Business owners packed the corner of Sixth Street and Mill Avenue Thursday afternoon to give the Tempe community a sneak peek of what they have to offer at their soon-to-open businesses.
Among the crowd were Tempe leaders like Mayor Hugh Hallman, who said Mill Avenue is one of the best places to have a good time.
“This economy has been very rough, especially for small businesses,” Hallman said. He expressed hope in the future of downtown Tempe with the emergence of 13 new businesses.
One of the businesses showcased, Smashburger, will open on College Avenue and University Drive on Oct. 2.
Smashburger brand manager Kurt Riske said the restaurant will accept Sun Dollars and employ ASU students.
“We’re going to start taking applications next Monday,” he said. “We’re a better burger — fast, casual concept.”
Riske said a location close to campus is ideal because of the high foot traffic. Other business owners had the same reaction about their future locations on Mill Avenue.
Andres and Mony Yuhnke are the managing partners of Counter Culture, a café and venue for local art and music.
“We’d like to see some local art and culture represented on Mill,” Andres Yuhnke said. “We have a younger demographic, but we wouldn’t limit ourselves.”
The café used to be located on North 24th Street and East McDowell Road in Phoenix but closed in 2006. Its reopening on Mill has been largely aided by a year of free rent that the Yuhnkes won in a retail contest, launched in part by Downtown Tempe Community, Inc.
There were two winners in the “Mill Avenue Retail Contest,” which 21 businesses applied for, said Casaundra Brown, director of marketing and communications for Downtown Tempe Community, Inc.
“By having all of these new businesses, we’re creating jobs,” Brown said, adding that DTC wants to increase interest to help boost the economy.
The other winner was Poppa Maize, a company that specializes in 30 different flavors of popcorn.
Poppa Maize owners Roy Wilson and Qiana Shaw said the inspiration for their popcorn business came from the Midwest.
“Roy is from Chicago,” Shaw said, which has local popcorn shops with lots of different flavors. “He said he really wanted to get that here.”
Wilson said the company opened a location in Phoenix about two years ago and that expanding to Mill Avenue will hopefully boost business.
“Phoenix is so spread out; it’s kind of like the Midwest,” he said, adding that it’s nice to have a place like Mill Avenue that still provides mom-and-pop-style shops.
Other businesses showcased Thursday include Total Wine, Dave’s Electric Brewing, Sucker Punch Sally’s, Spark Magazine and Vanity on Mill Salon.
Reach the reporter at ndgilber@asu.edu.