Central and Camelback's Fall Openings Are Running on Different Clocks
October 15, 2026
October 15, 2026
Three restaurant and bar projects at or near Central Avenue and Camelback Road were announced with fall 2026 timing. By Oct. 11, DiMaggio's late-October target was still ahead, the Joy Lush Club's late-September reopening date had passed without an announcement on its own site, and Lado a Lado had moved its opening to winter.
Meanwhile, the dates that have held on this corner all year are the market's and the city's. The Uptown Farmers Market posts its hours a week ahead. The City of Phoenix has already published the exact street closures for Dec. 5. For the rest of 2026, those two calendars are the most reliable way to plan an evening around the intersection. Restaurant dates are better treated as estimates.
| Business | Address | Announced timing | Status as of Oct. 11 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Let's Toast | Uptown Plaza | Opened May 16 | Open |
| Road Runner Sports | Uptown Plaza | Reported open by June 15 | Open |
| The Sleepy Whale | Uptown Plaza | Opened July 31 | Open |
| DiMaggio's | 100 E. Camelback Road, #152 | Late October | Target, not yet confirmed |
| The Joy Lush Club and Stoop Kid | 24 W. Camelback Road, Units D & E | Late September reopening | Reopening not announced on its own site |
| Lado a Lado | 5202 N. Central Ave. | First "later this fall," now winter | Official site says winter |
The top three rows are what Uptown Plaza's 2026 has already delivered. Phoenix New Times reported that Let's Toast, which it described as a Phoenix farmers market staple, opened its first brick-and-mortar location there on May 16. AZ Big Media listed Road Runner Sports as open by mid-June. Mouth by Southwest reported that The Sleepy Whale opened its Uptown Plaza location on July 31. Each of these was reported as open on or after its opening day. None of the corner's fall projects has reached that point yet.
The next opening on the calendar is the second location of DiMaggio's. This New York-style Italian restaurant already operates at 7300 N. Vía Paseo Del Sur in Scottsdale. Phoenix New Times listed the Uptown address as 100 E. Camelback Road, #152, opening in late October. The next day, WhatNow reported that co-owner Brandon Gioffre had confirmed the same late-October target. As of this writing, Uptown Plaza's own directory still lists the restaurant as "Coming Soon" with no opening day.
The menu is a known quantity, which makes the wait easier. Phoenix New Times describes a menu built around big Italian Sunday dinners. Salads are served family-style, along with shareable calamari, hand-pulled mozzarella, a bone-in veal parmesan, chicken parmesan, and spicy rigatoni. In the same article, DiMaggio pointed diners to the bocconcini, small bites of baked mozzarella with prosciutto, marinara, and basil served with house-made ciabatta: "If you don't know it, you might just skip over it on the menu. Don't. It's incredible."
The Uptown location will try something new before Scottsdale does. According to the same report, the group hired a sommelier for the expansion. The expanded wine list will be tested at Uptown first and then rolled out at both restaurants. So until the list reaches Scottsdale, Camelback will be the only place to order from it.
The other two fall projects show how far restaurant timing can drift once a build-out begins.
Phoenix New Times reported on Sept. 14 that The Joy Lush Club, at 24 W. Camelback Road, had closed for construction. The plan was to reopen in late September with Stoop Kid's burger kitchen sharing the space. The redesign will combine Joy Lush's retro black-and-white look with Stoop Kid's neon pink signs, black tile, and graffiti. New booths will line the room, and the grab-and-go coolers will be consolidated in one area. The partners also said they plan to host live music more often. They described a weekend-long party in mid-October to celebrate both anniversaries and Oktoberfest, but said the date was still being worked out. As of Oct. 11, the bar's homepage still describes it as a Central Phoenix bar and bottle shop, with no mention of the reopening or the Stoop Kid kitchen. Its events page still shows listings from February and has no date for the party. Before heading over, a quick check of the bar's own channels is the reliable way to find out.
Lado a Lado has moved further. The project fills the space at 5202 N. Central Ave. that Joyride Taco House left on Aug. 2 after a 12-year run, as Phoenix New Times reported. It is a partnership between Upward Projects and Chiwas Hospitality Group. North Central News named the chef-founders as Armando Hernandez, Nadia Holguin, and Roberto Centeno, and in July it gave the opening as "later this fall." In mid-September, Phoenix New Times still had it on its list of fall openings. The restaurant's official site now reads "COMING THIS WINTER." It describes a menu that pairs live-fire Northern Mexican cooking with a coastal raw bar. The site is the newest word, so winter is the timing to plan around.
The fixed dates on this stretch of Central come from two organizers who publish them ahead of time and stick to them.
The Uptown Farmers Market is about a mile north of the corner, at North Phoenix Baptist Church, 5757 N. Central Ave. Its Saturday market runs year-round, and its Wednesday market runs every week from October through April. North Central News reported that the fall Saturday season started Oct. 3 with hours of 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., and that Wednesdays came back Oct. 7. The market moved for one week. On Saturday, Oct. 10, it set up at Church for the Nations, 6225 N. Central Ave., and its schedule shows both the Oct. 14 and Oct. 17 markets back at 5757 N. Central. The market posts each change on its homepage a week or more ahead.
Here are the next fixed dates along the corridor:
The parade has the biggest effect on the corner itself. From 5 to 11 p.m. on Dec. 5, the City of Phoenix will close Central Avenue from Camelback to Bethany Home and Camelback Road from 1st Avenue to 7th Street. 7th Street will also close between Indian School and Osborn. Both closures include the Central and Camelback intersection, so for those six hours, getting to Uptown Plaza or the bars on West Camelback means walking or a long detour. The city says all 2026 entry spots are already full and has opened a waiting list. Spectators should expect a busy evening along the route.
If DiMaggio's opens around its target, the parade could be one of its first Saturday nights at the plaza. Lado a Lado's site now says winter, so it may open after the parade.
One more North Central project is just getting started. On Oct. 7, the Phoenix City Council agenda asked for retroactive approval of a $20,000 grant application to the Arizona State Historic Preservation Office. The grant would help pay for a consultant to assess the condition of the Murphy Bridle Path, which is part of the North Central Avenue Streetscape Historic District, and recommend ways to keep it stable for continued active use. The agenda estimates the study at $195,000, with the city covering a 90 percent match. The proposed scope includes two public meetings, design alternatives, an evaluation report, and draft 15% plans. This is a planning study, not construction, and no meeting dates have been announced. Those two public meetings will be the dates to watch for.
Opening dates come up in almost every conversation about living near Central and Camelback, because a new restaurant changes how a block feels and how buyers see it. If you're thinking about what this fall's openings at Uptown Plaza and along Central could mean for your street, Josh Gonzalez is glad to talk it through. Let's Connect.
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