BUSINESS
BRIEF
Some convenience store devotees may thank heaven for Maricopa’s first 7-Eleven, which plans to be the first commercial operation built on White and Parker Road. Scottsdale-based De Rito Partners Development proposes building the 4,600-square-foot convenience store and a gas station on 1.6 acres at the southwest corner of White and Parker and Honeycutt Roads. The site would include store parking and six gas-pump islands. Another 7-Eleven was proposed back in July on John Wayne Parkway. It has not been built. Calabasas, Calif.-based Harbor Freight Tools opened its doors to customers, drawing a steady stream of people looking for deals on anything from table saws to car jacks. The discount hardware retailer is located in the former 99 Cents Only store at Edison Pointe. For Nick Ayala, from The Villages at Rancho El Dorado, and Steven Weisenbach, from Acacia Crossings, Harbor Freight Tools’ grand opening was a welcome sight. “I will come here for the prices,” Ayala said when asked what drew him to the store’s grand opening. Jericho Plaza A commercial plaza for small retail businesses has been proposed for a parcel in the 7 Ranches area, at Santi and Jericho Roads. The preliminary site plan and project narrative show the plaza anticipates building 20 commercial suites along Santi Road, as well as 41 townhomes behind it.
Tucson-based Eegee’s LLC filed a voluntary petition for Ch. 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Phoenix in early December. Five eegee’s restaurants in Tucson and Phoenix also shuttered that day. Since it announced a Maricopa location two years ago, eegee’s had been mum with the media on its plans and had flipflopped with conflicting statements to residents stating it would not be coming to Maricopa but then backtracking saying those plans were just on hold. The city still states eegee’s is coming to town.
Glennwilde resident Bernard Porporino and wife Priscilla own a home-based freeze-dried candy business that has sold more than 16,000 units on TikTok alone. The couple started off in October with one freeze dryer. Now, they have four baking candy for 16 hours a day. “Our candy is really freeze-dried, airy and crunchy and helps people that have teeth problems be able to eat candy again and enjoy the sweetness,” Porporino said. In addition to his TikTok — just one of his videos has a million views — B & P Freeze Dry Candy can also be found on shelves at two retailers in Maricopa, Water & Ice and The Smoker’s Edge. B & P Freeze Dry Candy
Redondo Beach, Calif.-based Wetzel’s Pretzels newest cash registers started chiming inside the Walmart along Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway after weeks of remodeling what used to be a Dickey’s Barbecue Pit. “It was crazy busy,” said District Manager Esmeralda Garcia. “Everybody was so excited, and we had a big line. It was pretty good.”
Copa Farmers Market
HIGHWAY 238 INDUSTRIAL PARK
Eight years after the Maricopa Farmers Market shuttered, the Copa Farmers Market run by Sorrento resident Kevin Keone Okuma will debut in partnership with Central Arizona College at its Maricopa campus, 17945 N. Regent Drive. The farmers market will host a soft opening Jan. 5 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and a grand opening Jan. 19 during the same hours. It will then be held every other Sunday thereafter.
Kevin Keone Okuma
Exceptional Pets
85 X 150 FT BUSINESS INDUSTRIAL LOTS AVAILABLE FOR LEASE
Exceptional Pets closed up shop after five years in business. The veterinary clinic informed clients it officially shuttered its two locations in Maricopa and central Mesa on Nov. 20. “Due to ongoing challenges from the nationwide shortage and current economic conditions, we have made the difficult decision to permanently close Exceptional Pets of Mesa and Maricopa,” owners said in a statement. Exceptional Pets entered the Maricopa market in 2019 when it took over the former Pet Club at 21145 N. John Wayne Parkway.
The plans for this Ahwatukee-based pizza parlor are getting closer to being fully baked and ready for consumption. A letter from Soaring Eight, a Phoenix architecture and design firm, proposes a 7,690-square- foot building on a 1-acre parcel. According to the document, Zzeek’s Pizza will occupy about 58% of the building on its northern side while the other 3,200 square feet of the building will be used for medical and/or office tenants, although the tenants for those spaces have not been announced.
IDEAL FOR START-UPS! LANDSCAPING, TRUCKING COMPANIES, HEAVY EQUIPMENT STORAGE (480) 802-4444
January 2025 | InMaricopa.com
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InMaricopa.com | January 2025
38
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