East Valley Business - 05.02.21

east valley

Volume 3 Issue 42 Mesa, AZ

May 2, 2021

Vendors converge at downtown Mesa grocer

Man Street Harvest in downtown Mesa brings together products made by local entrepreneurs. (Special to the Tribune)

BY MELODY BIRKETT Tribune Contributor

J

IN THE BIZ

on Przybyl brought bread and baked goods to downtown Mesa and now he has brought a concept that helps people just like him – local vendors who make unique products.

His Main Street Harvest, which opened in January and which he runs with his wife Amanda, is just two doors down from Proof Bread – Jon’s first brick-and-mortar bakery that he opened last year after his Public Notices ............... page 2 © Copyright, 2021 East Valley Tribune

made-at-home Old World artisan breads and pastries won a big following.

“Proof has been a heck of an adventure with building out our first commercial production facility in downtown Mesa,” Jon said.

“Main Street Harvest is an idea I have been dreaming about for many years,” he continued. “Basically, it’s a way to complete the circle of what we do at Proof and that brings all of our friends from the local food production community.

“It’s a local driven grocery store. All of the (USPS 004-616) is published weekly

Mailing Address: 1620 W. Fountainhead Pkwy., Suite 219, Tempe, AZ 85282

(480) 898-6500 Steven Strickbine, publisher Paul Maryniak, executive editor

products are produced by local families.”

He ran a test in December around the holidays before opening Main Street Harvest by developing a priority list of vendors whose products best paired with bread.

“The first vendor I called was a coffee vendor,” Przybyl said.

But he wound up also carrying shrimp from Wild Shrimp Co. in Rocky Point.

“They were among the last of the 20 I called,” he said. “If it was just bread and shrimp for a holiday market, that would be a little bit weird. So, we went in the priorSubscriptions are $26 for 2 years, $14 for one year.

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ity order of things that paired with bread.”

He admits he wasn’t sure his idea would work, recalling how he thought “there’s no chance we’re going to have a whole grocery concept off the fly because literally, I planned this event days before it happened.

“To my great surprise, everyone I called agreed to join. We had a holiday market of around 20 vendors with everything from coffee to produce to chocolate to meat to eggs to shrimp to granola and a lot of things in between.”

Yes, the store even carries locally produced chocolate.

“We source DNA Chocolate for Proof and it’s the chocolate we’ve been using in our chocolate croissants since 2017,” said Przybyl.

One of the most recent vendors to join is Ramona Farms.

“They are a group from the Tohono O’odham tribe in Southern Arizona that grows grains and legumes and so there’s all kinds of beans as well as wheat and wheat berries grown by the tribe down there,” he explained.

A lot of the original vendors brought in during the test holiday market are folks the couple knows from the farmers’ markets.

“With the bakery, we attend markets around the valley,” said Przybyl, who makes the rounds of farmers markets in Gilbert, Phoenix and Old Town Scottsdale.

“And we have been with all of these people for years,” he said. “We neighbor them at the market, we help one another setup tents, we share stories, we support one another. So, we thought what better way to enter downtown Mesa than not only to bring a bakery but bring dozens of other local businesses.”

When the couple first started this as a holiday pop-up, they had no idea what the future would bring.

“We knew we wanted to use our building to sell bread over the holidays,” Przybyl said. “And we thought this would be a great opportunity to see how the public responds to a marketplace where they can attend more than just on Saturdays to buy other local groceries. We had a really good response.”

Main Street Harvest now has 50 local food producers with many grocery categories. All of them have some sort of a tie to Arizona.

“What’s important for us is we actually understand what we’re selling,” Przybyl explained. “It’s a little bit different than when you go into the supermarket. There are so many products in the supermarket you can’t possibly expect the clerks to know much about.

Jon Przybyl has won a huge following with the homemade breads and pastries he sells at his downtown bakery, Proof Bread, as well as at area Farmers Markets. (Special to the Tribune) “We have very close relationships with the folks who are represented in the store. It’s very important for us to sell their products in the same type and way we sell our own bread, with knowledge and information.”

