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The East Valley has been booming in recent years, with Chandler emerging as an entertainment and dining hot spot. In the last six months alone, over a dozen exciting new restaurants have opened in the city, from sports bars to dessert shops and everything in between.

Local businesses like Piefection and Taqueria Factory opened new locations alongside international chains like bb.q Chicken, Buqui Bichi and a handful of California-based chains that made their Arizona debuts in Chandler this year.

If you live on the east side, you're options just got even tastier. Here are 16 new restaurants to try in Chandler.

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Acqua di Mare

This new seafood restaurant in downtown Chandler offers a taste of French, Italian and Greek cuisine. The menu includes lobster bisque, Karageorge schnitzel, Tuscan veal chops and octopus.

Details: 106 S. Oregon St., Chandler. 602-885-8782, acquadimare.us.

bb.q Chicken

The popular South Korea-based chain bb.q Chicken made its Arizona debut at the 99 Market Ranch plaza in Chandler. The Korean fried chicken comes in 13 flavors including Golden Original, the extra spicy Wings of Fire, "Gangnam Style" with black pepper sauce, garlic and onions and the signature sweet, savory and smoky Galbi flavor. They also sell other Korean favorites like ddeok-bokki and kimchi fried rice.

Details: 1900 W. Chandler Blvd., Suite 21, Chandler. 480-687-5302, bbqchicken.com.

Brekky Brunch

The former Biscuits Cafe on the southwest corner of Alma School and Germann roads in south Chandler is now home to Brekky Brunch. The menu includes burgers and sandwiches like a bacon cheeseburger and a Reuben, plus benedicts, omelets, waffles and breakfast burritos. There are also many gluten-free options.

Details: 2040 S. Alma School Road, Suite 3, Chandler. 480-899-0758, facebook.com/people/Brekky-Brunch.

Buqui Bichi

Award-winning Mexican brewery Buqui Bichi opened its first-ever U.S. taproom in Chandler. Their most popular beers are the hoppy Sahuaripa India pale ale, Banquetera Kolsch style ale, Chucuta amber ale, chocolatey Talega Mexican coffee stout and the fruity Bitachera hazy IPA. The Chandler location also serves food, including burgers and fries, aguachiles, tostadas, tacos and sopes, pizzas and pastas.

Details: 325 S. Arizona Ave., Chandler. buquibichi.com.

BYOV

BYOV, which stands for Bring Your Own Veggies, opened recently in Chandler. The menu is 100% vegan and offers Mexican and sushi dishes such as Cali and Philly rolls, birria tacos, loaded nachos and wings tossed in honey hot, BBQ, buffalo, lemon pepper, Korean BBQ or Jerk sauce.

Details: 777 N. Arizona Ave., Suite 3, Chandler.

Fluffy Cakes

Fluffy Cakes grew a fan base at the Downtown Chandler Farmers Market, where owner Kristi Jones has been serving fluffy Japanese cheesecakes and pancakes since October 2022. In late May, her small business held a grand opening for its first brick and mortar location at Chandler Fashion Center.

Details: Chandler Fashion Center, 3111 W. Chandler Blvd., Chandler. @fluffy_cakes_az on Instagram.

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Gen Korean BBQ

A second Arizona location of Gen Korean BBQ is now open in Chandler, offering all-you-can-eat meats, seafood and vegetables served with traditional banchan Korean side dishes.

Details: 1852 W. Chandler Blvd., Chandler. 480-597-9379, genkoreanbbq.com.

Goc Saigon

Goc Saigon, a new Vietnamese restaurant, is now open in Chandler, serving pho, hot pot, bun bo hue, pork egg rolls and crispy calamari. To drink, there's Vietnamese coffee and salty lemonade.

Details: 1018 N. Arizona Ave., Chandler. 480-722-1668, @gocsaigon_az on Instagram.

The Kickin' Crab

California-based chain The Kickin' Crab made its Arizona debut in Chandler this summer. They offer bags of seafood priced by the pound, plus smaller appetizers like oysters, fish or shrimp tacos, Cajun fries and garlic noodles.

Details: 1840 W. Chandler Blvd., Suite 5, Chandler. 480-666-6868, thekickincrab.com.

K-Monster Chicken

A new Korean fried chicken restaurant has opened inside the 99 Ranch Market in Chandler. Guests can first choose what type of chicken they'd like — wings, breast, thigh or tenders — then, choose one of five sauces (original, Korean sweet and spicy, spicy mayo, soy garlic or bulgogi) and one of three toppings (walnuts, almonds or mozzarella cheese).

