{"id":376386,"date":"2025-11-13T17:22:23","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T17:22:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/376386\/"},"modified":"2025-11-13T17:22:23","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T17:22:23","slug":"phoenix-seafood-staple-to-open-downtown-restaurant-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/376386\/","title":{"rendered":"Phoenix seafood staple to open downtown restaurant in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"\"
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tChula has a diverse menu of hot and cold dishes that all center around fresh seafood.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Tirion Boan<\/p>\n

A Valley seafood staple is casting a wider net with a new downtown Phoenix restaurant. Chula Seafood<\/a> plans to open a fourth outpost at the Arizona Center next year.<\/p>\n

Chula Seafood made its debut a decade ago, on the promise of providing ultra-fresh fish in the desert. Its owners have made good on that thanks to their boat, which fishes off the Pacific Coast. Since 2015, Chula has grown to three locations in Phoenix and Scottsdale. In March, Yelp named the restaurant the best place for seafood<\/a> in the state.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Chula\u2019s downtown restaurant, bar and seafood market is anticipated to open in the second quarter of 2026.<\/p>\n

It joins an influx of new local eateries<\/a> coming to the shopping, entertainment and office complex located near Third and Van Buren streets. That charge is being led by Pretty Decent Concepts, which will open three concepts there, including a steakhouse and a hidden cocktail lounge, Cleaverman and Filthy Martini Bar<\/a>, on Nov. 21.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWhen news happens, Phoenix New Times is there \u2014<\/strong>
Your support strengthens our coverage.<\/strong><\/strong>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWe\u2019re aiming to raise $30,000 by December 31, so we can continue covering what matters most to you. If New Times matters to you, please take action and contribute today, so when news happens, our reporters can be there.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Mandy Helfin runs Chula\u2019s restaurants with her husband Jon and their business partner\u00a0 Hogan Jamison. They were intrigued by the area, a spot where more housing is being built and Arizona State University is growing its footprint.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Arizona Center, we really love that they\u2019re trying to revive down there and bring it back,\u201d Heflin says. \u201cWe\u2019re excited to be part of that revamp.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AChula Seafood will open a fourth location of its popular fish market and restaurant in the Arizona Center in 2026.<\/p>\n

Downtown will serve more than seafood<\/strong><\/p>\n

Like at Chula\u2019s other locations, downtown customers will be able to browse seafood cases for a filet or shellfish to cook at home, or they can have the restaurant\u2019s chefs take care of the cooking. Chula\u2019s menu features seafood in poke bowls, tacos and sandwiches. We are partial to the flavorful Southwestern rendition of a classic tuna melt<\/a> stuffed with green chiles and Oaxacan cheese and served with a side of chimichurri.<\/p>\n

The Arizona Center\u2019s food menu will feature classic Chula dishes, but the team also plans to shake things up. While the downtown menu is still in the works, Helfin teases \u201cChula land food instead of Chula Seafood.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe definitely will keep core items, but part of what we do is listening to the customers and those around us and evolving,\u201d she adds. \u201cIt\u2019ll be a new, exciting shift in who we are, but we\u2019ll still obviously be focused on being fresh fish in the desert.\u201d<\/p>\n

The owners are also working on a fresh look for the downtown space. The restaurant is surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows, and the team is getting inspired by that fish tank feel. In addition to the dining room, Chula will feature a bar and patio.<\/p>\n

In the midst of opening this new location, Helfin teases that Chula Seafood is poised for even more growth.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hear you East Valley, loud and clear, we hear you West Valley. We\u2019re always looking,\u201d she says. \u201cThrough our restaurants, we develop special relationships with our customers, and we\u2019re looking forward to doing that in more locations around Arizona.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chula Seafood<\/p>\n

Opening in 2026
455 N. Third St., #1180<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chula has a diverse menu of hot and cold dishes that all center around fresh seafood. Tirion Boan…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":376387,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5131],"tags":[5229,5643,1587,7236,97044,1589,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-376386","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-phoenix","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-arizona","10":"tag-az","11":"tag-downtown","12":"tag-openings-closings","13":"tag-phoenix","14":"tag-united-states","15":"tag-united-states-of-america","16":"tag-unitedstates","17":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","18":"tag-us","19":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115543549944489973","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=376386"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376386\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/376387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=376386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=376386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=376386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}