The vendors occupy about half of the 2,500-square-foot store but the grocer is expanding.

“We also have a notable partnership we just started with Local First Arizona,” Przybyl said. “There’s a Local First kitchen in Mesa just East of our location near Pioneer Park. That kitchen is a commissary, a collection of very young businesses that in some cases are just starting out and some that have been around a while.

“We are featuring a number of those businesses on a rotating basis every month with Local First. Some of those businesses are then transitioning to joining the store.”

Another new initiative in the works is home delivery that should be rolling out in the next few months.

“Our focus is to highlight local businesses, to promote local eatings, promote local food production and also to give a lot of the local businesses we’re working with more of a regular opportunity to sell their goods,” Przybyl added.

“The farmers’ markets are incredible but we offer something they can have throughout the week.”

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He said prices are very competitive to local foods but they come at a different price point than items, such as bread, you find at the supermarket.

“You can come into our store and you can browse the product and ask questions of people who will have answers for you and get an understanding of the real cost of food production,” said Przybyl.

“As you can imagine, our local food producers are not running around in Ferraris and Porsches and living in multi-million dollar homes. They’re among the humblest people you’ll meet. Food production comes with high costs.

“A lot of times when we shop at the supermarket those costs are hidden behind government subsidies, behind international trade, behind other mechanisms that drive the price of food down below levels that’s even possible to produce locally.”

“When we got into bread, we always had an interest in food,” explained Przybyl.

“We’re both the children of immigrants.”

Jon’s parents came from Poland and Amanda’s family from Lebanon.

The couple, who have lived in Mesa for the last four years, has two daughters, 8 and 10.

Information: 121 W. Main, mainstharvest.com, 480-428-8305.

MAY 2, 2021

Mesa restaurateur follows father’s dream

BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI Tribune Staff Writer

L

eo Chavez was working in a university’s finance office when his father, Edward T. Chavez, fell ill. He leaned over from his chair and said he wished his son would do something he loved.

“I did not like the corporate world anymore,” Chavez said.

“I was unhappy, and he got sick and he’s like, ‘You’re passionate about your food, so why don’t you pursue it?’”

His father died in September 2017 and Chavez figured it was “now or never.” The Tempe High School graduate went for it and opened the now-successful Herb ‘n’ Smoke food trailer at the end of 2017.

“I went into the office one morning and called my wife, I said, ‘I am quitting this morning and I gave my notice.’ Well, as you can imagine, there was no response on the other end. I thought I lost the call.

“Then I heard her say, ‘Well, what is your plan?’ I said I would just make it work. She said she would stand by me.”

On February 6 of this year, he took another chance. Chavez unveiled the Herb ‘n’ Smoke brick and mortar in Downtown Mesa.

“I’m hoping we become a staple here in Downtown Mesa,” Chavez said. “We would like to keep expanding. I don’t want to franchise it. I want to open other Herb ‘n’ Smoke locations that family members can run. I want to help them out. I really want to keep it in the family.

“I’m hoping my kids will take it over for me at some point and just keep it going.

It’s good food, comfort food, and I want customers to keep coming back.”

So far, guests have returned for his

Public Notice CITY OF MESA, ARIZONA ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ) NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City of Mesa is seeking a qualified firm or team to act as the Construction

brisket fries ($14), slow smoked brisket and cheddar cheese sauce served on fresh-cut fries, as well as the burgers ($8 to $14), brisket sandwiches ($12) and barbecue chicken sandwiches ($9).

“I absolutely love the brisket fries,” he said. “That’s my favorite because I’m a potato and brisket guy. It’s just amazing. I just love that. It’s mouthwatering.”

New to Herb ‘n’ Smoke is the smoked gouda bites appetizer ($4.50), which are gooey mac and cheese smoked bites. They’re served with Sriracha cream and chipotle barbecue sauce for dipping.

