Changing an Old Face

Today's AZ Republic has an interesting article on Joe Johnston's makeover of The Liberty Market. I've said before, and still believe it to be true, that Joe is a natural restaurateur (see The Coffee Plantation, Joe's Real BBQ, and the Farm Grill) and I have complete confidence in his vision for Liberty Market. The change will be radical:

Twelve-packs of beer are probably out and wine and cheeses are likely in at the new Liberty Market.

Joe Johnston, the owner of Joe's Real BBQ, who purchased the market with his brothers last year, said they plan to have the market pull in customers from the entire town when it reopens next year, instead of only the immediate area around the store.

"I don't fault any of the previous owners for trying to adjust to the market as they saw it, but this is the direction we're trying to go," Johnston said. "This will be a broad demographic place."

The new Liberty Market probably won't sell beer at retail, he said. Plans call for an outdoor patio, a full coffee bar, soups, salads and sandwiches, wood-fired pizzas and a bakery, Johnston said. Coffee may be roasted on site. The retail portion of the business will offer items including fresh produce and cheeses, and it may sell wine and "lifestyle products" like apparel and cooking utensils.

"In our case, we feel Gilbert as a whole has a need for something more like this," Johnston said.

In its last incarnation, Johnston said he believes 80 percent of the store's revenues came from retail grocery sales, with the remaining from food service.

"We are probably going to flip that ratio," he said. "It seems like there was a lot more retail sales."

According to the article, he has a study session with Gilbert's Design Review Board today; and then he will have a couple more reviews by them before he will be able to start renovations in earnest.

You may have noticed that Joe and The Mister are cut from the same cloth when it comes to Gilbert. They are both interested in preserving the feel of Gilbert even as they radically change the look. The telling quote is at the end of the article:

The exterior will largely be left alone, but substantial remodeling work is planned for the inside. Plaster walls and the plaster ceiling will come down, exposing a wooden roof and brick walls. That will also show the 1918 outline of the building and the late 1950s expansion, Johnston said.

"We really want people, when they come in, to understand the story of the different eras in which Liberty Market operated," Johnston said.