Sept. 1, 2023
The Glitz and Glam of the Modern Cowgirl Comes to Scottsdale
Carlisa Poirier
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. - Beyoncé and Taylor Swift’s simultaneous mega-stadium tours have left the Valley craving the bling of the modern-day cowgirl aesthetic, a service that Rancher Hat Bar is happy to cater to.
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The custom hat bar and boutique, originally from Folsom, California, has opened its doors to its second brick-and-mortar location in Scottsdale’s Old Town district.
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“Shantelle Girard, the owner of Rancher Hat Bar, is actually from Scottsdale so it made sense for her to join the chamber of commerce and support the business community,” Erika Acorn, the Director of Business Development for the Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce, said at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sept. 1, 2023.
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Girard began Rancher Hat Bar in early Jan. 2023 out of a remodeled camper trailer and by April had opened the first Rancher Hat Bar in Folsom.
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A key to Rancher Hat Bar’s success is the boutique’s vast customization combinations provided through accessories such as feathers, playing cards, lace, beads, ribbons, statement-piece jewelry, and perhaps its most popular decoration, the miniature branding tool.
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“We’re here to assist [clients] because it can be hard to decide what looks good,” said Maddie Mehciz, an employee of the Scottsdale Rancher Hat Bar.
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“It can even be overwhelming,” Courtney Aaenson, a fellow employee, said. “There are just so many options to choose from you kind of want everything.”
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That sentiment is echoed in the business model of Rancher Hat Bar which expanded past the hat bar and leaned into providing the modern cowgirl her whole head-to-toe outfit, according to Girard.
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“For all us girls, we all want this,” Girard said. “You obviously want the cute little cowboy boot earrings. You want the cute graphic tee to go out to a country concert. You want it all. I just decided that we’re going to do the whole thing.”
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Beyond expanding her hat bar into a western-themed boutique, Girard has her sights on expanding her fresh franchise across the country.
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According to Girard, her clientele has asked for stores in the cities of Nashville, Dallas and San Diego, and in broader terms, the states of Georgia, Minnesota and Idaho have also requested their own Rancher Hat Bar.
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The viral excitement of Rancher Hat Bar can be felt throughout Old Town which heavily relies on its western-themed tourism as well as its bachelorette party tourism.
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“I think that [bachelorette parties] will be the ‘in’ to [Rancher Hat Bar’s success] and give people that visit us a little bit more to do here in Scottsdale and really help us drive the economy,” Acorn said.
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The journey of Rancher Hat Bar from a small, pop-up trailer to opening two locations in under a year has been a shock but was not achieved without hard work, according to Girard.
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“I didn’t get lucky, a lot of people tell me I’m lucky,” Girard said. “I don’t think that’s the case. I think it’s because I took chances and risks. I feel like most don’t and that’s why entrepreneurship is for the brave.”
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Rancher Hat Bar will open its doors to the public on Sept. 2, 2023, at 10 a.m.
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Nov. 24, 2023
Growing Population Expands Phoenicians Palate
Carlisa Poirier
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. - An influx of international and national migrants has created a cultural shift to the Phoenix metropolitan area’s dining experience.
For the past two years Maricopa County’s rising population has made it the country’s largest growing county, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The most common ground across every culture is arguably the shared need and love of food. In the Valley this commonality builds bridges across cultural divides through a demand for more alternative diet eateries, culturally significant mainstays, and experimental dining tours.
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“Travelers [today] crave culinary experiences [such as] food festivals, wine tastings and food tours,” said Stephanie Pressler, Experience Scottsdale’s director of community and government affairs. “Talented chefs, winemakers and brewers passionate about showcasing locally sourced ingredients and produce have made Scottsdale their home.”
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On a food tour such as “A Taste of Old Town Scottsdale” that is offered by Arizona Food Tours, the talents of five local and unique Scottsdale’s chefs can be experienced all within a mile of each other.
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Tourists can taste the modern Latin cuisine of The Mission, then take a two-minute walk up East First Street to settle in for some craft BBQ from Bootleggers.
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The next tour stop could be at Brat Haus for homemade European-inspired cuisine that can be washed down with an appetizer and cocktail from the modern-day saloon AZ88, and finally the tour can end at Shakes and Cones for gluten-free and organic homemade ice cream.
