"We really want to make it not just a place you go on special occasions but a place you can go once or twice a week," Mikis Troyan, co-founder of Clive Collective, told Phoenix New Times in January. "Make it a neighborhood spot."
He was talking about The Americano. The same idea now applies to the whole corner of Scottsdale Road and Chauncey Lane, near the Loop 101. Both restaurant spaces at Chauncey Lane Marketplace changed hands in September. The new tenants open earlier, run more casual menus and keep more regular hours than the businesses they replaced. A corner people used to visit for a big night out is being set up for ordinary Tuesdays and Saturday mornings.
What the Corner Used to Be Built For
The larger of the two spaces, 17767 N. Scottsdale Road, Suite 100, was home to Chauncey Social. Evening Entertainment Group ran it as an indoor-outdoor restaurant and nightclub with a day-club feel, and its LED wall was hard to miss from the road. A Scottsdale use-permit record describes the space as a bar and restaurant of roughly 6,500 square feet.
Chauncey Social closed on April 1, 2025, as Phoenix New Times reported that May. Evening Entertainment Group has kept opening places elsewhere. PHOENIX magazine's September roundup lists Holla Brunch Girl, a Saturday-only rooftop "singalong brunch bar" from the group, at 7320 E. Indian Plaza in Old Town's nightclub district. That kind of party-style venue now sits downtown.
The Year the Space Sat Waiting
The replacement was announced quickly. Opening it took much longer. Here is how the target date moved:
- April 1, 2025. Chauncey Social closes.
- April 22, 2025. WhatNow Phoenix reports that Clive Collective's Kuza will move into the space and open in "late August" or "early September 2025."
- January 8, 2026. Phoenix New Times says Kuza is expected to open in February. The same story reports that chef Beau MacMillan has stepped away from his culinary director role at Clive Collective.
- September 16, 2026. Kuza opens, led by executive chef Erik Davila.
About seventeen and a half months passed between Chauncey Social's last night and Kuza's first, and Kuza opened roughly a year after its first announced date. Mouth by Southwest noted that MacMillan had developed the Kuza concept before he left and that Davila now runs the kitchen. MacMillan told Phoenix New Times he wanted to get back to running a restaurant and working with a team every day. He remains a partner in Cala Scottsdale and Tell Your Friends.
Kuza Is a Dinner Room With a Weeknight Bar
Kuza is built around an open kitchen, with a robata grill and a raw bar where cooks turn skewers over binchōtan charcoal. Axios Phoenix described a shareable menu that includes ramen, gyoza and dim sum, plus "a full bar that's perfect for a casual weeknight dinner."
The menu also has dishes for bigger nights. Mouth by Southwest lists a Bluefin Tuna Tasting that runs from akami to otoro, A5 Wagyu Tartare with ossetra caviar, and a 40-ounce Prime Porterhouse for the table. AZ Big Media reports that the sushi program uses fish flown in twice a week from Tokyo's Toyosu Market.
The signature dish is simpler. Chicken Negima is a skewer glazed and turned over charcoal again and again until the sauce caramelizes, and Davila explains his approach in plain terms. "I've been doing this long enough to know you don't rush fire," he told AZ Big Media. "Cooking over charcoal takes patience." The drinks list includes the Kodama Kami, a lower-alcohol mix of soju, grapefruit and buckwheat tea made to go with sushi. For dessert there is the Sudachi Lime Tart with toasted marshmallow and brown-buttered almonds.
Kuza's hours also point to regulars. Opening coverage listed a 5 p.m. start, Wednesday through Sunday. The Kuza website now shows a 4 p.m. opening and a 4 to 5 p.m. happy hour with $5 bites, $10 highballs and $12 martinis. Check the site before you go, since hours have already changed once since opening.
The Americano Was Already Heading the Same Way
Kuza joined two Clive Collective businesses already on the corner. One is The Americano, an Italian steakhouse. The other is Tell Your Friends, the speakeasy below it. Phoenix New Times reported in January that Clive had taken over running The Americano from Creation Hospitality, its founder, so Clive now operates both the restaurant and the cocktail bar.
The changes at The Americano match what Kuza is doing next door. The restaurant was renovated, and the menu added lighter, more shareable plates priced a few dollars less than before. Troyan's line about going "once or twice a week" came up in that conversation. His partner Justin Massei described the bigger plan in the same story:
"Those three spaces for Clive (are) going to become a kind of north Scottsdale hub for us. North Scottsdale's really starting to boom, so it's all just coming together for us at the right time."
With Kuza open, Clive Collective runs three concepts on this short stretch of Scottsdale Road, and Kuza is its sixth restaurant overall. A diner can now have robata, a steakhouse dinner and a speakeasy cocktail from one operator without moving the car.
The Corner Now Opens at 7 a.m.
The second change happened at 17757 N. Scottsdale Road. OEB Breakfast Co., the Canada-based, chef-driven breakfast and brunch spot, closed its north Scottsdale restaurant after six years, according to PHOENIX magazine.
The Breakfast Table moved into Suite 103 and held its grand opening on Monday, Sept. 28. Forking Scottsdale reported that Ken Vondra and his son own and run it, and that it is the fourth restaurant the two have run together. It opens at 7 a.m. and closes at 2 p.m., seven days a week. The menu covers waffles, pancakes, burritos, omelets, skillets, burgers and wraps, and the weekend crowd gets cocktails, mimosas and mimosa flights.
Being open seven days matters here. Kuza is closed Monday and Tuesday, so early in the week The Breakfast Table keeps the corner busy. The other six days, the two restaurants split the day, with breakfast and lunch next door and dinner starting a couple of hours later.
How a Day at the Corner Runs Now
| Time | Where | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., daily | The Breakfast Table, Suite 103 | Family-run breakfast and lunch, mimosa flights on weekends |
| 4 to 5 p.m., Wednesday to Sunday | Kuza, Suite 100 | Happy hour per the restaurant's website: $5 bites, $10 highballs, $12 martinis |
| Evening to 10 p.m., Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday | Kuza | Full menu, robata grill and raw bar |
| Evening to 11 p.m., Friday and Saturday | Kuza | Kitchen serves the full menu until close |
| Monday and Tuesday evenings | Kuza | Closed |
The Breakfast Table takes calls at (480) 203-2339. Kuza takes reservations through its website.
What Clive Collective Has Planned Next
Clive Collective's other announced projects are outside this neighborhood. They include a second, larger Cala at the Paradise Valley Mall redevelopment and three concepts in a historic bungalow at 801 N. First Avenue in downtown Phoenix: Ada, a seafood restaurant; Love Call, a neighborhood bar; and Kuza Tori, a more casual Japanese street-food version of Kuza. All four are still in development, and none has a confirmed opening date. "We're not slowing down," Troyan told Axios.
Kuza Tori matters for this corner. It is planned as a smaller, more casual version of the restaurant that opened at Chauncey Lane this fall, which means the Kuza concept is meant to grow into other neighborhoods.
If you live near Scottsdale Road and Chauncey Lane and are thinking about what the corner's new lineup means for your own plans in the area, the team at Shields Regal Realty is happy to talk it through with you. Contact Us whenever you're ready.
