Social Hall restaurant to open in Minder Binder spot near ASU Tempe
Jan 26, 2018, 11:46 AM | Updated: 8:11 pm
(Facebook Photo; Yelp Photo)
(Facebook Photo; Yelp Photo)
PHOENIX — Restaurateurs from out of state hope they can put down roots in the Tempe dining landscape when they throw open the doors to the Social Hall on Friday.
Owner Mike Kenny planned a two-day grand opening to run from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. at the space formerly occupied by Minder Binder at McClintock and University drives. There will be free food and happy hour specials.
Kenney told the Phoenix Business Journal there will be live musics, arcade and bar games, pool tables, shuffle board and large-screen TVs. The concept is based on his successful Seattle restaurant, Art Marble 21.
The menu features island fare, a couple of islands, actually, with touches of Cuban and Jamaican goodies.
Food blog Mouth by Southwest reported in September that the place would open a couple of months later, but that didn’t happen.
Kenney is aware of the history of the site. Earlier this month, Social Hall posted a note on Facebook expressing excitement over the remodel of “the famous Minder Binder” and he was floored by the collection of memorabilia packed in the space.
“Every square inch had something hanging from it,” he told the East Valley Tribune after the sale.
“There was no rhyme or reason. The theme was ‘There is no theme.’ Anything that could have been nailed or stapled or screwed to the wall was.”
He auctioned off hundreds of items — from antique wagon wheels to sleds to vintage license plates and signs to gas pumps to farm equipment. The mishmash collection hung from the walls and ceilings.
Minder Binder was a go-to place for Arizona State University students in the 1970s through the 1990s. By 2005, it had been and shut down but was brought back to life in 2014 by the owners of San Tan Flat.
The restaurant was eventually rebranded as the Mission at Minder Binder but closed again in 2015.
