Today we’d like to introduce you to Elle Murtagh.
Elle, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
The Coronado PHX was our “unexpected child”, haha. We actually had another restaurant located in the Grand Avenue arts district in downtown Phoenix, but that place just wasn’t happening for us for a multitude of reasons. Long story short, a regular customer of our’s actually owned the building The Coronado PHX is located in and offered us the space for a new concept. Of course we jumped at the opportunity and after a lot of heartache and growing pains, we’re still standing. It’s been a really weird and beautiful ride so far.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think we’ve faced pretty much all the same obstacles that most restaurants face in the first couple years. None of us owners of The Coronado PHX have a business degree, we’re just a group of friends that wanted to do something for ourselves and hopefully have a positive impact on our community. Maybe that naive optimism is what keeps our spirits going because we’ve definitely felt the financial impact of running a niche restaurant in a place like Arizona. However, things are good. We spend a lot of our time and energy taking care of the folks that work with us and the people who live in our community and that pays off.
The Coronado PHX – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
The Coronado PHX is a vegetarian restaurant that specializes is freshly made, locally sourced, South West inspired dishes. We have a full bar which carries vegan liquors and local beers, locally roasted coffee from Xanadu Coffee Co and 100% vegan pastries made fresh daily by our amazing pastry chef, Jen Porter. We can’t stress enough that everything we serve (besides the bread, which is also locally made) is made in house and fresh daily. Hands down, the fan favorite dish on our menu is our Cauliflower Tacos.
We put a lot of love into our food and drinks and we’re always trying to get better at what we do. I just hope folks also recognize that the same amount of love we put into our menu, we’re also putting back into our community. Phoenix is home and we’re just trying to make our own little mark on this place.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I really love that since we’ve grown, we’ve been able to take better care of the folks that work with us, either through being able to offer health benefits or a living wage. I am also blown away at how many opportunities to work with amazing organizations have come our way. This space has just afforded us the chance to give back in ways we never knew we’d be able to.
Contact Info:
- Address: 2201 N. 7th St. Phoenix, AZ 85006
- Website: www.thecoronadophx.com
- Phone: 602-252-1322
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @thecoronadophx
- Facebook: @thecoronadophx
- Twitter: @thecoronadophx
Image Credit:
Emily Spetrino
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