2025 September issue of InMaricopa Magazine

Food & Beverage

20 25

thought about it and it just kind of rolled off the tongue a little bit easier. Then I realized calling it Mandy’s was the act of inviting the community into that inner circle.”

MANDY’S PERSONAL SELECTIONS Not sure what to eat when you stop by Mandy’s Wine Bar? Your server will make some delicious selections, but owner Amanda Atler shared some of her favorite wines and what to eat with them.

CaViola Barolo paired with Mandy’s Family Lasagna (pictured)

‘I’m meant to do this’

Albarino paired with Greek Orzo Salad

A year later, Atler said that despite challenges and tough days that often come with running her own business — and a restaurant at that — she knows she made the right choice. “I have never once woken up and thought, ‘Oh no, I made a mistake,’ or wished I was back in my old career. Not once. I know in my heart this is what I’m supposed to be doing,” she said. Feeling at home at the start of each workday certainly adds to that confidence, as does watching the wine bar grow to include a seasonal menu, a retail shop, live

Chef John Howard, Owner and General Manager Amanda Atler (center) and Front of House Supervisor Ashton Fiedorczyk (right) pose during a lunch meeting at Mandy’s Wine Bar on Aug. 13. Above: Server Jessica Kipa pours a glass of wine.

“I was standing there looking out over all the people who were happy and excited to be there. They were with families and friends. It was this snapshot in time and I remember thinking, ‘OK, we’re here. We’re doing this right,’” she recalled. This marked the public debut of Mandy’s Wine Bar, tucked away in a cluster of business suites and community services along Smith-Enke Road. In the year since its grand opening, the wine bar not only brought a more sophisticated vibe to Maricopa — a city most people only know for being at least a 30-minute drive from Phoenix and home to plenty of fast- food options — but it also quickly became a local hidden gem. Dreaming of a different life Being a restaurateur wasn’t always Atler’s plan. She spent nearly two decades in corporate sales and marketing at Boeing, but she always dreamed of something different. Travel is what ultimately changed her path.

“I traveled quite a bit for work and would always try to take the opportunity to take a couple extra personal travel days,” Atler said. “I started my wine education journey that way. It came from years of working with people all over the world and experiencing the food and wine in these beautiful regions.” In 2019, Atler read The Big Five for Life, a best-selling personal development book by John Strelecky that explores finding purpose and meaning by focusing on five life goals. What would make her life fulfilling after years in the corporate world? She thought back on her travels, the food, the wine and the entrepreneurs in her family. That’s when it clicked. “I started thinking, what would I want my life to be like? How do I want to contribute to the community? How do I give back and mentor young people and share the knowledge from those who’ve mentored me and helped me along my career path,” Atler said. “My work

Drylands Sauvignon Blanc paired with the Herb Crusted Cod or Mac n’ Cheese Stye Spanakopita

Amanda Atler, owner of Mandy’s Wine Bar, smiles with a glass of red Aug. 7.

That feeling every day of knowing that it’s up to me to be successful is what I wanted and craved in my previous career. This is how I know that I’m meant to do this,” she said. “That success is up to me, and I get to choose it. That’s really powerful.” That’s really powerful.”

tasting dinners. But just as important is her belief in Mandy’s success from day one. “I did the hard work and planning that took about five years prior to opening. I believed in myself from its conception and always stayed positive this will be a success.

have a neighborhood feel. “Originally, I was going to use the Italian last name in my family, Gravina. However, I didn’t want it to be seen as solely an Italian restaurant,” Atler said. It was a conversation with a childhood best friend that resulted in dubbing it Mandy’s. “I was chatting with my friend Stephen about the wine bar and the concept and the name, and he just said simply to me, ‘Why don’t you call it Mandy’s? That is you. You are Mandy at the core,’” she said. The name didn’t come to her at first because it was a childhood nickname that never quite went away. “Around second grade, I decided that my name was going to be Amanda. It was grown-up. But I still had this core group of family and friends who continued to call me Mandy,” she said. “I

experiences, traveling and education with wine, wanting to bring people together and solving a need for the community, is how the whole concept and idea of establishing a wine bar grew together.”

music and upcoming wine club events and

Local gem with global flavors

Atler envisioned bringing something to Maricopa that only existed in pieces: a full-service wine bar with an elevated atmosphere, where the community could gather for dates, work lunches or brunch with friends. Most of the details fell into place quickly — she selected a well thought out wine menu, crafted a Mediterranean inspired food menu, and designed décor inspired by her travels. When it came to naming the wine bar, she considered her family’s Italian last name but wanted the wine bar to

GLOBAL TASTES A trip around the world doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. The wine options from Mandy’s Wine Bar are sourced from 11 countries, including Argentina, South Africa and Portugal.

Merlot and behold Mandy pours her heart into dream wine bar

BY MONICA D. SPENCER

“There were so many

striking open a bottle of sparkling wine with a saber — one moment stands out. At some point, Atler was holding a tray of complimentary prosecco samples near the entrance when she got momentarily cornered. That’s when she saw it.

IF THERE’S ANY MOMENT Amanda Atler will cherish for the rest of her life, it’s likely the opening day of her dream wine bar. She barely slept the night before, and that September afternoon — between the ribbon cutting, the crowd standing in the sun, and

people,” she recalled. “There were so many people, it was amazing.” In that moment, she not only saw how a once-distant dream of welcoming the community into her space had come to life but also felt the pure joy that came with it.

InMaricopa.com | September 2025

September 2025 | InMaricopa.com