PHOENIX — 2025 is the year for the Valley will welcome several attractions and new businesses to the community, unfortunately there’s been a handful of restaurants and retailers that have closed its doors permanently.
Here's a look at the locations that have closed this year:
Lou Malnati's Pizzeria
Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria has closed two locations in Arizona. The popular deep-dish pizza chain says it has closed its Phoenix Uptown location and Village Square at Dana Park location in Mesa. According to Google, the deep-dish pizza chain had recently also closed a storefront in Gilbert that focused on carry-out and delivery orders.
You can read more about the closures in the Valley regarding the Chicago-based company, right here.
On The Border Mexican-Grill & Cantina
The Tex-Mex casual dining brand, On The Border- Mexican Grill & Cantina, appears to have quietly closed most of, if not all, of its Arizona locations.
On Google, there are four On The Border- Mexican Grill & Cantina Arizona locations still listed; three of them stating that they’re ‘permanently closed.’
- 5005 E Ray Rd in Phoenix
- 1665 S Stapley Dr in Mesa
- 7873 W Bell Rd in Peoria
ABC15 stopped at the ‘On The Border’ restaurant located at the Ahwatukee Foothills Towne Center in Phoenix. This restaurant had several paper signs on the doors stating ‘This location is permanently closed. We apologize for any inconvenience and thank our customers. Please find another location at www.ontheborder.com.’
ComicX USA
ComicX USA announced in a post on Instagram that the doors at the Desert Ridge location in Phoenix would close on February 23.
The superhero-themed restaurant and bar soft-opened in December 2019 and opened in 2020.
Level 1 Arcade Bar
Game over! The owners of Level 1 Arcade Bar closed their downtown Gilbert location on January 18, writing, "Thank you for the laughs. Thank you for the fun times. Thank you for the parties and for the costume nights and the friendships and even for the tears as we write this..."
In the post, the owners cite the end of their five-year lease as one of the reasons for the closing. The owners say they have plans for their next Gilbert location and an announcement will come soon.
Gadzooks
The restaurant that prides itself in ‘redefining the enchilada’ permanently closed its Tempe and Chandler locations on February 3.
“But wait, we’re NOT going anywhere! We still have our locations in Phoenix, Arcadia, and Gilbert ready to serve you with the same passion and love we’ve always had. Now, more than ever, we need our Gadzooks fam—our cheerleaders, our die-hards, the people who know “Uncle Rico’s Pico” like the back of their hand,” posted the company on its Facebook page when they announce the closures.
SnapBack Pizzeria
The local pizzeria that opened in Downtown Phoenix [1031 Grand Ave] a couple years ago announced that they would be “closing its doors for good” on January 11.
“The last two years have been nothing but amazing from every single person we have met to every event we have done. Thank y’all. It’s not a goodbye but more of a see ya later. Pivot when you need to. See y’all soon,” read the post that made the announcement of the closure on Instagram.
Huss Brewing
The local brewery announced on its social media platforms that they had closed their Uptown Plaza and Papago Mesa Riverview taprooms. But don’t worry, they still have their Downtown Phoenix and Tempe Taproom locations open.
Noble Ground Coffee
The Valley coffee chain that opened several locations in the past two years has closed all of its stores.
Noble Ground Coffee launched in 2022, first with a location at the Footprint Center selling coffee during Phoenix Suns games. It also had relationships with the Arizona Coyotes and the Tucson Roadrunners. The company had stores in Flagstaff, Mesa, Phoenix and Tempe.
Read more of this story from the Business Journal.
The video in the player below showcases ABC15’s previous coverage on Noble Ground Coffee.
Tres Leches Café
The local café closed its Phoenix location near 19 Avenue and Van Buren this January. The family-run business still has their South Phoenix [5602 S Central Ave] location open.
Party City
Although the company is preparing to close the doors of its remaining locations on Friday [ February 28], the battle over Party City's assets continues.
Two low-cost retailers that often sell party favors, Five Below and Dollar Tree, are planning to purchase some of Party City's unexpired leases.
Read the full story on how the two discount retailers are vying to take over a significant number of the chain's leases right here.
Joann
The major retailer of fabrics and crafts, said in a bankruptcy filing that it intends to close 500 locations and begin going-out-of-business sales.
According to a document, there are nearly a dozen Arizona locations that are set to close:
- 1514 S Riordan Ranch St., 86001 - Flagstaff, AZ
- 2303 Miracle Mile Rd., 86442 - Bullhead City, AZ
- 5021 E Ray Rd., 85044 - Phoenix, AZ
- 21001 N Tatum Blvd., 85050 - Phoenix, AZ
- 1717 N Dysart Rd., 85392 - Avondale, AZ
- 825 N Dobson Rd., 85201 - Mesa, AZ
- 1325 E. Florence Blvd., 85122 - Casa Grande, AZ
- 21238 S. Ellsworth Loop Rd., 85142 - Queen Creek, AZ
- 3049 East Indian School Rd., 85016 - Phoenix, AZ
- 7255 East Broadway Blvd., 85710 - Tucson, AZ
- 18785 S I-19 Frontage Rd., Suite 113, 85614 - Green Valley, AZ
Denny's
The company said some of the restaurant locations have expiring leases, but it did not announce a list of the locations being closed. In total, the chain has about 1,300 locations around the U.S.
RELATED: 2024 IN REVIEW- RESTAURANTS, BARS, & OTHER BUSINESSES THAT CLOSED IN AZ