He has vegetarians in mind, too, with smoked tofu ($9), which is washed with smoke and covered in barbecue sauce.

Then, there are the spiced cauliflower wings ($6.50), which are dipped in tabasco-inspired batter and served with Sriracha cream and chipotle barbecue sauce.

Chavez said Herb ‘n’ Smoke sets itself apart by using proprietary spices and woods that are native to Arizona in the smoker. He takes his father’s recipes and throws it in the smoker.

“I literally copied every single recipe,” Chavez said. “His recipes were always in his head. We’d just walk it through, and I’d watch.

“That’s how I learned how to cook. I still do it to this day. My wife keeps telling me I need to measure things. I said, ‘Why? It works. This is what I do – here’s a pinch of this, here’s a pinch of that.’”

Chavez calls his style a diversion from typical barbecue. It’s not Kansas City or

Manager at Risk for the following: BROWN ROAD WTP FIBER LOOP, PLC, AND MCC REPLACEMENTS PROJECT NO. CP0634BR19 The City of Mesa is seeking a qualified Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) to provide PreConstruction Services assistance

EAST VALLEY BUSINESS

Tennessee style.

“It’s just me,” he said with a smile. “I try to put everything into this restaurant that we’ve done on the food trailer.”

Aesthetically, Herb ‘n’ Smoke provides a comfortable setting for guests. Chavez said he decorated the small restaurant, so it made him cozy as well.

Chavez’s tattoos are just as meaningful.

He literally wears his loves on his sleeve — his father’s name and a cleaver, which symbolizes his passion for cooking.

“The knife is a symbol of my dad,” he said. “It was the cleaver that I can always remember that he always had and used.

It was the ‘everything’ knife. So, now he cooks with me.”

Herb ‘n’ Smoke means so much to Chavez.

He said he proved the naysayers wrong.

“When I opened the door to this building and I just looked at the inside of it, it was a moment in my life that really made me reflect on how good we have it now,” Chavez said. “I say that we’re truly blessed at this point.”

and complete Construction Services as the CMAR for the Brown Road WTP Fiber Loop, PLC, and MCC Replacements Project. All qualified firms that are interested in providing these services are invited to submit their Statements of Qualifications (SOQ) in accordance with the requirements detailed in the Request for Qualifications (RFQ).

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This project includes the of the existing multimode fiber optic cable system and installation of a single mode fiber system. It is anticipated that the existing conduits will be utilized, however, the project may require new conduit duct banks to separate the “City” fiber system from the plant SCADA system.

The project will also include the

MAY 2, 2021

replacement of obsolete PLC and RIO controllers with newer, upto-date units. The project will also include the replacement of two Motor Control Centers (MCC) in the Operations Building and two in the Substation Building.

The estimated construction cost range is $ $2,500,000-$3,500,000.

The City anticipates completing construction by November 2023.

A Pre-Submittal Conference will be held on Wednesday, May 12, 2021 at 8 am through Microsoft Teams. If you would like to participate, please send an email to Stephanie Gishey at stephanie.gishey@mesaaz.gov to receive the invitation. At this meeting, City staff will discuss the scope of work and general contract issues and respond to questions from the attendees. Attendance at the pre-submittal conference is not mandatory and all interested firms may submit a Statement of Qualifications whether or not they attend the conference. All interested firms are encouraged to attend the Pre-Submittal Conference since City staff will not be avail-able for meetings or to respond to individual inquiries regarding the project scope outside of this conference. In addition, there will not be meeting minutes or any other information published from the Pre-Submittal Conference.

Contact with City Employees.

All firms interested in this project (including the firm’s employees, representatives, agents, lobbyists, attorneys, and subconsultants) will refrain, under penalty of disqualification, from direct or indirect contact for the purpose of influencing the selection or creating bias in the selection process with any person who may play a part in the selection process. This policy is intended to create a level playing field for all potential firms, to assure that contract decisions are made in public, and to protect the integrity of the selection process. All contact on this selection process should be addressed to the authorized representative identified below.

