4 minute read
Taking Chances, Making Changes Finding the Future in Globe-Miami
by Linda Gross
“I’d like to show the United States what we can do in historic, small-town Globe,” business owner Blue Saiz says.
Blue and his wife, Lisa, moved to Globe in 2016 as empty-nesters. Blue had retired after working in mining for 25 years but had a passion for detailing.
He’d dreamed for years of owning his own business. The Saizes chose to move to Globe because of the people they met here on visits. Today, Blue runs a thriving custom fabrication shop that attracts customers across the state, and across the country from Minnesota to Alaska.
Tanner Hunsaker, a third-generation Globe native, operates Western Reprographics, a successful print shop serving the Globe-Miami business community, but his passion for the outdoors led Hunsacker to open a second business in 2023: Topo Joes, catering to outdoor enthusiasts.
The shop sells, rents, and repairs mountain bikes, BMX, and e-bikes and operates a 15-passenger van to shuttle riders to the top of the Pinals. For all riders, backpackers, hikers, kayakers, and overlanders of all kinds, Hunsacker aims to make Topo Joes a place to call home.
“I like seeing people sitting together and creating conversations,” Chef John Wong says.
Wong hails from Ontario, Canada, but his love for food took him all over the world: to Japan, Thailand, Spain, and Portugal. Wong opened his first restaurant in Melbourne, Australia, and a second in Mesa. There he met his wife, Debbie Yerkovich – a Globe native – and they chose to move to Globe to raise their family.
Wong operates two downtown restaurants – Bloom, serving Asian Fusion, and Bravo Americano Moderno, specializing in European and Asian classics, including pizza. Bravo features long community tables that have become something of a community gathering place.
Wong values the friendships and sense of community he finds here. Having traveled the globe, he is thrilled to be right where he is. “The people in Globe want to be here,” Wong says. “I want to be here.”
Every businessperson in Globe-Miami has their own story and reason for being here. They are continuing a story that started a century and a half ago, when Globe-Miami first emerged as a commercial and economic center.
In Arizona’s early days, our copper mines and the camps that grew up around them attracted large amounts of investment, thousands of workers, and pioneering entrepreneurs, while the mines in turn brought wealth and progress to the entire region. Many influential Arizonan businessmen and political figures got their start here – one reason Globe-Miami became known as “the heart of Arizona.”
Today, Globe-Miami’s location at the intersection of five major highways – connecting us to Phoenix, Tucson, Payson, Safford, and Show Low – ensures we’ll continue to hold a central place in business and tourism.
This Guide encapsulates what it means to live, work, and play in Globe-Miami today. Here you’ll find listings for over 100 local businesses and industrial concerns that serve our community and the surrounding region, as well as spotlights on our Chamber of Commerce, the City of Globe, and the Town of Miami.
Each year the Guide goes out to Chambers and Visitors Centers across the state, including our own Globe-Miami Chamber & Visitors Center. The Globe-Miami Chamber uses the Guide to represent our community at statewide events and makes it available to visitors and tour groups.
The Guide is available at hotels and destinations throughout the Globe-Miami region and can be found in practically every shop, office, and venue – wherever people come together for work or enjoyment, you’re likely to find the Guide, too. Available in print and digital, the Guide is accessible 24/7 all year round.
If you want a good look at the Globe-Miami community and what it means to live, work, and play here, this is the place to start. We hope you’ll share it with family, friends, clients, potential workforce hires, and investors.
The world is on the move these days. People are looking for jobs, investment opportunities, a change in lifestyle, a connection with community. And many are finding Globe-Miami offers all this and more.
Whatever it is that brings you to Globe-Miami, welcome. If you’re looking for a vibe, a vocation, a place to vacation, or a place to invest – this is our story.
