Uptown Phoenix New Restaurants at Central and Camelback: Fall 2026

Since June, four storefronts around Central Avenue and Camelback Road have either changed hands or been slated for a new name: two suites at Uptown Plaza, the bar at 24 W. Camelback, and the restaurant at 5202 N. Central. Only one of those handoffs is finished. As of October 12, The Sleepy Whale was the only new arrival with a confirmed opening date.

The bigger pattern is that almost none of this is new construction. Three of the four changes are operators moving into a room someone else just left, or two businesses merging into one space. A few weeks of soft openings and still-unconfirmed dates have made the corner hard to keep track of. The four addresses are easier to follow one at a time, and the one fixed weekly schedule nearby helps anchor the rest.

Four addresses, one pattern

Dynamite Beer Co.'s exit and The Sleepy Whale's arrival happened in the same Uptown Plaza suite. Phoenix New Times named Lado A Lado as the replacement for Joyride when it reported Joyride's closing. The Joy Lush Club isn't leaving at all. It's rebuilding its room so Stoop Kid can move in as the permanent kitchen. DiMaggio's is the only brand in the table that is entirely new to the corner.

The swap that's already finished

The Sleepy Whale shows how fast a handoff can go when the room is already built out. Phoenix New Times reported on June 29 that Dynamite Beer Co. had closed its Uptown Plaza bar after more than a year, with the closure announced on Instagram on June 9. That same June story put The Sleepy Whale's launch in mid-July. The actual opening came a couple of weeks later. The second location of the Chandler beer bar opened at 11 a.m. on Friday, July 31, at 100 E. Camelback Road, #160, with both a taproom and a kitchen, according to Phoenix New Times. PHOENIX magazine listed it among the July openings in its August 3 roundup.

That's roughly seven weeks from a closure announcement to a new tenant pouring beer. The mid-July target slipped by a couple of weeks, and the other three addresses are worth reading with that in mind. A published opening window is a plan. The Sleepy Whale's is the only one on the corner that has turned into a confirmed date.

The Sleepy Whale also joined other recent arrivals at Uptown Plaza. In Business Phoenix reported on May 27 that Let's Toast and Road Runner Sports were both open at the Plaza. Counting those, the center has added a breakfast spot, a running store and a taproom in 2026, all before DiMaggio's arrives.

Two rooms being rebuilt from the inside

The other two handoffs take longer, because the rooms are being reworked rather than simply re-signed.

The Joy Lush Club and Stoop Kid, 24 W. Camelback

Phoenix New Times laid out the plan on September 14. Stoop Kid, the burger spot, becomes the permanent kitchen tenant inside The Joy Lush Club, and both reopen together at 24 W. Camelback Road, Units D & E. The kitchen is being upgraded. The lounge will blend Joy Lush's retro black-and-white palette with Stoop Kid's neon pink signs, black tile and graffiti. The grab-and-go drink and wine coolers will be consolidated into one area, and new booths will line the room's perimeter. "It'll look entirely new," McMillen told the paper.

The partners told Phoenix New Times they plan to host live music more regularly after the reopening. They also planned one weekend-long party in mid-October to celebrate both businesses' anniversaries along with Oktoberfest. As of September 14, they were still setting the date. A DiningOut update from September 22 still said the renovated space would reopen later that month. We couldn't find a later published source confirming that the doors had reopened by October 12, or giving a final date for the party. The mid-October weekend falls in the next week or two, so the business's own channels will have the current status.

Lado A Lado, 5202 N. Central

Joyride Taco House closed on August 2 at 5202 N. Central Ave. Phoenix New Times reported on July 13 that the space was making way for a new restaurant. North Central News described the newcomer on July 31 as Lado A Lado, a Sonoran-inspired Mexican restaurant built around wood-fired cooking, and said to expect it "later this fall." The same address will serve Mexican food under a new name and a different regional focus.

The window hasn't gotten any narrower since then. On September 15, the Phoenix New Times fall preview still listed Lado A Lado as upcoming, with no opening day. What Now Phoenix had also said "this fall" back in July. As of October 12, more than two months after Joyride closed, we found no published opening date.

The one new name, and its late-October target

DiMaggio's is the only business on this corner that isn't inheriting a familiar room, and it brings the most detailed plan. The New York-style Italian restaurant already operates at 7300 N. Vía Paseo Del Sur in Scottsdale. Its second Valley location at Uptown Plaza, 100 E. Camelback Road, #152, was set to open in late October, per Phoenix New Times on September 16. What Now Phoenix reported the next day that co-owner Brandon Gioffre was aiming for the same window. Neither outlet gave an exact date.

The Uptown location also has an operational role. The group added a sommelier for the expansion, and the new, much larger wine list will be tested at Uptown first before it's used at both restaurants. That makes the Camelback Road location the trial run for the wine list, not just a copy of the Scottsdale original. Speaking to Phoenix New Times, the owner described the goal as "the best New York-style Italian restaurant in the country," with service "on par with the food."

Once DiMaggio's opens, Uptown Plaza will have an Italian dinner room a few doors from The Sleepy Whale's taproom at #160. That fills an evening slot the center's recent breakfast and retail additions don't cover.

The schedule that doesn't depend on an opening date

While the restaurants work through permits, build-outs and soft openings, the Uptown Farmers Market has published fixed dates. North Central News reported on October 2 that the Saturday fall season starts October 3, with the whole market moving back to its pavement layout and fall hours of 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Wednesday market came back on October 7 after its annual summer closure, running 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Both are held at North Phoenix Baptist Church, 5757 N. Central Ave., with dozens of vendors selling fresh-cut flowers, artisan gifts, locally grown and raised food, and ready-made meals.

On the market's own schedule, Saturdays run year-round and the Wednesday market runs October through April. The midweek market therefore has six months ahead of it, which will cover every opening on this list, however long each one takes.

Here's how the next few weeks look, using only published dates and windows:

1. Every Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Uptown Farmers Market midweek season, running through April.
2. Every Saturday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Uptown Farmers Market fall hours on the pavement layout.
3. Open now: The Sleepy Whale, serving at Uptown Plaza since July 31.
4. Mid-October, date unconfirmed: The Joy Lush Club and Stoop Kid's combined anniversary and Oktoberfest weekend.
5. Late October, date unconfirmed: DiMaggio's opening at 100 E. Camelback Road, #152.
6. This fall, date unconfirmed: Lado A Lado at 5202 N. Central Ave.

Just south of this stretch, Cowboy Seafood opened on October 9 at 3112 N. Central Ave. in Park Central, according to Phoenix New Times. Up at Camelback, the rest of the season depends on when three rebuilt or new rooms confirm their opening days.

Keeping up with the businesses around Central and Camelback is part of knowing North Central Phoenix, and we follow these openings week by week. If you'd like updates as each door opens, along with what's happening in the nearby blocks, The Phil Tibi Group shares them through our community newsletters and app. Get the Biltmore Market in Your Pocket.