Localrevibe Magazine | Issue 4 | December 2013 by localrevibe

issue 4 dec 2013

jon irons how sitgreen is saving the world. one chair at a time

+ by kimberly gunning

holiday shoppers expected to buy local this season a special kind of surgeon tara logsdon open source work space eleventh monk3y master crafted taco & tequila hotspot opens rethinking the vending machine automated food & beverage of phx participants go “over the edge” at cityscape denver hotspot ‘snooze’ set to perk up phoenix top golf set to open in scottsdale photos from the roosevelt row pie social

enter for your chance to win a state bicyle co. bike deadline is december 15th

December 2013 | Localrevibe Magazine

Localrevibe digital magazine Issue 4 | December 2013 Published by Localrevibe Media Network, LLC. Chris Kontakis Contributors Tina Van Booven Kimberly Gunning Morgan Tanabe Nicole Royse Ashley Brand Alexa Chrisbacher Katie Snyder For general inquiries, please email info@localrevibe.com Localrevibe Media Network, LLC. 7000 N. 16th Street Suite 120 pmb215 Phoenix, Arizona 85020 Phone 480 336 2507 info@localrevibe.com www.localrevibe.com www.localrevibemedia.com ÂŠ All rights reserved. Material contained in this publication may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without prior permission of Localrevibe Media Network, LLC. Proud Member of

December 2013 | Localrevibe Magazine

holiday shoppers expected to buy local

a special kind of surgeon

eleventh mon3y

master-crafted taco & tequila hotspot

top golf breaks into scottsdale

Local First Arizona

Tara Logsdon

Ruben Gonzales

Taco Guild

Top Golf

COVER STORY

jon irons

How Sitgreen is saving the world, one chair at a time

rethinking the vending machine

Photos from the “pie social”

participants go “over the edge”

rise & shine, snooze set to perk up the town

Automated Food & Beverage of Phoenix

Roosevelt Row Pie Social

CityScape Phoenix

Snooze Breakfast

December 2013 | Localrevibe Magazine

Holiday Shoppers Expected to Buy Local this Holiday Season This holiday season, surveys show that holiday shoppers are more inclined to support small, local businesses for their holiday needs this year. The results of the2013 Deluxe Annual Holiday Shopping Survey showed that 35% of consumers plan to support local businesses with their holiday shopping this year. This is a 8% increase from last year’s results of only 27% of respondents saying they would shop local for the holidays. 95% of respondents for the 2013 Deluxe survey also said it was “important to support small businesses,” and they plan to visit local businesses this holiday season because of unique merchandise, personalized service, and good prices. Additionally, a study of locally owned businesses across the country during the 2012 holiday season demonstrates how initiatives like Local First Arizona are helping to increase holiday sales among local businesses. The 2013 Independent Business Survey by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance showed 8

that holiday sales for independent businesses in cities with a “Buy Local First” initiative like Local First Arizona were up 1.7%, more than four times the amount reported by independent businesses in cities with no such initiative (sales were up only 0.4%). Additionally, an overwhelming majority of Arizona businesses that responded to the survey said that the Buy Local campaign in their area has had some positive impact on their business (79% of responders). “Local businesses should be encouraged by these findings and feel confident this holiday season,” says Kimber Lanning, Director of Local First Arizona. “Due to the efforts of “buy local” campaigns across Arizona and the country, an increasing number of consumers are understanding that up to four times more of the dollars spent at

December 2013 | Localrevibe Magazine

local businesses will stay in the local economy. American consumers areexpected to spend a combined $600 billion this holiday season, so even a small shift in spending to local businesses here at home would add up to a huge investment for Arizona communities.” To further encourage Arizonans to support local businesses, Local First Arizona is making buying local fun and easy this holiday season with the return of Buy Local Month. Shoppers are encouraged to look beyond the big box mayhem and seek out the independent businesses in communities across Arizona to find unique gifts and make an impact of dollars staying in the local economy. This year, Buy Local Month will run from Black Friday (November 29, 2013) to Christmas Eve (December 24, 2013).

