A grand opening banner marks the new 5th Street Bar in the location that Blondie's Bar and Grill previously occupied. (Photo by W. Scot Grey)A temporary bar opened last week to fill the space at 501 S. Mill Ave. almost as quickly as Blondies Sports Bar and Grill vacated it.
Restaurateur and ASU alumnus Julian Wright opened his fourth Mill Avenue restaurant, 5th Street Bar, on Thursday.
The bar will hold the space until Wright opens the Cowboy Lounge early in 2013.
Wright said the temporary business is just a typical sports bar, but it's better than simply letting the building remain vacant until the new businesses takes its place.
He said he hopes to generate traffic for the Cowboy Lounge.
“In December or January, we will be closing and reconcepting as a hybrid saloon,” Wright said.
He said the Cowboy Lounge will have a “rustic and sexy” feel to it.
The bar will play country and rock while serving contemporary bar food, steak, BBQ and Bloody Marys in mason jars.
Wright, who also owns Canteen Modern Tequila Bar, La Bocca Urban Pizzeria + Wine Bar and Handlebar Tempe, is no stranger to the 5th Street and Mill Avenue corner.
He previously owned The Library Bar and Grill in the same location.
“It’s the center of the downtown and one of the easiest locations to find,” he said.
Wright said he sold The Library Bar and Grill in 2005 for $2 million to people new to the restaurant industry.
Blondies Sports Bar and Grill replaced the schoolgirl-themed bar when it closed in 2010.
He said The Library Bar and Grill failed because the owners mismanaged it and didn’t renew their lease.
Wright said the property owner contacted him about six months ago asking him if he wanted to renew the lease.
He said it was unofficial, but they had agreed that if Blondies left, then he would fill the spot.
Blondie’s Sports Bar and Grill abruptly closed Oct. 11, leaving workers surprised and unemployed.
Nearby businesses like Firehouse, Crave Café and Lounge and the new 5th Street Bar have hired some of those employees.
Justin Flores, who worked as a bouncer for more than eight months at Blondie’s, now works at Crave Café and Lounge.
He said he heard rumors about Blondies closing but didn’t expect it to happen overnight.
“People who were working were told that day and the others received a text message,” Flores said.
Flores said it was a “cool” place to work, but they never gave him a reason for closing.
Jamell Verse is a Crave Café and Lounge manager and has worked there for seven years.
He said he would go into Blondies Sports Bar and Grill between shifts and he knew for months that they were looking to sell.
“Their management was bad just from a lack of caring,” Verse said.
Verse said he thinks 5th Street Bar will be good for business and drive traffic toward the north side of Mill Avenue.
“I think it will work out,” he said. “Everything (Wright) has been doing is something different and unique.”
Reach the reporter at amrami13@asu.edu