Details: 99 Ranch Market, 1920 W. Chandler Blvd., Chandler. @kmonsterchicken on Instagram.

Piefection

Piefection has opened its third location in Chandler. The local, independent pie shop offers over 30 flavors of pie, including coconut almond bliss, peanut butter brownie, pumpkin dream, cherry cheesecake, Georgia peach, caramel apple and apple pecan spice cheesecake.

Details: 2100 W. Chandler Blvd., Suite 33, Chandler. 480-218-7437, piefectionaz.com.

R&B Tea

Chandler's newest bubble tea shop is R&B Tea, an international chain named after the owners' initials. They offer a large selection of teas, from fruity milk tea frosts to fresh fruit teas to teas topped with cheese foam, plus coffee and matcha.

Details: 2081 N. Arizona Ave., Suite 125, Chandler. 623-287-6245, rbteausa.com.

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Roll Em Up Taquitos

Southern California-born Roll Em Up Taquitos made its Arizona debut in June with a new location in Chandler. The restaurant is known for its namesake taquitos, but they also serve street corn, chips with house-made guacamole and churro doughnuts.

Details: 301 S. Arizona Ave., Suite 2, Chandler. rollemup.com.

Sr. Ozzy's Tacos y Mariscos

A third Valley location of Sr. Ozzy's Tacos y Mariscos is now open in Chandler. The restaurant offers Sonoran hot dogs, sushi and seafood in addition to the namesake tacos.

Details: 5865 W. Ray Road, Suite 6, Chandler. 480-825-7665, srozzys.com/chandler.

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Taqueria Factory

Taqueria Factory, a local, family-run Mexican food concept from the family behind Fruitilandia, held a grand opening celebration for its second Chandler location on June 22. The food menu includes street-style tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, birria ramen and quesabirrias. Wash it down with a michelada or margarita.

Details: 1155 W. Ocotillo Road, Suite 1, Chandler. 480-672-5000, taqueriafactory.com.

The Trophy Bar

A new "car lover's sports bar" soft opened in south Chandler. The small food menu includes nachos, street tacos, pizza and burgers.

Details: 2551 W. Queen Creek Road, Chandler. facebook.com/thetrophybar.

In a surprise reversal, General Motors said it will close its Arizona technology center and lay off 936 workers — roughly 18 months after it planned to hire several hundred more employees at the Chandler facility.

The automaker made the layoff announcement by filing a WARN, or Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, on Aug. 23 with the state. GM opened the facility in 2014.

The notice caught Chandler officials, who earlier had touted the facility's expansion, off guard.

The announcement "came as a complete surprise," said Micah Miranda, Chandler's economic development director.

"We’ve recently been working with their local team about higher-education partnerships, mentoring and a promotional video highlighting Chandler’s Price Corridor," he said in a statement. "With this unfortunate news, we plan to work closely with our workforce-development partners to assist with employment opportunities for those impacted.“

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Shifting IT needs

GM employed 1,139 people in Arizona as of midyear, most of those at the 170,000 square-foot Arizona Information Technology Innovation Center at 2900 W. Geronimo Place. The complex is one of four GM technology hubs nationally, along with locations in Michigan, Texas and Georgia.

The Chandler center will close later this year as GM adjusts its IT resources in the United States. “Employees working in our software-defined vehicle teams will remain in Arizona,” the company said in a statement. Employees affected by the layoffs “will have an opportunity to apply for open positions.”

The Chandler facility has been focused on services and solutions for GM cars and trucks as the company transitions to an all-electric vehicle future. Open positions in Chandler as of the company's expansion announcement in February 2022 included software developers, data analysts, business analysts, product managers and software architects.

After years of heady growth spurred in part by federal tax credits, electric vehicle sales are starting to soften, with affordability and rising auto-loan interest rates among the obstacles.

Automaker's presence in Arizona

GM operates four other facilities in Arizona including a 2,400-acre proving ground for hot-weather driving in Yuma, which opened in 2009. The company also has a financial customer-service center in Chandler, whose employees were not included in the midyear count of 1,139.

The Detroit-based automaker has 47 dealers in Arizona and delivered 43,700 vehicles here. It paid $145 million in taxable wages to its Arizona employees in 2022.

At the time of last year’s expansion announcement, Chandler Mayor Kevin Hartke described the jobs at the innovation center as high-wage, high-skill positions that provided tremendous employment opportunities.

At the start of 2023, GM employed 104,000 people in the U.S. and 167,000 globally. It sold 2.27 million vehicles in the U.S. last year, for a 16% market share, and 5.94 million globally, for a 7.6% share.