December 2013 | Localrevibe Magazine

A SPECIAL KIND OF SURGEON by Morgan Tanabe

December 2013 | Localrevibe Magazine

Tara Logsdon is a special kind of surgeon. I’m not talking about your average surgeon—Logsdon specializes in teddy bears. While most of us have outgrown the fluffy stuffed friends, Logsdon has made bears her life’s passion. With her own sort of animal rescue, Logsdon is delighted to be a one-of-a-kind surgeon. She performs her own version of reconstructive surgery to restore the bear’s unique character. Once Logsdon decides these discarded toys are suitable for companionship they become a solider of her DIE Bearmy and are able to be adopted. While teddy bears ooze a cute nostalgia factor, Logsdon is aiming to achieve something bigger. According to her website, “It is the belief that we as people must slow down and become more deliberate with out creation and consumption to decrease the amount of abandonment in the world.”

After creating her first bear she received a lot of attention from her friends. She began regularly frequenting local thrift stores vigilantly searching for bears in need of rescue. “I started noticing a lot of bears. It started to turn into a hoarding problem,” Logsdon jokes. “The fiber in these bears will live for over 450-thousand years. My whole message is about being deliberate. If it is going to outlive you, what are you going to do with it after?” Ten percent of Logsdon earnings are donated to SOS Children’s Villages International. For Logsdon, the bears are anything but typical. Logsdon is hoping to address an underexposed issue we as humans easily overlook. For more information about Dr. Tara Logsdon’s rescue visit bearmy.com

Originally from Nebraska, Logsdon attended college in Seattle where she earned a degree in multimedia. Having an eye for creativity Logsdon was destined to discover her own niche of originality. At four-years-old she began revamping the plush toys. “I went to a garage sale in Nebraska and there was a bear that someone had made,” Logsdon says. “They didn’t put eyes or anything on it. I bought it and gave it a heart I made out of a cut up Gucci bag. I wanted it to have high end love.” December 2013 | Localrevibe Magazine

December 2013 | Localrevibe Magazine

“WE’RE A STORE THAT’S HERE TO BE USED,eleventh SO USE US”. monk3y By Alexa Chrisbacher |

December 2013 | Localrevibe Magazine

Photos by Chris Kontakis

What started as a b-boy’s quest for where artists can not only sell their cool t-shirts to wear while break work, but take classes and manufacdancing quickly grew into an outlet ture product. for Phoenix artists unlike any other. “The premiss of my brand and the Eleventh Monk3y is an open-source philosophy of Eleventh Monk3y is workshop, gallery and retail shop each one teach one,” Gonzales said. that’s supporting local artists, de- “The more we grow together, the signers and makers. The collabora- better we become as a community tive shop is the brain child of dancer together. So everyone evolves, evRuben Gonzales, who came up with eryone is successful, everyone has the idea after he began printing their story to tell.” t-shirts at home in his bathroom. The retail part of the shop, on Grand “The store evolved from the t-shirt Ave., operates similar to an antique brand, the t-shirt brand evolved mall, where people who need a place from the dancing scene,” Gonzales to sell their work can rent a rack. said. Gonzales, who has been restoring cars for nearly a decade, built all the He decided he wanted to give talent- racks and fixtures himself. ed artists in his community access to equipment and a better shot at Featured alongside the Eleventh success. Gonzales created a “gym” Monk3y brand are other up-and-

coming names including Tempe-based State Bicycle Company and Pure Fix Cycles out of Los Angeles. A new addition to the line up, Medium Apparel, was featured in Phoenix Fashion Week this year. “This is something that people don’t have, but it’s kind of needed,” Gonzales said. “I found a little niche.” Eleventh Monk3y also supports the Phoenix art community through a monthly pop-up shop. Two days out of the month the store becomes a gallery where artists can rent wall space, or the whole shop, to display and sell their pieces.