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“The restaurants on our tours really go above and beyond for the experience,” said Zach Egedy, the co-founder of Arizona Food Tours. “In the early days of the tours we were a little less selective about who we partnered with. We were willing to partner with anybody just to get our business launched. Nowadays [...] we try to only work with the places that we’re really fond of and that are well known in the community.”
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Arizona Food Tours launched in 2009 as the first food tour in the Phoenix metropolitan area, which pioneered the path for the now dozens of food tours found across the Valley and launched what has become a mainstream part of tourism in Arizona, according to Egedy.
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The cultural shift seen throughout the Phoenix food tourism industry stands apart from the adventures found in food tours and can be seen within the numerous plant-based eateries that have popped up within the last decade.
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Steep Tea Company is one of those plant-based eateries that has become home to many Phoenix vegan lovers that seek plant-based meals over mock meals, according to Ashlee Scott, a barista at Steep Tea Company.
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“Restaurants, especially in Phoenix, have done an excellent job at incorporating vegan dishes that aren’t just tofu or impossible meat,” Scott said. “When I first went vegan, eating out meant eating a veggie burger or a salad. Now there are so many options from pastas to cauliflower dishes to even pizza.”
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Steep Tea Company offers Phoenician vegans meals that stand on their own such as any of their made-to-order breakfast sandwiches that are affectionately known as Sandy’s and can cater to gluten-free diets as well.
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Steep Tea Company often sees new customers that are looking for a different experience that are not necessarily living a meat-free lifestyle, according to Scott.
“It’s definitely different than any restaurant work experience that I’ve had before,” Scott said. “We specialize in tea but offer a small all-vegan menu. I’m used to serving regulars daily. Here though, I spend a majority of my shift explaining our menu to all the first-timers regularly.”
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Nov. 17, 2023
Scottsdazzle's Eighth Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony Begins 2023 Holiday Season
Carlisa Poirier
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. - The city of Scottsdale kicks off the 2023 holiday season with its eighth annual sing-along tree-lighting ceremony Saturday, Nov. 25, but illuminating the 40-foot Scottsdazzle tree is not the only event the city offers to capture the magic of the season.
The collection of holiday events known as Scottsdazzle is curated and sourced by the city of Scottsdale and spans the remaining six weeks of the year with daily events and promotions that capture the heart of the holiday cheer.
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“The sing-along tree lighting on Saturday night is a phenomenal event, in my opinion,” said Karen Churchard, Scottsdale’s tourism and events director. “We have an orchestra [performing] 10 of the top [holiday] songs. All the décor is absolutely spectacular. It’s all new this year. It’s going to be really fun to see it looking a little bit different than it has in the last couple of years.”
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Although the ceremony begins at 7 p.m., festivity seekers can begin their holiday celebrations with a morning of an escape room-styled scavenger hunt for Santa’s naughty and nice lists.
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Puzzle Rides, a staple of the Old Town Scottsdale experience since the fall of 2020, offers three holiday-themed hunts including Hijacked by Elves, Jingle Bar Hop and Holly Jolly Holiday Relay, according to owner Katie Dufort.
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“Hijacked by Elves is huge,” Dufort said. “We’ve done nearly 1,000 Elves rides since its inception in 2021 in just over 10 weeks.”
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The 75 to 90 minutes of problem-solving rides are only one adventurous ride-along that Scottsdazzle offers that could leave partakers craving the Fiesta Margarita and Taco Tour offered by JoyRidesAz.
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For 10 years JoyRidesAZ has offered 16 different Green Certified tours around Scottsdale but by far the Fiesta Tour is their most popular and irresistible one, according to Kirk Nicodemus, the co-owner of JoyRidesAz.
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“We choose our locations based on being locally owned, good customer service and quality of food,” Nicodemus said. “We like to keep [the restaurants we choose] as a surprise.”
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For Scottsdazzle, JoyRidesAZ also offers an immersive Holiday Lights Tour around Old Town Scottsdale from Nov. 25 to Dec. 23.
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The journey of the fresh-aired holiday tours could lead guests straight to Belle’s Nashville Kitchen in the heart of Old Town where they offer four nights of whiskey-filled fun mixed with dueling piano shows.
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Belle’s joined Scottsdazzle in 2022 thanks to Experience Scottsdale reaching out to ask for an event for the season, according to Janel Alderman the general manager of Belle’s Nashville Kitchen.
