![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/roosevelt-phoenix-dj-booth.jpg\")
Roosevelt\u2019s DJ booth sits in front of a large video wall inside the new downtown Phoenix nightspot opening this weekend.<\/p>\nDowntown Phoenix is getting its latest nightspot this weekend, and it\u2019s a room built for sound.<\/p>\n
Roosevelt, a new \u201clistening-focused\u201d bar, club and restaurant, opens on Sunday inside the former home of FilmBar, pairing high-fidelity sound with house music, vinyl nights, cocktails and food.<\/p>\n
And there\u2019s a \u201cdream team\u201d of nightlife behind the project.<\/p>\n
Roosevelt is the brainchild of Arizona electronic dance music promoter Thomas Turner of Relentless Beats, Phoenix nightlife veteran Steve Kushnir, Ocotillo owner and chef Walter Sterling and nightclub lighting designer Stephen Lieberman. Michael Hooker, a longtime Arizona house music DJ, is also involved.<\/p>\n
Art. Film. Dance. Books. Recreation. Even sex and dating. It\u2019ll be fun, we promise.<\/p>\n
THANK YOU!<\/p>\n
You’re all set.<\/p>\n
CLOSE\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Over the past two years, they\u2019ve transformed the 4,000-square-foot spot at 815 N. Second St. into a space designed with the listening experience in mind.<\/p>\n
Turner says Roosevelt was designed to deliver high-quality sound at any volume, but won\u2019t go \u201cfull bore as a club\u201d every night it\u2019s open.<\/p>\n
Roosevelt\u2019s calendar will feature a mix of events. House music nights with local and touring DJs will share the schedule with vinyl listening sessions and even movie screenings, tying into the property\u2019s legacy as FilmBar.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo it\u2019s really a restaurant, a bar with food and a fun place for the neighborhood,\u201d Turner says. \u201cAnd we\u2019re going to let the neighborhood kind of decide what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Turner says food and music will be Roosevelt\u2019s foundation, but its programming will evolve as the owners figure out what works.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re starting the engines now,\u201d Turner says.<\/p>\n
Roosevelt\u2019s DJ booth sits in front of a large video wall inside the new downtown Phoenix nightspot opening this weekend.<\/p>\n
\u2018A room built around the music and sound<\/strong>\u2018<\/p>\n Roosevelt boasts the only Funktion-One sound system inside an Arizona nightclub and what Turner describes as studio-quality acoustic treatments. Speakers are positioned throughout the room to deliver clear, high-fidelity sound without having to ratchet up the volume.<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t have to turn the system up really loud,\u201d Turner says. \u201cThe system has great coverage and really high fidelity.\u201d<\/p>\n Hooker has another way of describing the setup.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s kind of overkill but in a really good way,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n And Roosevelt\u2019s owners plan to put the sound system to work most nights. Weekends will feature club nights geared toward what Turner calls a \u201cbroad spectrum of feel-good house music.\u201d<\/p>\n During the week, though, Roosevelt will dial things back. Local DJs will spin funk, soul, jazz and disco tunes or conduct vinyl listening sessions for entire albums.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can bring back the romance of listening to an album from start to finish,\u201d Hooker says.<\/p>\n Phoenix currently has only a handful of listening bars where the focus is on a curated musical experience. Hooker says Roosevelt will take a similar approach with its listening nights.<\/p>\n He\u2019s working with Konstadinos \u201cDJ Cocoe\u201d Tsimahidis, owner of Phoenix\u2019s Grand Avenue Records, on these sessions.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s going to give people the opportunity to hear music they\u2019ve never heard before in a room built around the music and sound,\u201d Hooker says.<\/p>\n \u2018A real dream team of nightlife\u2019<\/p>\n Roosevelt started becoming a reality after Phoenix hip-hop promoter Michael Horowitz brought Turner to the former FilmBar space to check out the property in 2024.<\/p>\n \u201cHe thought it was a cool building and thought we could do something cool with it,\u201d Turner says.<\/p>\n There was a wrinkle, though: Sterling, the chef and owner behind Phoenix\u2019s Ocotillo Restaurant, already had a lease on the property.<\/p>\n Turner and Kushnir, longtime partners in Relentless Beats, then approached Sterling to collaborate on a nightspot at the property.<\/p>\n The idea took off from there. Sterling brought his restaurant experience to the project. Lieberman, an internationally known lighting designer who has worked on nightclubs and music festivals across the U.S., oversaw Roosevelt\u2019s lighting and production with Turner and his team.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a real dream team of nightlife,\u201d Turner says.<\/p>\n Hooker also joined the ownership group, bringing years of experience in Arizona\u2019s house music scene and helping shape Roosevelt\u2019s musical programming.<\/p>\n![\"Lounge](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/roosevelt-phoenix-lounge-seating.jpg\")
Lounge seating fills part of Roosevelt\u2019s 4,000-square-foot interior.<\/p>\n
![\"Colorful](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/roosevelt-phoenix-patio-lightboxes-filmbar.JPG.jpg\")
Lightboxes line the patio at Roosevelt in downtown Phoenix. The movie poster-style displays are a nod to FilmBar, which previously occupied the space.<\/p>\n