December 2013 | Localrevibe Magazine

MASTER-CRAFTED TACO & TEQUILA HOTSPOT OPENS IN A PHOENIX ADAPTIVE REUSE by Kimberly Gunning | Photo by Chris Kontakis With stained glass windows portraying religious messages and Renaissance-era murals lining the upper walls, it may feel a bit strange to sip your deliciously crafted margarita beneath. Fear not, the church built in 1948 has since been desanctified, and re-opened its doors as Central Phoenixâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Taco Guild this November. Steeple and 20-foot-high wooden ceiling beams intact, this adaptive 16

December 2013 | Localrevibe Magazine

reuse incorporates historical character no other new build would be able to harness. Perfect for Guild Master Matt Janiec, who brings a cultural array of flavors to his Old World and New School Tacos. With two years in the making, Janiec traveled through Mexico to cultivate the right flavor profiles for each of his menu creations. While there, he hiked his way through tequila country and indulged in the

street tacos, which he claims are the best tacos around. Fresh ingredients and hand-made tortillas are made to order for hungry patrons to eat right on the spot. “It was important to me to try to keep the integrity of what a street taco experience is,” Janiec explained. Taco Guild offers an array of the unfamiliar for most traditional taco lovers, each wrapped in a handpressed tortilla, including Pork Adovada with habanero-banana-mango relish, avocado and cilantro (Old World); Thai Snapper with coconut green curry and sweet Thai slaw (New School); and Pecking Duck with plum sauce, fire-roasted-poblano-apricot compote and fried Brie cheese (New School). Taco Guild uses organic and locally grown produce whenever possible. Each day, the names of local farms that have contributed to that particular day’s dishes are displayed on a chalkboard near the kitchen—an important initiative to Janiec, who values serving fresh produce and supporting local farmers. Much for that reason, one of his favorite tacos is the Grilled Seasonal Vegetable with fire-roasted peppers and roasted jalapeño hummus (Old World). He also favors the Urban Bean Coffee Braised Beef with caramelized onion, mango jicama relish and Cotija cheese (Old World), which partners with a locally owned coffee shop on Seventh Street, called Urban Beans.

Continuing the local support, eight draught beers are featured—all from breweries around the Valley including Four Peaks Brewing Company, SanTan Brewing Company, Sun Up Brewing Company and Cartel Brewery—as well as several draught wine options. Beer flights and wine flights may not have their place in a taco-and-tequila-focused restaurant, but a tequila flight? Now we’re talking. Taco Guild offers 150 different tequilas to choose from.

Although not the original building of choice, Janiec explained that the church fits in with Taco Guild’s mission. The concept for Taco Guild was designed around re-purposing and having a history. Janiec said, “We wanted to try and develop a restaurant—this taco-and-tequila-bar restaurant—where we weren’t increasing the carbon footprint.”

ture intact, Taco Guild has upgraded the interior without taking away the historical character of the establishment. Repurposing initiatives reach all the way to the dishware, which is a collection of handpicked pieces from around the Valley. Even the Taco Guild name follows the history books back to the 1600s, when master craftsmen who were experts in their field formed exclusive clubs called guilds. Taco Guild holds a high standard of culinary and tequila knowledge, with one main difference from the guilds of the 1600s—guests need no previous education to enjoy and learn the craftsmanship of their culinary experience. Happy hour—3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. to close Sunday—offers diners a daily taco option for $1.99, plus drink selections for $4-$5. Taco Guild is located at North Seventh Street and East Osborn Road.

