RESTAURANT GUIDE
Vekol Market
Native Grill owner tastes success despite 9/11, housing crash, fires and COVID-19
Serving delicious breakfasts and lunches daily!
BY JAY TAYLOR
A ll business owners encounter hurdles as they are getting things going; it’s part of the process. Pat Kieny, the owner of Native Grill & Wings, has experienced more than his share. He opened his first Native Grill in Mesa just five days before the 9/11 attacks on the United States. (He sold that store in 2019 but still owns another location in Laveen.) He weathered the housing crash that devastated Maricopa’s economy for years beginning in 2008. He rebounded after two early morning kitchen fires – the first in November 2013, and then another in January 2019, which closed the restaurant for five months.And now, like all local business owners, he is dealing with the COVID-19 crisis. But he knows it will pass, as the other crises have. “The time in 2001 after 9/11 was very scary because we didn’t know what was going to happen or how long it would last,” he said. “People were just scared and were staying home. Thankfully, it just lasted a few months and it pretty much went away unless you went to the airport.” He was obviously not deterred because just four years later, on July 25, 2005, he opened the Native in Maricopa, at 21164 N. John Wayne Parkway, as one of the first sit-down restaurants in town. The way he chose Maricopa is interesting. “We chose Maricopa because I was driving through in 2003 and I saw the Bashas’ going up — there was nothing on the east side of John Wayne Parkway where Fry’s is now – and I saw that, and all the other building going on,
LOWEST TOBACCO PRICES IN TOWN!
Convenience Store, Deli, and Fuel Station Open 6 a.m. M-F Open 8 a.m. Sat. & Sun.
347
Carlyle Rd
47021 W. Farrell Road (520) 568-1654
W Farrell Rd
Ak-Chin Recreation Center
Victor Moreno
UltraStar Multi-tainment Center at Ak-Chin Circle
86
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Resraurant Guide 2021 • InMaricopa.com
InMaricopa.com/NewResidentGuide • New Resident & Visitor Guide 2021
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