Reach the writer at [email protected].

CHANDLER, AZ — Developers are moving forward with plans for a two-story "food hall" concept located in Chandler.

According to Jeremy McClymonds, one of the JEMBJACD, LLC partners, the space won’t be a sports bar, but will be a gathering spot “with wall-to-wall televisions, broadcasting every sport every day.”

The new development, called the Swashbuckler Food Hall and Public House, is planned for the southwest corner of Chicago and Oregon streets in Chandler. It's expected to have entertainment elements, including live music and other community activities.

Initial renderings, originally submitted to the City of Chandler in 2021, were provided to ABC15. McClymonds says the “final design and look has evolved since [these renderings” but the main key features of the concept remain.

“We’re going to have anywhere from six to 12 restaurants in our facility,” stated McClymonds.

McClymonds confirmed to ABC15 that city council officials approved the sale of the land and they entered into a development agreement.

“We have committed to building a minimum of a 15,000-square-foot building,” he added.

“The next step is a big, long step so there’s six to eight months - best case scenario - for the rezone, and then we have to build it."

Explaining the steps in their development process, McClymonds said, "we’re a year and a half until we’re opening the doors... We can’t wait to unveil in the near future our final design and our food hall name.”

McClymonds tells ABC15 that they want the development to have a very open indoor/outdoor feel with patios.

“The actual look will look a lot more holistic and home-grown and that’s what we aim to target,” he shared.

Members of the JEMBJACD, LLC have an “ambitious goal” to open by the end of 2024.

SOME BACKGROUND

This is just one of the several pieces falling into place as the city looks to revitalize the downtown area.

The next project, Chandler One, will aim to make the area more livable and walkable as they plan to build a seven-story building at the corner of Arizona Avenue and Chandler Boulevard. It’ll have restaurants and shops downstairs and apartments upstairs.

Chandler One will build around the existing Jack-in-the-Box and incorporate that into the design.

CHANDLER, Ariz. – Chandler City Council voted unanimously to increase the residential grass removal rebate to $2/sq. ft. and approved two new water conservation rebates for large landscape (commercial, multi-family, HOA) customers. Chandler’s water conservation rebates are designed to reimburse approximately 25% to 35% of the total costs. These rebates will go into effect on Oct. 1.

Chandler has offered grass removal incentives and xeriscape landscape education for more than three decades, but this year, the city will significantly increase the grass removal rebate for both residential and commercial customers. The city applied for several water conservation grants from the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority of Arizona to support these programs. Active utility account holders can apply online to take advantage of these new water saving programs.

The Single-Family Grass Removal Rebate, for residential customers, is increasing from 20 cents per sq. ft. to $2 per sq. ft. of grass removed. The minimum to qualify is decreasing from 1,000 sq. ft. to 500 sq. ft. Chandler residents with a utility account can save up to $3,000 on a landscape conversion by removing grass and converting to low-water-use plants.

The new Large Landscape Grass Removal Rebate offers savings up to $75,000. This new program will assist commercial customers (including industrial, multi-family complexes and neighborhood HOAs) with large landscape grass removal projects when converting the landscape to a low-water-use landscape. This program will also benefit HOAs or multi-family customers with grass in common areas. The new program will reimburse up to 25% of the total landscape costs, plus an additional incentive of $3/sq. ft. removed for certain types of non-functional turf which yields a higher water savings. The minimum requirement to qualify for the Large Landscape Grass Removal Rebate is 5,000 sq. ft.

The Water Efficient Technology Rebate is a new program designed to improve water efficiency for commercial water customers (including industrial, multi-family and HOAs). This program incentivizes the installation of new water efficiency technologies that utilize high-resolution data (or “real time”) monitoring and system operation alerts/notifications designed to reduce water use (i.e., irrigation systems and cooling towers). The rebate is for 50% of the cost of the technology with a $10,000 maximum.

For more information about Chandler’s water conservation rebates and incentive programs, please visit Water Conservation Rebates or call 480-782-3580.

Media Contact: Toni Smith Marketing and Communications Manager 480-782-2701

$39 million investment is the largest investment the company has made in its semiconductor equipment and services business

The $39 million investment in the new site is the largest investment the company has made in its semiconductor equipment and services business, which has become a key growth driver thanks to a strong business pipeline. With this investment, EMD Electronics will further support the growing presence of key semiconductor players in the thriving semiconductor ecosystem in Arizona.

