4 more Tempe restaurants set to open soon at ASU’s Novus Place

PHOENIX — Four new Tempe restaurants featuring a wide range of cuisines are set to open soon at Arizona State University’s Novus Place.

The openings will bring sushi, healthy fast-casual meals, Mexican food and Italian fare to the area.

Novus Place is the entertainment district within the Novus Innovation Corridor, a 355-acre mixed-use development near Rural Road and University Drive. The Novus project is a public/private partnership between ASU and Catellus Development Corporation.

The new restaurant wave begins Jan. 27, when Arizona’s first Blue Sushi Sake Grill is scheduled to debut. The Nebraska-based Flagship Restaurant Group concept will offer all-day happy hour for the first month.

In related news, a second Phoenix-area Blue Sushi Sake Grill is in the works for Surprise.

Other new Tempe restaurants are familiar to locals

The three other restaurants set to open at Novus Place are popular brands with ties to Valley entrepreneur Sam Fox’s Fox Restaurant Concepts.

First, Flower Child, a fast-casual concept featuring customizable bowls, wraps and salads, will debut on Feb. 4.

The next day, Blanco Cocina + Cantina and North Italia will open at Novus Place.

The new Tempe restaurants will bolster a Novus Place lineup that already includes Eureka!, Over Easy, The Alley, Nautical Bowls and Starbucks.

Fox Restaurant Concepts connections explained

Cheesecake Factory bought Fox Restaurant Concepts in 2019, but Fox’s company remained intact and still operates multiple brands in Arizona, including Flower Child and Blanco Cocina + Cantina.

North Italia, meanwhile, was created by Fox but is now operated by Cheesecake Factory.

For his part, Fox said he is looking forward to expanding his restaurant group’s footprint in Tempe.

“When we opened Culinary Dropout in Tempe almost a decade ago, we witnessed firsthand the city’s incredible energy and potential,” he said in a press release. “Novus Place is now raising the bar even further, serving as a beacon for downtown Tempe, the ASU campus and the community at large.”

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