RFQ Lists. The RFQ is available on the City’s website at http:// mesaaz.gov/business/engineering/ construction-manager-at-risk-andjob-order-contracting-opportunities.

The Statement of Qualifications shall include a one-page cover letter, plus a maximum of 10 pages to address the SOQ evaluation criteria (excluding PPVF’s and resumes but including an organization chart with key personnel and their affiliation).

Resumes for each team member shall be limited to a maximum length of two pages and should be attached as an appendix to the SOQ. Minimum font size shall be 10pt. Please provide one (1) electronic copy in an unencrypted PDF format to Engineering-RFQ@ mesaaz.gov by May 20, 2021 by 2 pm. The City reserves the right to accept or reject any and all Statements of Qualifications.

The City is an equal opportunity employer.

Firms who wish to do business with the City of Mesa must be registered in the City of Mesa Vendor Self Service (VSS) System ( h tt p : / / m e s a a z . g ov / bu s i n e s s / purchasing/vendor-self-service).

Questions. Questions pertaining to the Construction Manager at Risk selection process or contract issues should be directed to Stephanie Gishey of the Engineering Department at stephanie.gishey@ mesaaz.gov.

BETH HUNING

City Engineer ATTEST: DeeAnn Mickelsen City Clerk Published: East Valley Tribune, Apr 25, May 2, 2021 / 37893

to accommodate the new UPS system.

The methanol system will be evaluated to determine the need of a carbon source at the plant. If it is determined that a system is required, a new methanol tank will be designed and installed.

PLC upgrades include design of replacement Input/Output (I/O) switches for PLC-C and PLC-D, and replacement I/Os and PLC processors for filter polymer, thickening centrifuges and dewatering centrifuges. Design will also include electrical system upgrades to accommodate the PCLs. The City may include other miscellaneous improvements at the Site, as needed.

The estimated construction cost is $26,000,000. The City anticipates completing construction in 2023/24.

A Pre-Submittal Conference will be held on Tuesday, May 11, 2021 at 7 am through Microsoft Teams.

If you would like to participate, please send an email to Donna Horn at donna.horn@mesaaz. gov to receive the invitation. At this meeting, City staff will discuss the scope of work and general contract issues and respond to questions from the attendees. Attendance at the pre-submittal conference is not mandatory and all interested firms may submit a Statement of Qualifications whether or not they attend the conference. All inter-ested firms are encouraged to attend the Pre-Submittal Conference since City staff will not be available for meetings or to respond to individual inquiries regarding the project scope outside of this conference. In addition, there will not be meeting minutes or any other information published from the Pre-Submittal Conference.

Contact with City Employees.

All firms interested in this project (including the firm’s employees, representatives, agents, lobbyists, attorneys, and subconsultants) will refrain, under penalty of disqualification, from direct or indirect contact for the purpose of influencing the selection or creating bias in the selection process with any person who may play a part in the selection process. This policy is intended to create a level playing field for all potential firms, to assure that contract decisions are made in public, and to protect the integrity of the selection process. All contact on this selection process should be addressed to the authorized representative identified below.

RFQ Lists. The RFQ is available on the City’s website at http://mesaaz.gov/busi-ness/ engineering/construction-managerat-risk-and-job-order-contractingopportunities.

The Statement of Qualifications shall include a one-page cover letter, plus a maximum of 10 pages to address the SOQ evaluation criteria (excluding PPVF’s and resumes but including an organization chart with key personnel and their affiliation).

Resumes for each team member shall be limited to a maximum length of two pages and should be attached as an appendix to the SOQ. Minimum font size shall be 10pt. Please provide one (1) electronic copy in an unencrypted PDF format to Engineering-RFQ@ mesaaz.gov by May 27, 2021 by 2 pm. The City reserves the right to accept or reject any and all Statements of Qualifications.

The City is an equal opportunity employer.

