ECRWSS Carrier Route PreSorted Standard U.S. POSTAGE PAID Permit No. 371 Cave Creek, AZ
Graduations canceled PAGE 4
Around the Bluhmin’ Town Serving the communities of Anthem, Black Canyon City, Carefree, Cave Creek, Desert Hills, New River, North Phoenix, Tramonto and Peoria
An edition of the East Valley Tribune
INSIDE
This Week
ARTS............................... 9
Valley’s Black Bottom Lighters start “Runnin’” with new single
ARTS................................ 10
Anthem teen accepted to Grammy camp
DINING....................... 13
Hot Bagels and Deli’s owner, Bardha Toska, finds success
OPINION................................ 6 ARTS........................................ 9
FEATURES........................... 11 DINING................................. 13
CLASSIFIEDS..................... 14
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Wednesday, July 1, 2020
Major developments move ahead in Peoria BY TOM SCANLON Foothills Focus Staff Writer
T
his time next year, Peoria may be framed by two major projects. One plans to give Old Town Peoria a massive facelift; it doesn’t have an official name, though city staff surreptitiously dubbed it “Project Stagecoach.” The other is formally known as Stadium Point, a ground-up project in the P83 area. Peoria selected Seattle-based American Life to craft a vision for Stadium Point— and make it a reality. These are the kind of “game-changing” developments Economic Development Services Director Rick Buss sinks his teeth into.
After the city signed a memorandum of understanding with Vintage Partners for the Old Town project, “Our next step is to finalize the development agreement, taking the framework and intent of the MOU and cementing all the details,” Buss said. He expects to present the development agreement to Peoria City Council in September. The big-picture idea is a 10-year development
see STADIUM page 2
Peoria and American Life signed a memorandum of understanding to come up with a development plan for Stadium Point, visualized as a mixed-use area of P83 with retail, restaurants, residences, offices and a hotel. (Image courtesy city of Peoria)
Rosati’s CEO enjoyed working and fishing BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI Foothills Focus Executive Editor
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osati’s Pizza CEO Rick Rosati was so devoted to his restaurants that he worked until June 15, the day he passed away in his sleep at a Cave Creek home. “He was a really hard worker. He never stopped,” said his brother, Jeff Rosati, the Rosati’s Pizza chief financial officer. “He worked the day he died. It was a Sunday night. He was opening in Tempe, and even though he doesn’t have to work, he’d go in and get in the kitchen and try to direct things. He was hands on for sure. “We couldn’t get him to stop.” Rosati, 70, was the driving force to franchise the Rosati’s Pizza concept in 1979. “He was really responsible for pushing
Rosati’s Pizza CEO Rick Rosati was a lifelong fan of the Chicago Cubs. (Photo courtesy the Rosati family)
Rosati’s to where it is,” he said. “He started in 1964, just as a pizza maker and dishwasher when he was 14. I think six years later, in 1970, he opened his own store (in Arlington Heights, Illinois). All the cousins followed his lead. My brothers and sisters followed his lead. A lot of family members went into the business mostly because he showed us the way.” He established locations across the United States, including the company’s first Arizona restaurant in 1986. Rosati’s death closely follows that of his father, Rosati’s Pizza co-founder Ferdinand “Fred” Rosati, who died at the age of 102 in March. “Rick believed in American entrepreneurship and the power of small business,”
see ROSATI’S page 3
