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Two new concepts open under one roof Collins Bros. Chophouse opens in Scottsdale

BY ALEX GALLAGHER Progress Staff Writer

Chickadees Chicken and Fries and Grindhouse Espresso Bar have opened under the same roof on the south side of OldTown.

Aside from being a rare instance where fraternal concepts operate inside a shared space, Chickadees Chicken and Fries and Grindhouse Espresso Bar also are bringing new flavors to the downtown Scottsdale dining scene, General Manager Gary Vivoda said.

“We wanted something new and something different that stuck out, especially in OldTown,” Vivoda said.

Vivoda and the team at AR Concepts – a creative team known for creating Mesquite Fresh Street Mex, which has 10 locations across the valley – felt that the 2,000-square-foot space that used to house Oasis Cafe would be the optimal location for both concepts. It’s located down the street from Bottled Blonde and Hi-Fi Kitchen & Cocktails. After signing a lease came a five-month demolition process where critical decisions were made. The first was to modernize the interior of the space with bold colors and neon signs.The next was to figure out operating hours to attract the crowd that frequents the neighboring establishments.

Due to the late-night crowd its neighbors attract, Chickadees Chicken and Fries and Grindhouse Espresso Bar stay open until 3 a.m., offering the nightlife crowd a place to grab a bite and a brew before calling it a night. “We just figured the whole area was just going to be a high trafficked area,” Vivoda said. “We get a lot of transient guests who stay at The W across the street and we also get a lot of people who like to go out or live within a halfmile radius of this place.”

Since opening in late August, customers have flocked to the doors to get a taste of signature sips and crafty southern fried chicken concoctions.

So far, the big sellers at Chickadees are the “Gold Rush” chicken sandwich, which is dressed with a Carolina barbecue sauce and topped with provolone cheese, pickles and an onion ring, and “The Hottie,” chicken sandwich tossed in buffalo sauce and topped with pepper jack cheese and strip-sliced spicy pickle.

Both sandwiches also pair nicely with

Gary Vivoda is the general manager of Chickadees Chicken and Fries and Grindhouse Espresso Bar.

(David Minton/Progress Staff Photographer)

BY DAVID M. BROWN Progress Contributor

Chef and fourth-generation restaurateur Christopher Collins and his staff of 40-plus have begun serving lunch, dinner and takeout daily at Collins Bros. Chophouse.

Located at 8220 North Hayden Road near Via De Ventura Road inside The Village at Hayden in Scottsdale, the restaurant is inspired by American chophouse-style venues and the newest addition to Common Ground Culinary, which Collins founded in 2011.

Collins Bros. Chophouse replaces the company’s Twisted Grove.

“Every restaurant we open, we try to really think about what that specific neighborhood needs,” Collins explained. “As we have evolved as a company and the neighborhood around us has evolved, we started to feel like we needed a change, tailoring Chophouse to what the area is looking for.”

“We are a collection of neighborhood restaurants that focuses on delivering the highest quality food and outstanding service where everyone feels like part of the family. We don’t have any investors or outside business partners, but I do have an amazing team that helps me run the restaurants and continue to make our company better,” he added.

Common Ground restaurants in Phoenix and Scottsdale are Grassroots Kitchen & Tap, Wally’s American Gastropub, Sweet Provisions ice cream parlor, The Collins Small Batch Kitchen, The Macintosh, Neighborly Public House and Collins Bros. Chophouse.

The group also offers in-restaurant private dining and events as well as a full-service catering company, Arcadia Catering Co.

Collins Bros. Chophouse is retaining many menu favorites from Twisted Grove, following patrons’ requests.

“We’re pairing some of our favorite menu items with a deep list of à la carte meats, rotisserie items, seafood, house specialty entrées, sharable appetizers and sides,” he said.

The lunch menu features proteinforward dishes such as the SBK Caesar with add-ons such as rotisserie chicken, charred shrimp or marinated filet and the Steak & Fries – which includes New York strip, house-made steak sauce,

Chef and fourth-generation restaurateur Christopher Collins displays some of his restaurant’s rotisserie chicken.

(Special to the Progress)

Chickadees waffle fries, made from premium Idaho potatoes.

However, Vivoda has seen steady sales throughout his menu and credits his commitment to freshness as a driving factor. All of his produce for both entities is purchased from Peoria’s Grand Avenue Produce Co.

“All of our products are fresh,” he said. “We make everything fresh from scratch and all of our house made sides are fresh from scratch.”

On the other side of the space, Grindhouse Espresso Bar has seen sales soar for its white chocolate mocha, matcha green tea and customizable energy juices where customers can choose from flavors like strawberry kiwi blueberry, strawberry peach, watermelon cherry mint and raspberry kiwi to infuse their drink with. “It’s very good for flavor and overall refreshment,” Vivoda said.

