Good morning, Scottsdale!

This week has some legitimately big restaurant news.

Next week brings a new Sprouts, Drake’s Hollywood, and ALMA, all within days of one another.

Let’s get into it.

This is probably the biggest restaurant story of the week.

Texas-based Terry Black’s Barbecue is officially entering Arizona, and it's doing it big.

Black Family Hospitality purchased the property at:

📍 3925 N. Brown Avenue

for $11.2 million.

The property covers roughly 0.74 acres and an entire Old Town city block, including two buildings totaling more than 10,000 square feet. Terry Black’s plans to use the site for its first Arizona restaurant.

If you know Texas barbecue, you probably already know the name.

The brand started in Austin in 2014 and has expanded aggressively across Texas.

We don't yet know exactly what Terry Black’s plans to do with the Scottsdale property.

The building could be renovated.

It could be substantially redeveloped.

And there’s no opening date yet.

So we won't guess.

We do know the property purchase is complete, and Terry Black’s has confirmed this will be its first Arizona location.

This is a big get for Old Town.

Buying the real estate, rather than simply signing a lease, tells you they are taking Scottsdale seriously.

We’ll be watching every permit that hits this address.

Yes, we know.

Aritzia is a clothing store.

But apparently, shopping for a pair of leggings wasn’t enough.

Inside the Scottsdale Fashion Square location, A-OK Cafe is now part of Aritzia’s push into food and beverage, and the company has just introduced:

Aritzia describes it as barista-made Greek frozen yogurt from A-OK Cafe.

The Scottsdale Fashion Square store already has an A-OK Cafe serving coffee, tea, and pastries, so this becomes another reason to stop even if you are not buying clothes.

📍 Scottsdale Fashion Square
7014 E. Camelback Road

Fashion. Coffee. Froyo.

Scottsdale has apparently entered a new era.

This one is for the people who spend their weekends serving everyone else.

Starfish Scottsdale in McCormick Ranch has brought back Industry Monday.

Every Monday, verified hospitality-industry workers receive:

The deal includes:

🍽️ Lunch
🍜 Dinner
🍸 Beverages

and runs:

⏰ 11 a.m.-close

Important details:

📍 Starfish Scottsdale
8390 E. Via de Ventura

That is a pretty meaningful discount if you work in restaurants, bars, hotels, or hospitality.

This one is no longer a vague “coming soon.”

Cheba Hut South Scottsdale opens Monday, October 26.

📍 2200 N. Scottsdale Road, Suite 110

This will be the latest Scottsdale location from franchisees Justin and Michelle Lemos, who have been rapidly expanding the brand across the Valley.

The new location will feature:

🥪 More than 30 toasted subs
🍺 A full-service bar with beer, wine, and liquor
🎨 Local artwork
🍪 Cheba Hut’s usual snacks and desserts
🥤 Kool-Aid, naturally

The South Scottsdale shop will be open:

Sunday-Thursday: 10 a.m.-10 p.m.
Friday-Saturday: 10 a.m.-midnight

Another long-awaited South Scottsdale opening now has a confirmed date.

Sprouts Farmers Market will open its new store at:

📍 1490 N. Scottsdale Road

near Scottsdale Road and SkySong Boulevard on:

Sprouts itself now lists the South Scottsdale location as Opening October 30, 2026.

It is not a restaurant, obviously, but this is a significant food opening for South Scottsdale and one readers have been asking about for months.

The Phoenix Business Journal article published October 20, 2026, says that the Dallas company behind Drake’s had signed its Scottsdale lease earlier in the year and that Drake’s Hollywood is set to host its grand opening event on Oct. 30. The Business Journals

But I also checked Drake’s official Scottsdale page, and their site currently says only “Coming Soon,” with no October 30 date listed. I checked OpenTable and everywhere else, and the only mention is that article. I'm not feeling great about the info, but we will keep reaching out and find out.

📍 3828 N. Scottsdale Road

The concept combines old-school Hollywood glamour with steakhouse-style dining, cocktails, and a members-only lounge called Maître D.

Just a few days later:

ALMA Southwest Steakhouse reopens at its new North Scottsdale home.

📍 8700 E. Pinnacle Peak Road, Suite 115
Former Preston’s Steakhouse
📞 480-284-6736

Opening:

Reservations are already available through OpenTable.

Chef Sheila Bryson is bringing Alma to North Scottsdale and taking over the former Preston's spot. With 3 bars, including 2 lounges, Alma has an open-concept flow that lends itself to casual gatherings, date nights, private events, business dinners, or a typical night out. Located inside Alma is a high-end women's boutique, "Barbwire Western Couture". Alma is joining the Citadel next to our sister restaurant, "Little Snitch".

