Canteen Tequila Bar opened on the corner of Sixth Street and Mill Avenue Friday, bringing a menu of more than 120 brands of tequila and a menu featuring regional Mexican cuisine.
It’s all part of an atmosphere that owner Julian Wright, known for opening several Mill venues such as La Bocca and the now closed Library, called “sexy Mexican”.
Wright, who graduated from ASU in 1995, said he would like to give consumers multiple options on Mill, instead of catering solely to the typical college environment.
State Press Television By Blake Wilson
“A lot of the stigma about Mill Avenue is that it’s all rowdy college bars,” Wright said. “Now people of all ages can come to Mill and have multiple options.”
Business and gender studies senior Emily Dysart agreed, saying she was glad more bars were focusing on a higher quality of product and environment.
“I appreciate the higher quality and upscale environment,” Dysart said. “There’s more than enough college bars on Mill.”
Even though Canteen welcomes college students who are looking for a change of pace from their everyday bar, Wright said there were currently no plans to actively market the bar to students more than other groups.
Marketing toward the average college student would not run in line with Wright’s original idea for the concept, which was focused more on spreading love for quality tequila. He said he would rather have his restaurant cater to a smaller group of consumers who can enjoy a higher quality of liquor, and have a constant flow of income to spend.
“I don’t need to have a line down the street to make money here,” Wright said. “I’d rather have fewer people with more discernable tastes and money to spend than to try to pack this joint out with cheap drinks.”
Though Wright noted that “penny and dollar drinks” will not be the type of products Canteen offers, he said he believed the restaurant would be successful for offering high quality drinks and food at prices that compete not only with Mill Avenue bars, but similar bars across the Valley.
Canteen bar manager Clint Manning – who created the drink list – said the bar is notable because the drink menu includes only 100 percent agave tequilas. This means that manufacturers do not put additives, such as sugar, in with the sap from the blue agave plant from which tequila is made.
“A lot of tequila drinks are not 100 percent blue agave,” Manning said. “There’s a lot higher sugar content and it can give you a really nasty hangover.”
He added that the commitment to using 100 percent blue agave tequila was part of a larger commitment to fresh flavors, saying the bar even squeezes its own lime juice for its house margarita.
Reach the reporter at Michael.reppenhagen@asu.edu
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