Those are not the only options custom-

Grindhouse Espresso Bar is next door to Chickadees Chicken and Fries and both are

under one Old Town roof. (David Minton/Progress Staff Photographer)

ers have to quench their thirst as a convenience store-style cooler is stocked full of organic sodas and energy drinks for customers to purchase.

Grindhouse Espresso Bar also offers sweet frappes in flavors like Oreo, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, double chocolate, caramel vanilla, and a selection of fruit smoothies.

With early success, Vivoda is shifting his focus to expanding Chickadee’s menu and hours to the morning because he would like to add a breakfast menu and some limited-time offers at Grindhouse.

“One thing that we are going to possibly be developing in the next couple of months is a breakfast venue because a lot of people might be thinking that coffee and chicken sandwiches may not sound that good together,” he said.

“We have a lot of limited-time offers planned for along the way like pumpkin spice coffee, which is very popular and on the chicken side, we’ll explore different ideas and bring something new.”

Vivoda also teased that Chickadees Chicken and Fries could open another location in Tempe or Gilbert in the coming months.

Chickadees Chicken and Fries and Grindhouse Espresso Bar are located at 4435 N. Buckboard Trail. Information: 480-687-7319, eatchickadees.com and Grindhouseespresso.com

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Maldon Sea Salt and cracked black pepper.

For dinner, choose from starters such as the charred brussels sprouts and French onion gratiné with overnight veal broth, Noble toast, imported Gruyère, and, from the Seafood Station offerings, Bang Bang Ahi Tuna Poke with shrimp, avocado, scallions, Persian cucumber, Fresno pepper and sesame seeds and the Broiled Oysters Rockefeller, creamy spinach, chopped bacon and a dash of hot sauce. This also is the first Common Ground concept to offer the “Butcher’s Shop,” a curated list with an assortment of reasonably priced high-quality meats that can be ordered à al carte.

Chef calls the interior décor “the most polished of all of the Common Ground concepts” with dark wood table black leather wrapped booths, black leather tufted bar stool, red brick walls, black and white star tile, black wood paneling and dark navy and green plaid wallpaper. Collins Bros. Chophouse has a private dining option called the Parlor Room for a private lunch, dinner or work event.

Collins Bros. Chophouse offers an array of

tasty options. (Special to the Progress)

The Parlor Room is smart-enabled, outfitted with HDTVs and Apple TV, and includes an adjacent private patio and a brick fireplace. The space can host 30 for a mix and mingle event or 24 for a seated dinner.

The Chophouse schedules happy hour from 3–6 p.m. featuring craft cocktails, wines by the glass and bites to share such as Short Rib & Goat Cheese Potato Croquette (lightly breaded in Noble toast, San Marzano tomato sauce and fresh basil) and Sweet Heat Chicken Wings (crushed peanuts and scallions) and the Two Buck Shuck deal ($2 each).

Dinner service begins daily at 4 p.m.

Collins was born in Reno and grew up in Arcadia, so he considers himself a local.

His degree in hospitality management is from Boston University.

Following this, he worked for Hillstone Restaurant Group where he learned both front- and back-of-thehouse skills that have helped him as a chef and entrepreneur.

“I have also been lucky enough to have worked in the kitchens of local chef stars, Beau MacMillan [elements] and Lee Hillson [Royal Palms],” he said. “And, of course, I wouldn’t be here without my dad, Wally Collins, who ran restaurants all his life and still cooks for all our family gatherings.” He added: “Some of my first memories are eating bread and gourmet cheeses in the kitchen with my dad late at night while he told me about his day. I started helping in his restaurants when I was 5, and there’s honestly nothing else I ever considered doing. I love it.”

He wants his Collins Bros. Chophouse to be approachable by many age groups.

“We hope to be a place that families can come. We have awesome kid’s meals, couples can come on date nights or to celebrate special occasions, groups of friends can meet up for an awesome dinner and people can feel comfortable and proud hosting business lunches and dinners.” “When most people think about steak or chop houses, they think about very expensive places that you only go for special occasions, and they tend to only think about steaks,” he added.

“But we wanted to create an upscale but approachable chophouse, where the rotisserie chicken and salmon are just as important and high quality as all the steaks on the menu. We will be taking all the food and service standards people have come to expect from all of our other restaurants but also delivering a chophouse vibe.”

Collins Bros. Chophouse is open 11 a.m.– 9 p.m. Sunday–Thursday and 11 a.m.–10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. For more information: collinsbrosaz.com.