Restaurants don’t just pop out of nowhere and become overnight sensations. Things take time.
Sometimes, they get their start in a mall food court, working hard to ensure their menu stands out among the better-known chains.
Other times, they start in their own home kitchen, waking up at 4 a.m. to freshly bake treats and spend hours driving around town to drop them off at local coffee shops.
They can even start as a simple idea inside someone’s head. That small idea then blooms into a full-fledged plan, and before you know it, a former party store is being renovated into a community hub that serves creamy iced vanilla lattes.
It takes a lot of hard work to get a restaurant off the ground, but these eight Tucsonans are rolling up their sleeves and making their dreams come true in the new year.
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From pizza to hand pies to blueberry matcha lattes, below are eight restaurants, bars and cafes coming in 2025 that we are excited for.
Antojitos comes from the folks behind The Neighborhood next door.
Antojitos
Is there anything Jessica and Daniel Cordova can’t do? The couple is behind some of Tucson’s tastiest restaurants: La Chingada, RealGood Brunch Co., Cruda and The Neighborhood.
They’ve tackled mariscos, French toast, wings and quesabirria tacos, and now they are moving onto snacks.
Antojitos is their newest venture coming to downtown Tucson, where they will be offering Mexican street snacks. The former home of Ezbachi has been transformed into a colorful, bright space complete with aqua-blue striped walls and orange accents.
A preview event was held on Jan. 17 featuring Sonoran hot dogs, but daily hours hadn’t been announced at the time of publishing.
For more information, check out
Cal’s Bakeshop has a menu of baked goods including conchas and doughnuts.
Cal’s Bakeshop
It was a dark day when Caleb Orellana posted on Instagram that he would be closing his beloved home bakery, Cal’s Bakeshop. Where else would Tucsonans get their chocolate-dipped conchas, pumpkin cheesecake doughnuts and gingerbread Abuelita croissants?!
Thankfully, he only meant that the *home* bakery would be closing. Cal’s Bakeshop isn’t closing forever — in fact, Orellana is taking a huge step forward.
This year, Cal’s Bakeshop will open its first brick-and-mortar in the former Rocco’s Chicago Pizza (if you missed it, Rocco’s moved 200 yards west to a new location in 2024). I’m already saving up my money because I know I’ll be there almost every day for Orellana’s fluffy doughnuts.
For more information, check out
Along with the restaurant, Cornish Pasty Co. will have a bar will billiards and darts.
Cornish Pasty Co.
In downtown Tucson, we can get tacos, pasta, burgers, pizza and tikka masala. Soon, we’ll add English food to the list. Dean Thomas is bringing his hand-held pot pies to the former Indian Village Trading Post in the new year.
Cornish Pasty Co., which got its start in Phoenix in 2005, specializes in the centuries-old delicacy, a pot pie pastry made with a thick, crimped edge that wives and mothers used to prepare for miners in the 1200s.
Cornish Pasty Co. serves more than 40 varieties filled with different meats and veggies. The spot will also include a basement bar, plus a second bar on the top floor with pool tables and darts.
For more information, check out
A blueberry-lavender matcha latte (left) and matcha-pineapple smoothie (right) from Espressoul.
Espressoul
The days of hunting down the Espressoul truck will soon be over. This spring, Espressoul will open its very first brick-and-mortar, serving up all its beloved vegan espresso drinks and matcha lattes.
Since opening three years ago, owner Eris Movahedi’s creations have taken the city by storm. Peanut butter lattes with banana cold foam, iced blueberry matcha lattes that taste like Fruity Pebbles and s’mores lattes topped with fluffy cold foam, crushed graham crackers and a toasted marshmallow are just a few of the delicious drinks Movahedi has made — all from the back of a food truck.
Movahedi is currently renovating the former home of Zeal Patisserie and hopes to open in the next two months.
For more information, check out instagram.com/espressoul_cafe.
La Esquina opened on Jan. 18 in the historic Iron Horse neighborhood.
La Esquina
Another cool bar has officially made its Tucson debut. Located in the historic Iron Horse neighborhood near the University of Arizona, La Esquina opened its doors on Jan. 18.
It’s where you can expect a menu of bites like charcuterie and Barrio Bread alongside a long list of fortified wine, cocktails, beer and cider. Two mocktails are also on the menu. The cozy bar operates under the slogan: “Where neighbors become friends.”
For more information, check out
Abraham and Selina Barajas, pictured here in 2022, plan to open Luna y Sol Cafe in the property that was most recently home to Balloon Land. The South Tucson shop is named after their daughters, Mia Sol, lower left, and Sofia Luna.
Luna y Sol Café
One of Tucson’s most-anticipated cafes is looking to open its doors in 2025. Selina and Abraham Barajas took over the former home of Balloon Land and since 2022 have been hard at work renovating the building to transform into the Luna y Sol Café. The space will serve as a place for the community to come together and catch up over coffee and pastries.
The café also plans on having food trucks on their property and an indoor meeting space, plus outdoor seating with a play area. Most recently, Luna y Sol unveiled a new mural at their spot and gave us a little glimpse of what to expect when they served coffee during a recent Cyclovia.
For more information, check out
Pictured are sweet chili chicken tenders from Oh My Chicken at Park Place Mall.
Oh My Chicken
When Oh My Chicken opened in 2022, the space quickly captured our hearts with their crispy, juicy Korean fried chicken, with many of us making the trip to Park Place Mall’s food court just to get our fix.
In 2025, Oh My Chicken is expanding and opening a second location on Campbell Avenue, in the former home of Brushfire BBQ.
Chef and co-owner Myungjin Choi has perfected his secret chicken recipe — in fact, it’s so secret he’s the only one who knows it. At their new location, you’ll be able to enjoy their classic tenders smothered in the sauce of your choice. My favorite is their sweet chili.
For more information, check out instagram.com/ohmychicken.omc.
Not pictured: the iconic Ugly but Honest sign standing tall in the patio.
Ugly but Honest Pizzeria
A pizzeria and beer garden is coming to the Five Points area.
Nick Heddings, the man behind Tucson pizzerias Upper Crust Pizza and Arizona Pizza Company, is now adding another delicious pizza spot to his list.
Ugly but Honest Pizzeria is taking over the old Wanslee Auto Sales building, paying homage to the iconic Ugly but Honest sign that has stood tall outside the dealership for decades. (Yes, the landmark sign is still there and looks like it’ll stay a fixture at the pizzeria.)
While there is no opening date yet, the menu can now be found on the pizzeria’s website. Expect both slices and whole pies, as well as specialty pizzas like chicken pesto or the carnivore, which comes with pepperoni, meatballs, bacon, sausage and salami. Calzones, wings, garlic knots and salads are also on the menu.
With Heddings leading the project, I’m sure the pizza will be everything BUT ugly.
For more information, check out uglybuthonestpizza.com.
Jamie Donnelly is the food writer for #ThisIsTucson. Contact her via e-mail at jdonnelly@tucson.com
Jamie Donnelly
Reporter
