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Two new Mill Avenue bars look to food for survival
By KELLY WILSON
Get Out
Nightclubs seem to come and go with increasing regularity on Tempe’s Mill Avenue these days. But two new downtown bars — Bison Witches Bar & Deli and the Tavern on Mill — think they’ve found the key to long-term success: food.
Bison Witches, a popular Tucson deli and bar, opened a location at Mill Avenue and Sixth Street Oct. 8 and offers a menu of hearty sandwiches, bread-bowl soups and sizeable salads.
“A lot of these bars that come and go are just bars and I think that's hurting them,” says co-owner Tom Partridge. “If you rely on just a few nights a week — the theme nights — to bring customers in, you won’t survive.”
John Wasson, his business partner, agrees.
“As expensive as it is down here, you really have to operate as much as possible,’’ Wasson says. “Every bar is hot for six months and then the next bar comes along. That is just how it is.”
Wasson claims Bison Witches — which also has locations in Lincoln, Neb., and Norman, Okla. — gives patrons an alternative to the Mill Avenue chains.
“This bar creates more of a mom-and- pop feel,” he says. “The city made a mistake by allowing all of the chain stores to come here.
“People want to come to downtown Tempe to eat dinner and socialize. People don’t want to come to Mill to go to a Gap or a Z Gallerie.”
The Tavern on Mill co-owner Harry Michna says his bar is in the process of obtaining a license to serve food and hopes to add a Baja-style menu within the next few weeks.
The beach bar took over the former Balboa Bar & Grill at Hayden Square last month.
Michna says friends who own nearby dance club Margarita Rocks convinced him Mill Avenue was the place to be. And the verdict so far?
“It’s hard,” Michna admits. “There are some nights that are really, really quiet, and some that are really busy.
“Unless (people) know we’re here, it’s hard to get people down here. The food will certainly help.”
Bison Witches Bar & Deli
Where: 21 E. Sixth St., Tempe
Hours: 11 to 2 a.m. daily; kitchen closes at 10 p.m
Info: and www.bison
witches.com
The Tavern on Mill
Where: 404 S. Mill Ave., Tempe
Hours: 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily
Info:
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