Popular bar, restaurant in downtown Phoenix known for its flavorful mead will shut down this week

PHOENIX — A downtown Phoenix bar and restaurant known for its diverse mead offerings is closing its doors this week, ownership announced.

Superstition Downtown, which is an extension of the Prescott Supersition Meadery, will stop serving customers after Sunday.

The original Prescott location was the world’s first mead and food pairing restaurant, owner Jeff Herbert told Phoenix Magazine in 2019.

Mead, made from fermented honey, is considered the world’s oldest alcoholic beverage. It’s popular at Renaissance fairs due to its status as an enduring, historic quaff.

The Superstition brand, which started in Prescott, seeks to modernize the ancient drink.

While the original Superstition Meadery in Prescott is still going strong, rising labor and rent costs made it untenable to do business at the Phoenix location, Herbert said in a Wednesday announcement.

“Even with the amazing support of our patrons, business volume simply isn’t making the cut,” Herbert said. “Please visit us one more time and raise a glass to a world’s first concept, perhaps one that popped up a few years ahead of its time.”

What was Superstition Downtown known for?

Supersition Downtown offered a flight of 12 meads that changed weekly. Some of the mead flavors were exotic, like strawberry basil or peanut butter. More popular offerings were meads with flavors like Tahitian vanilla and blackberry.

The bar and restaurant also had a variety of food items, such as pork belly bao, chicken mole tacos, charcuterie boards and poblano steak sandwiches.

Superstition Downtown won accolades during its brief time in business. For example, it made Phoenix Magazine’s list of the top 10 best new restaurants in 2021.

The meadery also won the governor’s historic preservation reward in 2021. The award recognized the owners’ efforts to save and restore the historic building near Washington and Seventh streets.

What’s next for the Arizona mead brand?

Herbert assured mead lovers that his company isn’t going anywhere.

“This may be a tactical withdrawal from an important part of our retail business, but I want our followers to know that there are many positive indicators that things are turning around for us,” Herbert said. “Superstition Meadery isn’t going anywhere. Please stay tuned in to what we are up to. There are surprises around the next corner.”

The restaurant at 1110 E. Washington St. will be open from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday as well as 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.