Once again, good news.

We did not find a new Scottsdale restaurant closure this week that we can independently confirm.

Plenty of rumors are floating around.

Rumors do not make the newsletter.

If we cannot verify it, we won't publish it as a closure.

This week's First Look takes us inside one of Scottsdale's most unusual dining experiences.

ShinBay in Old Town is built around one idea:

There is no traditional menu.

No deciding between rolls.

No building your own order.

Chef Ken Tanaka creates the evening around the ingredients available that day, including prized seafood flown in from Japan within roughly 24 hours.

The experience runs about two hours and currently costs:

ShinBay was also included in the inaugural 2026 MICHELIN Guide Southwest as a MICHELIN Selected restaurant.

One important clarification:

ShinBay describes itself as Arizona’s only “true omakase” experience. We treat that as the restaurant’s positioning, not as a claim that no other Arizona restaurant offers any form of omakase.

This week: The Ultimate Sunset Dinner

On one side: Orange Sky at Talking Stick Resort

Fifteen floors above the desert with panoramic Valley views, floor-to-ceiling windows, and a serious wine program.

On the other: J&G Steakhouse at The Phoenician

An elevated resort terrace, Camelback Mountain, firelight, and one of Scottsdale’s most dramatic outdoor dinner settings.

The question:

We compared:

🌅 The View
🥩 The Food
🍷 The Wine
🍸 The Bar
🔥 The Patio
✨ The Vibe
💰 The Price

And one gets the fork.

This week's deals run October 22-28, and some are really good.

We found:

🦪 $1 oysters at Society Swan on Oct. 22

🍣 $25 lunch at Uchi

🌮 $5 tacos at Toca Madera

🍹 $8 margaritas

🔥 $3, $6, and $9 happy hour at Benihana

🥩 $35 Wagyu burger + wine at The Capital Grille

🥂 $21 Mimosa Buckets at Boondocks

Plus several more.

And hospitality workers should also remember Starfish's new 25% off Industry Monday deal.

Chula Seafood South Scottsdale is celebrating its 10th anniversary on Saturday with a very appropriate birthday special:

The deal runs all day while supplies last.

Minimum order is six oysters.

📅 Saturday, October 24
📍 8015 E. Roosevelt Street
🦪 BOGO oysters

Ten years deserves a few oysters.

EACH LOCATION is doing its own specials, but all are doing the BOGO Free Oyster Special

Goldwater Brewing wraps up Oktoberfest in Old Town this Saturday.

Expect:

🍺 Six German-style beers
🥪 Food from Sandwich Apprentice
🏆 Stein-holding contests
🎧 DJ
🍻 Oktoberfest energy

Food service is scheduled from 2-7 p.m.

📍 Goldwater Brewing - Old Town Scottsdale

If you still haven't had enough Oktoberfest, here is your last shot.

The Old Town Scottsdale Farmers Market returns Saturday morning to its new City Hall parking-lot location.

📅 Saturday, October 24
⏰ 8 a.m.-1 p.m.
📍 3939 N. Drinkwater Boulevard

The market features 100+ growers and specialty food producers with produce, breads, prepared foods, and local products.

Scottsdale Wine Club is hosting a Wine 101: All About Tempranillo tasting Friday evening at Su Vino Winery.

The tasting explores different expressions of Spain’s signature grape, including wines from Rioja and Ribera del Duero.

📅 Friday, October 23
⏰ 6 p.m.
📍 Su Vino Winery
💰 $30

Scottsdale’s Día de los Muertos celebrations also begin this week at Scottsdale Civic Center.

The city calendar lists art-installation experiences beginning October 22, continuing into the weekend.

A nice option if you want something that is not entirely centered around eating.

Although, knowing us, food will probably get involved eventually.

A quick reminder of what is coming almost immediately after this newsletter:

Oct. 26 - Cheba Hut South Scottsdale opens

Oct. 30 - Sprouts South Scottsdale opens

Oct. 30 - Drake’s Hollywood expected to grand open

Nov. 2 - ALMA Southwest Steakhouse reopens

And we are still watching:

DASH

Turquoise Wine Bar

Stone & Vine Urban Italian

BOA Steakhouse

and several permit trails we are not ready to name yet.

There is a lot coming.

As always, if you see:

👀 Papered windows
🚧 Construction
🍷 A liquor-license posting
🍴 A restaurant quietly disappearing
📋 A coming-soon sign

send it our way.

Some of the best Forking Scottsdale stories continue to come directly from readers.

Until next Thursday...

— Mychael & Connie Parker
Forking Scottsdale

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