When renovating, all sorts of memorabilia from the 1800s and 1900s was found, which is now on display in cases at the back of the restaurant. With the original strucDecember 2013 | Localrevibe Magazine

TOPGOLF BREAKS INTO SCOTTSDALE by Morgan Tanabe

Arizona is brimming with elaborate golf courses deeming it a destination golfer’s paradise. With various extravagant resorts and legendary landscapes, golfer’s from all over the world travel to Arizona to experience the challenging—yet enjoyable courses. In July, Arizona’s first indoor/outdoor entertainment center broke ground building TopGolf ’s first Arizona location in the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community near Scottsdale. Located at 9500 E. Indian Bend Road, near Talking Stick Resort, The 60,000-square-foot facility in Scottsdale will be built on 13 acres 18

featuring 102 hitting bays. Being developed by the Alter Group, the golf facility is expected to open next spring. The Dallas-based company serves nine other locations including: Dallas, Austin, Houston, Alexandria, Va., Wood Dale, Ill. and three in the United Kingdom.

The impressive tri-level facility offers a laid-back experience and features climate-controlled hitting bays. With 3,000-square-feet of private event space, parties may host up to six players at a time. The complex will feature more than 230 televisions and a diverse food and beverage menu crafted by an executive chef.

While Arizona offers many diverse courses, TopGolf is a one-of-a-kind entertainment center in Arizona. Welcoming all ages and skill levels, advanced technology is used to track every player’s shots. Players use golf balls containing a computer microchip that yields accuracy and distance.

Founded in 2000 by the two Jolliffee brothers, the entertainment facility has made tremendous strides since it’s humble beginning. Today, TopGolf serves more than 1.4 million annual visitors worldwide. The new location in Scottsdale anticipates 400,000 visitors during its first year open.

December 2013 | Localrevibe Magazine

photos by Chris Kontakis 20 December 2013 | Localrevibe Magazine

saving the world one chair at a time. by Kimberly Gunning

If you were going to build a chair out of cardboard, why would you use glue? Believe it or not, that method of thinking was the start of something big for Jon Irons, founder of SitGREEN. An interior design project at Arizona State University required students to build a chair using only cardboard and adhesives. Since glue made the cardboard soggy and defeated the purpose of keeping the piece recyclable, Irons tested his compacting skills and created a chair entirely of cardboard. Realizing the potential for recycled-use manufacturing, the idea for SitGREEN was born. Irons modified the furniture’s construction to include metal hardware, making his furniture sturdy and sustainable for everyday use. According to Irons, 40 billion tons of cardboard and nine tons of furniture are thrown away each year. It is an astounding amount of waste and Irons takes pride that, at SitGREEN, “We’re making furniture that’s fully recyclable out of materials that would otherwise go to landfills.”

December 2013 | Localrevibe Magazine

Irons began leaving business cards at farmers markets to get the SitGREEN name out. Picking up small jobs helped him get through ASU and he began working at a sign company after graduation.

good at and help you.” For Irons, that was entrepreneurship and running the books. As his idea was continuously picked apart, it was put back together again and again with feedback and advice from mentors

He applied to SEED SPOT but was not accepted into the full-time program right away. It was after an un-related meeting with the co-founders that he was invited in. “I think the passion is what really sold them,” Irons said The experience with SEED SPOT helped him fine-tune the business. “They focus on what you are not

December 2013 | Localrevibe Magazine

and experts in the program, helping to increase his potential for success. SitGREEN debuted a Kickstarter project in mid-March 2013. The goal was set at $12,000 to pay for a flat die to cut the cardboard quicker and more efficiently and a CNC router used for cutting the wooden sidings more precisely. Lasting for 30 days, the project fell short of its goal by $654, resulting in no money for the company. Luckily, Ideas Squared, a local project accelerator, stepped in purchasing the CNC router and providing SitGREEN with manufacturing space. The CNC router significantly

reduces production time and manual labor, allowing Irons and his team to focus on the next steps in the company’s growth. Irons has a few big projects in the works, including assisting in the design of Cartel Coffee’s Tucson location and designing and building a reception desk, stand-up coffee bar and seating area for Natural Choice Academy preschool. The SitGREEN team is looking to build a brand loyalty and be able to offer customers the opportunity to design certain aspects, colors and pieces of furniture. Irons says

“

he wants customers to “feel like they built it.” He is also considering the best way to go about replacing the seats of customers’ SitGREEN chairs, once they have worn out. Looking into the future, Irons would like to implement a cradle-to-cradle lifestyle by taking in old furniture and repurposing it into new. His idea for re-molded plastic furniture with a steel base requires additional equipment, but holds the potential for commercial, large-order sales while helping to decrease corporate furniture waste.

