FRESH • COCKTAILS Genna Preston, manager of Gallery Bar, a new upscale bar in the High Street development, Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photos by David Minton/Staff Photographer)
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All-Encompassing EXPERIENCE Art meets lounge at High Street’s Gallery Bar By Connor Dziawura
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pon stepping foot into North Phoenix’s Gallery Bar, the newest addition to the growing High Street district, a laid-back, upscale vibe is immediately apparent. Situated at the northeast corner of High and 54th streets, the combination art space and bar is a low-lit, classy lounge. Local art lines the walls, while the gallery floor is filled with couches of varying shades and styles, adorned with pillows featuring the likes of Meryl Streep, Brad Pitt, Benicio del Toro, Bill Murray, Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey. A piano sits in the corner. Then there’s the bar, front and center and accented with blue lighting, behind which are shelves stocked with a variety of wines and spirits. The new nightlife spot puts a twist on a 8
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passion of local artist and business owner Jamie Almaraz, who has long held ties to High Street. Also the owner of Cast Salon & Spa just a few businesses down, Almaraz calls art her first love. She was involved in founding the area’s Everything Beautiful Art Walk in recent years, but then the pandemic happened and it “fizzled.” When things began to turn around and she had an idea to reopen the shuttered gallery that previously occupied Gallery Bar’s space, she was told it was no longer viable with the area’s growth. So, she came up with a solution. “I just thought, well, what if I made a lounge?” she says. “High Street doesn’t have a lounge. We can also double it as an art gallery, because a lot of people did miss that post the COVID stuff.” After months of preparation, Gallery Bar finally opened in May. The space features a full bar but no tap.This includes a selection of beers by bottle and can, as well as spirits and wines. Almaraz says it took manager Genna Preston a year to work out the wine selections, many of which she adds can’t
be found elsewhere. “The wine list is ever-changing as well, so we’ll have our staples, but we’re always trying to bring in new stuff,” Preston notes. Wine is sold by the glass or bottle, which is also notable as Gallery Bar doubles as a market, according to Almaraz. “The wonderful bottles of wine that we actually have on our menu are available to go, so we actually carry a to-go license,” she says. “So the residents can come down or if you’re here out at night and you want to grab a bottle to go, you have, what, Circle K as your option? We have a market. So we sell all of the bottles that we carry here at our market, and you can take them.” As for food, Gallery Bar’s menu is minimal, focused on snackable items. Central to its selections are the charcuterie boards, of which there are several sizes of varying prices. Other additions, priced at $15, include zucchini bites, fried pickles, fancy truffle fries and white Wisconsin cheese curds. The Trio, also $15, is a pairing of olives, chips and almonds. “I grew up in Europe, and if you’d ever go to
