FSR November 2022

HOT MARKE T S

nix has created a din ing scene that is more vibrant than ever. New concepts are cropping up in nearly every cate gory, offering high lev els of culinary innova tion and cutting-edge dining experiences. The city’s energetic din ing scene earned it not only four James Beard Award semifinalists this year, but also two win ners. One of these, Chris Bianco, debuted the first of his Phoe nix institutions, Pizzeria

Phoenix T emperatures aside, Phoenix is hot. Per

FILIPINO PORK ADOBO

HALO HALO

with Asian foods— including many Filipino dishes—cropping up. The resulting mix of inhabitants in Phoe

the U.S. Census Bureau, the city is the fifth most populous metropolis in the nation, and 2021 marked Phoenix’s fifth year as the fastest-grow ing city nationwide. This rapid yet steady growth is at least partly con nected to people leav ing California (to the tune of 70,000 in 2019, per the census) and other expensive mar kets in search of a more affordable metropolis. High immigration is also contributing to the city’s growth, with immi grants from Asian coun tries accounting for the second largest source of new residents. This shift is showing up on menus

POPULATION: 4,860,338 GROWTH IN HOSPITALITY JOBS: 7.8%

industry is flourishing, it’s nowhere near satu rated. As incoming resi dents continue to make the city their home, the need for fresh concepts is only increasing. In the case of Phoenix, more people means more competition, but also more customers and more payoff for those operators willing to take a chance on the city.

SONORAN HOT DOG

Bianco, an artisanal pie concept, in 1988. This year, he opened another location in Los Ange les—just one example of the growing influence of Phoenix on other culi nary scenes. While Phoenix’s

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