SitGREEN headquarters will always remain in Arizona, where Irons was born and raised, but he hopes to open a retail location in San Francisco down the road. Right now, he is focused on Phoenix’s expansion and sees local entrepreneurs taking advantage of the post-recession rebuilding of the city. “The San Franciscos and the Portlands and the Austins—they already are what they are. They have an identity…Phoenix is still kind of in that infant phase,” Irons says. “I want to be one of the entrepreneurs that helps define what Phoenix is.”

We’re making furniture that’s fully recyclable out of materials that would otherwise go to landfills.

“

December 2013 | Localrevibe Magazine

rethinking the vending machine automated food & beverage of phoenix By Ashley Brand

December 2013 | Localrevibe Magazine

brain behind the kiosk.” Steve and his team also worked with Luci’s Healthy Marketplace consulting on better food choices and The Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine for the education behind those choices. The students and faculty have helped develop a “better for you” menu for their vending machines. Steve explains that they are working with local farms and kitchens, “to prepare the fresh food offerings that we have in a local kitchen that’s actually a family run business. We even have organic coffee that is roasted locally and each batch is made to order.” In addition to the products coming from local sources, a local cabinet company makes the wood cabinetry within the micro-markets as well. While enduring a long, difficult work day a break time snack can be the difference between the distracting feeling of hunger and the boost of energy needed to persevere. The traditional snack cookies and crackers offered in most vending machines can be tasty but what if a healthy, locally sourced option was available? A local company called Automated Food and Beverage led by Steve Orlando is striving to bring a new concept called micro-markets to workplace employees in Phoenix. Automated Food and Beverage caters to office spaces that have more than 75 employees on average and

provide them with improved health and wellness in the workplace. Steve says, “the micro-market program really launched us in a new direction and with the insight and help of local mentors from SCORE of Greater Phoenix, and other resources, we’re growing our business like we never imagined. We’ve found that companies valley-wide enjoy the micro-market concept because it really compliments their corporate health and wellness initiatives.” They worked with a variety of industry partners to develop the parts and pieces of the micro-market and the technology, which is “the

Ultimately, Automated Food and Beverage is bringing more than just a vending machine into the workplace. Steve says the goal is, “to really fill a void in the market where healthy vending didn’t exist, and especially a healthy micro-market didn’t exist. So, we offer anything from the only local 100% healthy micro-market to a combination of healthy and traditional snacks that are available, depending on what the customer requests.”

www.vendingarizona.com 888-697-1508

December 2013 | Localrevibe Magazine

2013 pie social

December 2013 | Localrevibe Magazine

chow bella & roosevelt row

photos by chris kontakis

December 2013 | Localrevibe Magazine

Participants Go “Over the Edge” at CityScape Phoenix for Special Olympics Athletes In an exhilarating demonstration of their support for Special Olympics Arizona (SOAZ), 100 Arizonans will go “Over the Edge”, rappelling 27 stories down one of the tallest buildings in Phoenix on Saturday, Dec. 14.

downtown Phoenix and is the perfect location to host such a vibrant event.”

CityScape Phoenix and RED Development will sponsor this adrenaline-rushing event at its office tower where each participant will take their support to new heights, raising a minimum of $1,000 in donations to support SOAZ athletes. The event will run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and spectators are encouraged.

