Poolhouse Group Working on New Restaurant in Downtown

A brand new restaurant from a well-known restaurant group is coming to Downtown Phoenix , located at 1130 North 1st Street.

The new restaurant will move into the former home of Phoenix Fire Station No. 4, which opened on First Street in 1922. The fire station hasn’t been active for over 40 years and has remained under the city’s ownership. In 2021, the city announced its plan to lease the building to a small business, preferably a full-service restaurant. Now, Phoenix-based company Poolhouse Group LLC has signed a 15-year lease with an option of three five-year extensions, according to Phoenix Business Journal .

“Through that master plan, as well as our community outreach, it was really determined that great use for this building would be to turn it into a full-service restaurant that really helps to activate the park and those people here,” Xandon Keating , deputy director of economic development for the city, said in 2021.

While the exact details regarding the concept are still being figured out, the new concept will be in a 4,730-square-foot building on a 26,500-square-foot site. Poolhouse, led by co-owners Jared and Aaron Pool, plans an all-day concept, offering breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a cocktail hour. The Phoenix City Council’s Economic Development and Housing Subcommittee unanimously approved the measure on Wednesday, and city documents show that Poolhouse will pay an annual rent of $128,250 for the space. Poolhouse is responsible for several other local concepts, including Gadzooks Enchiladas & Soup, The Green Woodpecker, and Poolboy Taco. The new yet-to-be-named concept is still a few years away from opening.

“It was a no-brainer because there’s nothing like that real estate in all of downtown,” Aaron Pool tells the Business Journal. “It’s actually in the park where everything else has roadway between it and the park. The firehouse is right on the park. It just has like a big city feel to me. Downtown is ready for something like this.”

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