Firms who wish to do business

Public Notice CITY OF MESA, ARIZONA ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ) NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City of Mesa is seeking a qualified firm or team to act as the Construction Manager at Risk for the following: NORTHWEST WATER RECLAMATION PLANT (NWWRP) PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS 960 W. RIVERVIEW PROJECT NO. CP0951 The City of Mesa is seeking a qualified Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) to provide PreConstruction Services assistance and complete Construction Services as the CMAR for the NWWRP Process Improvements Project. All qualified firms that are interested in providing these services are invited to submit their Statements of Qualifications (SOQ) in accordance with the requirements detailed in the Re-quest for Qualifications (RFQ).

Several plant process improvements at The Northwest Water Reclamation Plant (NWWRP) have been identified in the De-sign Concept Report (DCR) as needing to be upgraded. They are listed and detailed below.

• Aeration basin upgrades • Headworks with grit removal system • Upgrade or replace effluent disinfection system • Critical building Uninterruptible Power Source (UPS) and Electrical Instrument and Control (EI&C) upgrades • Methanol system replacement • Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) upgrades Aeration basin upgrades include improvements to meet the required oxygen demand at 12 mgd flow.

Improvements also include life-cycle equipment replacement including blower actuators, Dissolved Oxygen (DO) probes, air control valves, flowmeters, control loops, waste activated sludge (WAS) sampling equipment, electrical duct bank and wiring, and return activated sludge (RAS) and WAS piping.

Headworks upgrades include a site evaluation with the possibility of a new Head-works Building, grit removal system, odor control, bar screens, process flow channels, screening and grit separator mechanical equipment, associated electrical instrumentation and controls, and replacement of the main flume, if necessary.

The Headworks electrical room and gears will also be brought up to conform to the latest code requirements.

The effluent disinfection system will be evaluated to determine required upgrades. The existing ultraviolet (UV) system may be upgraded or replaced with a chlorine contact basin depending on recommendations from the DCR. Critical building UPS and EI&C upgrades include a plant wide power study evaluating the need for a centralized UPS vs. separate building UPS. Recommended alternatives from the study will then be designed, along with upgrades to the electrical system

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with the City of Mesa must be registered in the City of Mesa Vendor Self Service (VSS) System (http://mesaaz.gov/business/ purchasing/vendor-self-service).

Questions. Questions pertaining to the Construction Manager at Risk selection process or contract issues should be directed to Donna Horn of the Engineering Department at donna.horn@mesaaz.gov.

BETH HUNING City Engineer ATTEST: DeeAnn Mickelsen City Clerk Published: East Valley Tribune, Apr 25, May 2, 2021 / 37845

Public Notice CITY OF MESA MESA, ARIZONA NOTICE OF VIRTUAL PUBLIC MEETING MONTEREY PARK Project No. CP0914 Please join us for this online live Virtual Public Meeting to learn about the City of Mesa, Monterey Park Sports Fields project. There will be a presentation showing the site layout, four (4) LED lighted sports fields, LED lighted parking lot, landscape, hardscape, irrigation improvements and a shipping container pop-up library with support facilities. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session where you can provide your input or have your questions answered.

This meeting will be specific to this project which is located at 7045 E Monterey Ave at the NE corner of Power Rd. & Guadalupe Rd., in Mesa, AZ. This project was made possible by Mesa voters in the 2018 General Obligation Bond Election.

We hope you register and attend this online Meeting!

You are invited to attend a Virtual Public Meeting where City staff will be available to answer your questions.

Date: Thursday, May 13, 2021 Time: 6:00pm to 7:00pm Location: Virtual Public Meeting: online at mesaaz.gov/engineering If you have any questions or concerns regarding this project, please contact Curt Albright, Michele Arrollado, Lucy Lopez, or Juanita Gonzales with the City of Mesa Engineering Public Relations Department at (480) 644-3800.

Si usted tiene preguntas de este proyecto, favor de llamar a Lucy Lopez, con la Ciudad de Mesa al (480) 644-4431.

Published: East Valley Tribune, May 2, 9, 2021 / 37

MAY 2, 2021

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