TEMPE, AZ — Slightly more than a month after closing on College Avenue, College Bar, a bar notoriously known for its Arizona State University fandom and anti-U of A Wildcat requirements, has found a new home on Tempe's Mill Avenue.
Co-owner Nick Nicholas, who co-owns the bar with Joe Healey, confirmed Friday to ABC15 that the second edition of College Bar would open ASAP.
The bar opened Saturday night just in time for the Arizona State basketball game.
"Our sign is up now. We can't hide it anymore," he said in an interview with ABC15 on Friday afternoon. Earlier in the week, College Bar began teasing its return on social media with photos of the space under construction and a Mill Avenue street sign.
"We're in that last mad dash scramble to the end," he said.
In December, the bar abruptly closed its location near College Avenue and Veterans Way because the building it was housed in was sold/gifted to University Realty, a legal entity and subsidiary of ASU Enterprise Partners, which monetizes donated real estate to benefit Arizona State University.
Nicholas said their new location should feel cozier to customers and has a bigger kitchen, which will allow them to add some new menu items and take on catering and private events.
"I think we're genuinely excited about the future because our day-to-day foot traffic on Mill Avenue is much greater than it is on College Avenue. Granted we loved being there and it's going to be different not coming into work everyday in the shadow of the stadium, but we're going to be able to take care of a lot more people as far as doing catering, private events, and things like that. I think we're really going to be able to grow our business down here."
As far as the food menu, Nicholas said customers should expect the same menu of American fare: burgers, chicken sandwiches, mac and cheese bites, and, in his words, "the best wings in the history of the world." With the bigger kitchen, they are going to also add such lighter and healthier options, such as salads and wraps, he said.
In terms of the bar, Nicholas said people can expect the same focus on local craft beer.
IF YOU GO:
College Bar - Tempe Mill Avenue (opening soon)
740 S. Mill Ave, Tempe, AZ 85281