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“I chose Dueling Pianos [for this year] not only because of the previous success with it but because the holiday season brings so many visitors,” Alderman said. “There is a lot to do in Old Town, so we wanted to set ourselves apart with something that is unique to our restaurant.”
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Nov. 3, 2023
Scottsdale's Tourists Spent $1.84 Billion in 2022
Carlisa Poirier
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. - Scottsdale released five tourism-related reports throughout 2023 that showed that tourism remains the city’s leading industry and that $1.9 million was invested into tourism advertising, according to the Scottsdale 2022 Advertising ROI Research report.
Local shopping, transportation, entertainment establishments, museums, national parks, golf courses, spas and restaurants embody the tourism industry in Scottsdale.
“All of those things together create that vibrancy and the character of Scottsdale,” said Karen Churchard, the city of Scottsdale’s tourism and events director. “You can go to a very high-end resort in Scottsdale, or you can go to a budget hotel and everything in between. Having diversity [in events] and things that people can experience within our city makes it much more vibrant and makes people want to come here.”
In 2022 domestic visitors to Scottsdale spent an estimated $1.84 billion at local tourism destinations such as retail businesses, restaurants, transportation and entertainment industries, according to the Scottsdale October 2023 Visitor Statistics Report.
Out of that spending, Scottsdale tourists who stayed at either hotels or resorts paid a 5% bed-tax that is allocated to a variety of voter-approved programs, according to Experience Scottsdale’s Director of Community and Government Affairs Stephanie Pressler.
“Of the total bed-tax revenue collected, 50% goes directly to the city of Scottsdale to support the general fund and tourism-related events and capital projects,” Pressler wrote in an email. “The remaining 50% is allocated to destination promotion, with the majority used to fund a contract with Experience Scottsdale for destination marketing initiatives.”
Capital projects that generate a large portion of Scottsdale’s tourism industry such as WestWorld, Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West, Scottsdale Stadium, as well as events like Canal Convergence and Scottsdazzle have all been funded and supported by bed-tax collections since 2010, according to Pressler.
Advertising for tourism is not only a Scottsdale-oriented undertaking, it impacts and helps fund the entire state.
Tourism contributes $1.1 billion in direct state tax revenue out of the $10-11 billion needed to operate Arizona annually, according to Josh Coddington, the Arizona Office of Tourism’s director of communications.
“The critical role that [AOT] plays is both promoting visitors to come to Arizona and also supporting other tourism organizations in Arizona to help them promote their places,” Coddington said. “That’s one of our chief jobs, and it’s super important to bring those visitors here.”
There are three primary groups that Visit Arizona, an organization operated by the AOT for tourists, focuses on;
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Arizonan tourists within Arizona;
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United States tourists (cities such as Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles);
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International tourists (countries such as Mexico, Canada and the United Kingdom), according to Coddington.
Being an economically leading industry in Arizona, tourism tax revenue is essential to the operation of the state and tourist destinations such as Scottsdale. However, the state and local governments are not the only beneficiaries.
In 2022 over 179,000 jobs were generated because of the tourism industry in Arizona, according to the AOT.
“All these people’s livelihoods are impacted by a strong tourism industry,” Coddington said. “When you bring people here they move about the state. They spend money at many different places and that spending is vital to supporting the communities throughout the state. A strong tourism and hospitality industry is critical for the success of Arizona and the people who live here.”
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OURTESY METRO CREATIVE CONNECTION
Nov. 2, 2023
Year after laws passed, short-term rentals still nuisances
Carlisa Poirier
In the year since the Arizona Legislature passed Senate Bill 1168, a law requiring short-term rental operators to obtain a license, Scottsdale implemented a city ordinance, created a short-term rental police unit and is seeking further regulation rights from Arizona lawmakers.
COURTESY OF BILL TIMMERMAN/STUDIO MA
Sept. 21, 2023
Scottsdale council approves Museum of the West expansion
Carlisa Poirier
Scottsdale City Council unanimously approved on Sept. 19 expanding Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West. The museum, a Smithsonian Affiliate since its opening in January 2015 at 3830 N. Marshall Way, Scottsdale, has had a decade-long museum management agreement with the city of Scottsdale, according to Assistant City Manager Brent Stockwell, who presented the item to the council.