Participation in “Over the Edge” requires creating a personal fundraising page to attain contributions from family, friends and coworkers. Each person that rappels will raise a minimum of $1,000 in donations, which is the amount needed to support at least two athletes in 2014. Participants must be at least 18 years old on the event date and not weigh more than 350 pounds. All proceeds benefit Special Olympics Arizona.

“Over the Edge is a fresh, fun approach to fundraising and is one the most exciting events we do,” Tim Martin, CEO of Special Olympics. “We are receiving tremendous interest in this year’s event and it’s inspiring to know how many people will literally go ‘over the edge’ for our athletes. CityScape is the hub in

“It’s going to be an exciting afternoon at CityScape to watch thrill-seekers rappel down our office tower, all for the sake of a great cause,” said Jeff Moloznik, vice president of development at RED. “Special Olympics Arizona is an organization that has done inspiring work in the Valley and we’re pleased to

participate in this signature event. We hope this will be the beginning of a longstanding tradition at CityScape Phoenix with the potential to grow the event into the largest of its kind in the country.” Special Olympics Arizona provides every person with intellectual disabilities a place of welcome, acceptance and the chance to be their best. The organizations mission is to empower over 180,000 Arizonans with intellectual disabilities to be healthy, productive, and respected members of society through sports training, competitions, and support programs. For more information how to rappel “Over the Edge”, visit www.specialolympicsarizona.org.

December 2013 | Localrevibe Magazine

as The Jetsons meets Happy Days. Here, guest can settle in at one of Snooze’s famed ‘tilt-a-wheel’ circular booths, or step through the series of rollaway garage doors and unwind on the expansive, tree-shaded patio running extending from the façade down the entire length of the restaurant. And as always, Snooze will offer free coffee and games of cornhole to anyone waiting for a table.

rise & shine snooze set to perk up the town Hey Phoenix, who’s hungry for a choose-you-own flight of fluffy pancakes, or hankering for housemade breakfast pot pie smothered in rosemary sausage gravy? Anyone out there craving eggs benedict topped with spicy barbacoa beef and decadent cream cheese hollandaise sauce, or shaved Niman Ranch ham, slow roasted pork and Dijon hollandaise? And who wouldn’t want to wash it all down with a lovely latte, a local craft beer or even a magnifique MMM MMM Mimosa (Snooze Sparkling, Odwalla OJ and Pama Pomegranate Liquor) – all served inside a bright, stylish yet comfy-cozy atmosphere?

You can stop daydreaming because Snooze (2045 E. Camelback Rd., #A17) has heard your stomach rumbling all the way up in Denver, and is opening its first Arizona location on Monday, November, 25. Who’s got a case of the Mondays now? Tucked inside the revamped Town & Country shopping center, Snooze has built a diehard following across Colorado, San Diego, and now Phoenix thanks to it’s fromscratch, chef-crafted take on traditional breakfast and brunch favorites, served all day long. Plus, each location features Snooze’s signature bold, colorful atmosphere and retro-futuristic décor, best described

Founded by Jon Schlegel, aka The Host, who runs Snooze along with his brother (Consigliere/CFO) Adam Schlegel, the Snooze concept was built on a commitment to sustainability, from incorporating as much locally grown food as possible to recycling and composting more than 90% of all our waste from every store. But it was actually the third member of the team, (CEO/Old Major) Dave Birzon, a longtime Valley resident, who helped bring Snooze to Phoenix. “David really brought to light what an incredible, artsy, independent and culinary-driven city Phoenix is,” Adam Schlegel says. “Innovative mixologists, artisan bakeries, farm-to-table restaurants, light rail transportation, and young, tight-knit communities committed to building their neighborhood – it felt fun, familiar, and like home.” Snooze also heavily integrates with charities, giving back 1% of sales annually and plans to partner with charities such as Not My Kid and St. Mary’s Food Bank, the oldest food bank in the world.

December 2013 | Localrevibe Magazine