With one of the youngest and fastest growing populations in the Valley, Gilbert has become the gateway for many restaurants looking to expand into the East Valley.
Since the beginning of the year, five popular restaurants have opened in downtown Gilbert.
The newcomers serve very different menus, but have one thing in common — all have previous locations in either downtown Phoenix or Scottsdale.
They are finally entering the East Valley to tap into Gilbert’s strongest demographic — young families with money — and it’s paying off.
Craig DeMarco is a founder of Upward Projects, the restaurant group behind Postino Winecafe. He said before moving into Gilbert, he was warned that a wine bar would not do well in the family-oriented town.
"We heard from a lot of people that—oh, no one in the East Valley drinks, you’re not going to sell any wine at a Postino — funny enough, that Postino sells more wine than the three other ones that we have in Arizona," DeMarco said.
Zinburger and Oregano’s also have their number one location in Gilbert according to town officials. The city’s sales tax revenue has grown by 40-percent each year since 2008.
Tad Peelen is the co-founder of Joe’s Real Barbeque, a restaurant that entered Gilbert in 1998. He said there were worries about the saturation of new restaurants.
"You know, as you see it grow and wonder if there’s enough pie to slice it that many times, and thus far there has been more than enough to go around," said Peelen.
The city is now looking not only for diversity of restaurants, but different types of businesses, too. Chicago-based Saint Xavier University recently opened downtown and more office space is being built, as well.