The grand opening celebration was attended by Governor Katie Hobbs and Chandler Mayor Kevin Hartke. Industry leaders and representatives from the City of Chandler, the Chandler Chamber of Commerce, as well as the Arizona Commerce Authority, and the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC), convened at the event that took place in the new facility’s production area.

“The grand opening of EMD Electronics is yet another example of Arizona’s new era as a hub for innovation and technology,” said Governor Hobbs. “I’m happy to welcome another great company that will further grow our state’s semiconductor ecosystem. Historic semiconductor investments are rippling across our state, supporting the establishment and growth of new businesses, like EMD here today.”

“The global semiconductor market’s long-term outlook is strong and so is our commitment to purposefully expand our capacities and services in the immediate vicinity of our customers,” said Kai Beckmann, Member of the Executive Board of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, and CEO, EMD Electronics. “We’re excited about the growth trajectory of our Delivery Systems & Services business, and proud to open a new site in Arizona and strengthen our presence in this premier destination for semiconductor production. Today’s opening symbolizes our confidence in the future of our industry and our promise to take our business and our people to new heights.”

“Our equipment, delivery services, and technical expertise are fundamental to enabling the operational excellence required in semiconductor manufacturing”, said Katherine Dei Cas, Head of the Delivery Systems & Services business unit within the Electronics business sector of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. ”By increasing our manufacturing capacities and advancing our workforce strategy, we’re keeping up with our customers as the semiconductor ecosystem continues to expand. It’s an honor to be part of the collaborative effort by leaders and advocates from the public and private sectors to contribute to the momentum of our industry.”

“EMD Electronics’ new facility bolsters Arizona’s reputation as an epicenter for advanced semiconductor operations,” said Sandra Watson, President and CEO of the Arizona Commerce Authority. “EMD is a valued addition to Chandler’s rapidly-growing semiconductor ecosystem, expanding the state’s semiconductor supply chain while contributing to the continued growth of Arizona’s semiconductor industry.”

“Since starting operations in June, EMD Electronics has made an immediate impact on the burgeoning Chandler semiconductor ecosystem,” said Chris Camacho, President and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council. “The company joins a deep industry around the region, and as Greater Phoenix has become semiconductor central in the United States, it has also grown into a home for a number of international companies taking advantage of the business environment and workforce.”

"We are excited to welcome EMD Electronics to our business community," said Chandler Mayor Kevin Hartke. "It is industry leaders like EMD Electronics that have made Chandler a community of innovation and thriving hub for the semiconductor industry."

As the industry ramps up semiconductor production to keep pace with forecasted demand, the investment in the new site will supplement the company’s ability to support customers’ expansion plans and secure supply resilience and reliability.

With an efficient manufacturing design for optimal product throughput, the new factory doubles Merck’s manufacturing capacity to produce its GASGUARD® and CHEMGUARD® systems in the U.S. The site features a 75,000-square-foot building, a 6,000-square-foot clean room, and a 2,000-square-foot training center. The training center is designed to support manufacturing and services onboarding.

Manufacturing operations in the new site started in June 2023. Since then, staffing levels have grown to greater than 100 total employees. As part of its workforce strategy, EMD Electronics has robust university relations and a veterans program in place to nurture the industry’s and its own talent pipeline. The company continues to actively engage in a concerted effort to advance emerging talent in collaboration with key stakeholders – such as the SEMI Foundation, Arizona State University (ASU), the Maricopa County Community College District, the Tempe Chamber of Commerce Military Affairs Committee, among others.

Media ContactsJohanna Batista, EMD Electronics, [email protected]

Alyssa Tufts, Arizona Commerce Authority, [email protected]

Stephanie Romero, City of Chandler, [email protected]

About EMD ElectronicsEMD Electronics is the North American electronics business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. EMD Electronics’ portfolio covers a broad range of products and solutions, including high-tech materials and solutions for the semiconductor industry as well as liquid crystals and OLED materials for displays and effect pigments for coatings and cosmetics. Today, EMD Electronics has approximately 2,000 employees around the country, with regional offices in Tempe (AZ) and Philadelphia (PA). For more information, please visit emd-electronics.com.

About the Arizona Commerce AuthorityThe Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) is the state's leading economic development organization with a streamlined mission to grow and strengthen Arizona's economy. The ACA uses a three-pronged approach to advance the overall economy: attract, expand, create - attract out-of-state companies to establish operations in Arizona; work with existing companies to expand their business in Arizona and beyond; and help entrepreneurs create new Arizona businesses in targeted industries. For more information, please visit azcommerce.com and follow the ACA on Twitter @azcommerce.