Who Moved Into Illegal Pete's? Downtown Tempe's Fall Openings, Address by Address

What happens to a Mill Avenue corner after the place you knew there closes? This fall in downtown Tempe, the answer is unusually specific. Almost every restaurant and bar opening around Mill Avenue is moving into a space with a past. In several cases the new owners are keeping a piece of that past on purpose: pool tables carried over from a 25-year pool hall, a historic governor's home turned into a dining room, and a 1903 bungalow rolled up the street on wheels so it could serve ice cream.

For anyone who has lived here a while, that changes how the district is turning over. Downtown Tempe isn't being replaced. It's being re-tenanted, one remembered address at a time.

The ledger

As of early October 2026, here is who is going into whose space. Statuses come from the latest local coverage and the Downtown Tempe Authority's own running list of new businesses.

Only one row on that table is a certain date. The rest are targets, and the Downtown Tempe list warns that "opening dates can move." Carmen is the clearest example. Phoenix New Times described it in August as a "long-awaited" project that had already been through "multiple delays."

The house that moved so it could stay

The House of Tricks bungalow shows most clearly how this district holds on to its history while it grows. Harry Walker, a groundskeeper at the Normal School that later became Arizona State University, built the house in 1903. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. For 35 years it was home to House of Tricks at 114 E. Seventh St., until Bob and Robin Trick retired and closed the restaurant on June 25, 2022.

The original site is set to become 7th Street Residential, a 30-story, 315-foot tower at 108 E. Seventh St. It would rank among the tallest buildings in Tempe. In the early morning of Sept. 11, 2025, the house was lifted onto wheels, rolled a few blocks north, and set down on a city-owned parcel at 25 E. Fifth St., directly west of Tempe City Hall. The city announced the move the same day.

At the time, Mayor Corey Woods said the hope was to "partner with a local person to bring a local business to the downtown so they can breathe new life into that home." That business is now Novel Ice Cream. It will be Novel's fourth Valley location, with about a dozen rotating flavors, a walk-up window, flights of five flavors, and the shop's signature Dough Melt. That's a warm glazed doughnut filled with ice cream and topped with cereal. Sources list slightly different street numbers for the house's new spot, so the easiest way to find it is to look on Fifth Street east of Mill, next to City Hall.

The tower is keeping a nod to the old address too. The developer said 7th Street Residential will include a restaurant space meant "to pay homage to House of Tricks the best we can."

Pool tables, a governor's house, and a Mesa favorite

The same pattern shows up a few blocks away, on a smaller scale.

At 607 S. Mill, Scott Price, who created C.A.S.A., is turning the former Zuma Grill and Mill Cue Club spaces into an Irish sports bar with a neighborhood pub feel. The furnishings will include pool tables from Mill Cue Club, a tribute to the pool hall that was a Mill Avenue fixture for 25 years. Price is also behind Slab City Bar & Grill, which is taking over the former Shady Park space just east of Mill on University Drive. It plans to cook burgers and steaks in 100% beef tallow.

On the corner of Seventh Street and Myrtle Avenue, Cat Bunnag and Dan Robinson, the owners of Glai Baan, are opening a new concept inside the historic Gov. Benjamin B. Moeur House and Hatton Hall. They haven't announced a name or a menu. All they've said is that it will be different from their central Phoenix restaurant, known for Thai street food and long lines.

At 525 S. Mill, the former Illegal Pete's is becoming the second home of a pairing many people already know from downtown Mesa, Phantom Fox Beer Co. and Goat and Ram. Plans call for 20 taps of Phantom Fox beer plus pours from its Mesa neighbor Cider Corps, along with pizza, wings, cocktails and outdoor seating with screens for game days. The owners also planned a soft opening the week before Oct. 8, so the doors may already be open if you walk by.

Up at Mill and University, Level 1 Arcade Bar plans to fill the 5,000-square-foot former Pita Jungle, which closed in 2025 after nearly 10 years. It will bring vintage arcade games, pinball, 20 draft beers and 22 signature cocktails. Carmen, from veteran restaurateur and ASU alum Julian Wright, is designed with tiki huts, bamboo and open-air dining at the southwest corner of Mill and Sixth Street, the space Anoche Cantina left in November 2023.

The one ground-up build, and what's open tonight

The biggest opening of the year is the one that didn't inherit a space. Roman God of Fire, which opened July 31 at 52 E. Rio Salado Parkway, is Pretty Decent Concepts' first ground-up build. It sits at the northeast corner of Mill and Rio Salado, with a menu developed by Scott Conant around handmade pasta, wood-fired Roman pizza and regional dishes from ancient Rome. Its hidden lounge, Mia Culpa, is now taking guests. OpenTable shows diners there as of Sept. 26. Getting in involves what co-founder Teddy Myers called a "confessional moment," and a DJ plays on Fridays and Saturdays.

If you want something new this week, these are confirmed open:

• Roman God of Fire and Mia Culpa, 52 E. Rio Salado Pkwy.
• Culinary Gangster, 501 S. Mill Ave., which opened Aug. 27 below Varsity Tavern at Mill and Fifth. It's the Chicago-born burger truck's third Valley location.
• Russo's NY Pizza, The Sandwich Spot at College and Sixth, and Rally House at Seventh and Mill, all of which Downtown Tempe lists as September 2026 arrivals.
• Laymoon Café, 616 S. Forest Ave., a Palestinian- and Syrian-owned café serving Middle Eastern-inspired coffee and pastries since January.

Further down the coming-soon list are Trophy Tempe at Fifth and Mill, Jeni's Ice Cream at University and Mill, and Sushi by Bou and Capriotti's at the Westin at Seventh and Mill. None of them has a firm date yet.

Addresses that just went quiet

The ledger keeps growing, because this fall also brought some long-running goodbyes. Café Lalibela closed after 30 years at 849 W. University Dr. Low Key Piano Bar, a Mill Avenue spot for 12 years, has closed. So has Palo Verde Lounge on Broadway Road after more than six decades. If this year is any guide, those spaces will turn up on someone's coming-soon list next.

Where the fall calendar puts you on these blocks

Several of downtown's biggest dates this fall run right past these addresses:

1. Oct. 8: Phantom Fox's official opening and a movie night at Novus Place Park. Novus follows with live music Oct. 16 and Yoga Sculpt Oct. 21.
2. Oct. 9–11: Four Peaks Oktoberfest at Tempe Beach Park, 80 W. Rio Salado Pkwy., a short walk from Roman God of Fire's corner.
3. Oct. 24: Making Strides Against Breast Cancer at Tempe Beach Park, with the walk starting at 8 a.m.
4. Nov. 8: 2nd Sundays on Mill, a free, family- and dog-friendly market from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Mill between Third Street and University Drive. That stretch covers most of the ledger above.
5. Nov. 11: The Veterans Day Parade, 10 a.m. to noon, heading north from ASU Gammage along Mill Avenue to Tempe Beach Park.
6. Nov. 28: The Fantasy of Lights Street Parade and Tree Lighting.

ASU Family Weekend, Nov. 6–8, and Homecoming Week, Nov. 15–21, will add crowds on the same streets.

By the Fantasy of Lights parade, the former Pita Jungle may be full of pinball machines, and the bungalow next to City Hall may finally be scooping ice cream.

Every address on Mill Avenue carries a story about who was there before, and so does the one you live in. If you're curious what yours is worth in today's Tempe, The Collective AZ can walk you through it over a scoop at Novel once it opens. Get your instant home valuation whenever you're ready.