
The Tucson chain has three remaining restaurants, and all of them will get face-lifts to match the newly remodeled Magpies at 605 N. Fourth Ave. Sindrich said the downtown location is more family friendly, with bocce ball courts and bean-bag games for children.
El Coqui owners plan food trailer in January
Owners of El Coqui, the Caribbean restaurant that closed its doors in June, are throwing their hats into the food truck arena.
Husband-and-wife team Liz and Joseph Gonzalez hope to have their own food trailer, a small kitchen space that they will tow behind their car, up and running by mid- January.
Liz said the trailer will be open at locations around town two to three times a week and will hopefully be part of any food truck roundups held in the new year.
Liz and Joseph opened El Coqui at 5443 E. 22nd St. in 2010 and ran it for nearly two years before moving to East Broadway, across from Park Place, last December.
They opted to close in June for personal reasons.
"It was hard on the family being there from open to close every day," said Liz, who continued to cater after the restaurant closed. "With a food trailer, you don't have to be running all the time."
El Coqui will start off serving sandwiches, including a Cuban sandwich and a Boricua burger topped with El Coqui's special sauce and plantains. It also will serve fried fritters.
Eventually, Liz said, they would like to move on to more complex dishes, but "we'll see how it goes."
The couple are soliciting suggestions for regular spots to sell their cuisine on their Facebook page, facebook.com/ElCoquiCreativeCaribbeanCuisine online.
Chef Schultz back with Wild Garlic Grill
Longtime Tucson chef Steven Schultz will open Wild Garlic Grill on Friday, seven months after he shuttered his New Red Sky and Luna Bar in Plaza Palomino.
The new restaurant will take up residence at 2530 N. First Ave. (just north of Grant Road), which was most recently home to the short-lived Three and a Half Brothers Cafe. Schultz said that while the concept and menu are his - and he will run the restaurant - he does not own it. It is owned by L.I.G. 12, LLC, according to Arizona Corporation Commission records.
"I'm developing some brand new dishes. A lot of dishes have garlic in them," said Schultz, who also runs Red Sky Catering. Prices will run from $8.50 to $15 for entrees. Wild Garlic Grill will also borrow some Red Sky dishes.
Schultz said the building, which has a patio big enough to seat 50, has saguaro ribs around the bar and a pole-pine ceiling. The kitchen is open and the decor cries out casual, which is a change from Schultz's more upscale Red Sky days. The restaurant can seat about 50 inside, he said.
If the concept works, Schultz hopes to open more locations. "I'm really excited," he said.
Wild Garlic Grill will be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily and later on Friday and Saturday nights.
Stella Java to open Saturday in Mercado
Stella Java is celebrating its move to the Mercado San Agustin on Saturday with a DJ and drink specials from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The shop uses coffee from EXO Coffee Roasters, a locally owned company that craft roasts small batches of premium coffees, and offers teas from Maya Tea Company.
Curtis Zimmerman started Stella Java about a year ago, operating as a coffee cart in the St. Mary's Medical Plaza II at 395 N. Silverbell Road.
He was drawn to the Mercado at 100 S.Avenida del Convento because he sees potential along West Congress Street, just west of the Santa Cruz River, which is drawing new businesses and residents. The Mercado already has a beautiful courtyard, he said, where people can enjoy made-to-order coffee drinks.
Stella Java will be open daily from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekends.
Cathalena E. Burch Gerald M. Gay Cathalena E. Burch Inger Sandal
