PHOENIX — Chompie's is looking to introduce — or perhaps, re-introduce — the New York deli experience to its next generation of customers with the modern conveniences of a cafe, market, and restaurant all under one roof.
On Wednesday, Nov. 3, Chompie's will open at 32nd Street and Cactus Road, not far from where it originally began decades ago, and not far from its restaurant at Paradise Valley Mall, which closed due to the mall's redevelopment.
The 27,000-square-foot building, which used to be a Safeway grocery store and then a Big Lots! retail store, will have a bakery, deli, grab-and-go cafe, and market, as well as a sit-down restaurant with a full-service bar, an outdoor patio, and rooms for private events. Behind the scenes, it also houses a huge commercial kitchen that will handle the bulk of Chompie's catering and distribution operations and specialty seasonal items.
"We wanted to introduce Chompie’s and a traditional New York deli experience to the next generation of deli-goers," said Oren Molovinsky, chief operating officer at Chompie's and JRI Hospitality.
"We tried to look at the design and decor over the generations and decades and we said, let’s take the best and incorporate that here."
To start, the bakery, deli, and grab-and-go cafe will open on Wednesday. The bar, restaurant, and private dining rooms will open sometime over the next weeks. Exact dates would be announced later.
Like other Chompie's, the deli will have a variety of meats, cheese, and specialty salads and sides, as well as baked breads and bagels, cookies, desserts, and other pastries. People will also be able to order hot meals from the restaurant menu.
ABC15 was given an early look inside the restaurant last week. You can watch a short video in the player above.
The main cafe, deli, and market have been given a stronger New York City feel with decorated brick walls, city signs, a mural featuring Broadcast musicals and actors, as well as its signature wall of Broadway posters.
The full-service bar, which will be the restaurant's first location to have one, was inspired by the New York skyline and features tributes to Time Square's New Year's Eve ball, and the Empire State Building. The outside patio was inspired by Central Park.
Molovinsky said the immediate goal is to get the new Phoenix location up and running, but the long-term plan is to see what parts of the new design customers like best and begin to renovate and update the existing restaurants in the Valley.
Chompie's has locations in Chandler, Glendale, Scottsdale, Tempe, as well as mini-restaurants inside the Fry's grocery store in downtown Phoenix and Paradise Valley.
