2025 September issue of InMaricopa Magazine

Food & Beverage

20 25

From vision to kitchen New entrepreneurs talk hopes, hurdles and food

MANDY’S WINE BAR MandysWineBar.com AMANDA ATLER, RANCHO EL DORADO OPENED SEPT. 12, 2024

day. Equally important has been cultivating the right culture among our team and guests, which has been vital in shaping our identity and sense of purpose. What lessons have you learned that you wish you knew before opening? One key lesson I’ve learned is to give myself more grace and time to build the wine bar’s various elements — like wine tastings, dinners, the wine shop and the club — rather than trying to launch everything at once. As a small business without a corporate playbook, it’s been essential to stay

What inspired you to open your restaurant? I wanted to create a warm, welcoming space in Maricopa where people could relax, connect and savor great food and wine. special to the community — building a business that reflects my passion for wine, cuisine and travel, while leading a dedicated team and becoming an integral part of this amazing community. My goal was to bring something fresh and

What challenges did you face to get your restaurant running smoothly? Like most new restaurants, one of the biggest challenges was finding the right rhythm between the kitchen and front-of- house to ensure smooth service. We take customer feedback seriously and have made multiple improvements based on feedback over the past months and remain committed to refining our operations every

BY MONICA D. SPENCER

Owning and running a food business is no easy feat — especially in a fast-growing city like Maricopa. Perhaps that’s because locals are a demanding bunch. We crave more dining options off John Wayne Parkway, more sit-down restaurants, more culinary variety… more everything. Not everyone answers that call. But a select few not only respect the craft of food, they also have the patience, grit and courage to meet the city’s voracious appetite. InMaricopa spoke with the owners of three local food businesses in their first year of operations — an ice cream shop, a wine bar and a coffee distributor — to discover what it takes to launch a new venture in Maricopa.

Amanda Atler

Editor’s note: Some quotes were very lightly edited for readability.

Elevated Comfort Food

COLD STONE CREAMERY ColdStoneCreamery.com/stores/23996

time at the store and investing more there. We’ve changed how we train new hires and approach onboarding while still making sure we can run the store smoothly. What goals do you have for the next six months? We want to continue delivering a great ice cream experience in the community. One of our goals is to get more involved with schools and other organizations so we can provide certificates for students. We want to support the community by working with organizations that

Luis & Adriana Leon

Chef Inspired Concept &

are doing good things and help further their mission. What makes you proud to say you’re the owner of a Cold Stone? We’re lucky to have a great group of employees, and I’m really proud of the hard work they put into the store. It’s been wonderful getting to know them, learning about their plans after high school and hearing about their career ambitions. I love working alongside the kids because I’m excited for them and what they’ll achieve in their careers.

What do Maricopans like most at Cold Stone? Is it what you expected? It’s a tossup between the Founder’s Favorite and the Birthday Cake Remix. The Founder’s Favorite has sweet cream ice cream with a lot of different mix-ins, so it gives you a different taste of everything we have to offer. The Birthday Cake Remix is just really sweet because it has brownies and sprinkles. Both of those are just done really well.

LUIS LEON, TORTOSA OPENED SEPT. 13, 2024

Family Owned

bit overwhelming when we first opened. For us, it was our first time taking on an adventure like this and learning the ropes, so getting used to the day-to- day was challenging at first. The initial rush of being the new place in town was definitely a lot to handle. What lessons have you learned that you wish you knew before opening? The big thing for us was the training and making sure we’re spending more

What inspired you to open your restaurant?

People in my family have always owned restaurants and other small businesses, so growing up, I was always helping out at them. But Cold Stone is a brand we really like, and it’s always been our family’s go-to for a treat. What challenges did you face to get your restaurant running smoothly? It was really busy and a

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InMaricopa.com | September 2025

September 2025 | InMaricopa.com