A new culinary destination is taking shape on Tucson’s Sunshine Mile, where a planned gastropark aims to serve as a central welcome hub celebrating the city’s food culture, history and community.

The vision for Tucson Gastropark is led by Peter Anadranistakis, a local entrepreneur and developer who hopes to bring some of Tucson’s most iconic and treasured food to one central location. The site is located on Broadway Boulevard between Cherry and Warren avenues, a short drive from the University of Arizona and downtown Tucson.

The park is inspired by Tucson’s UNESCO City of Gastronomy designation.

“This will be the welcome center when people come to Tucson,” Anadranistakis said. “Whether you’re a foodie, whether you’re a food vendor, whether you’re promoting things through food or hosting different events, we want this to be the centralized location for it all.”

Tucson Gastropark is centered around seven “casitas,” century-old homes that were preserved by Rio Nuevo during the 2019 Broadway Widening Project. Each casita is being restored with authentic design and architecture.

When the Gastropark opens, one casita will serve as a welcome center where visitors can tour the site and learn about Tucson’s food history. The remaining six casitas will host food-driven events from local restaurants.

The site will also have gastro lounges where patrons can enjoy chef-driven concepts and local staples in a comforting and welcoming environment. Participating restaurants will have access to expanded kitchen facilities adjacent to the Gastropark to ensure the casitas themselves remain authentic and unchanged.

The renovated site will host collaborations with Mission Garden and include a one-of-a-kind recording studio for food podcasts or traveling culinary shows. The building west of the Gastropark is in escrow and is expected to provide additional parking and pedestrian space.

Food and Wine Radio founder Jennifer English has been closely involved with the development of the park, describing it as a pioneer in the city’s restaurant industry.

“Everybody that comes to Tucson comes here knowing that we have great food. These national treasures exist here uniquely and people come, but we don’t have one place to welcome them,” she told Tucson Spotlight. “Imagine the word ‘Bienvenidos.’ This is that physical expression of welcome to Tucson. Everybody that comes to this place will have gotten the true taste and an essence of what this community is all about.”

Anadranistakis said honoring Tucson’s food heritage is at the center of the project. He wants to ensure that Tucson Gastropark “highlights the 4,000-year history of food in Tucson.”

Although ambitious, he and his team have already recruited some of Tucson’s best, ranging from chefs and restaurants to well-known institutions. The Gastropark has 10 signed letters of intent, and although every partner hasn’t been disclosed, those confirmed signal excitement within the culinary community.

Since January, Anadranistakis has been hosting site tours for prospective partners, including Barrio Bread founder Don Guerra, who signed a letter of intent last year to implement his new concept, Barrio’s Bagels.

“We’ve toured with people from Boston. We’ve toured lots of more large name brand operators,” Anadranistakis said.

From up-and-coming chefs to household names, from fine dining to food trucks, Anadranistakis said he’s received a “tremendous amount of interest.”

He said word of mouth has been by far the most effective way of generating interest in the Gastropark.

“We signed a letter of intent with the guys from Talega Coffee. They’ve told four people about it, and now I’ve already toured the site with them. I’m getting restaurateurs who are bumping into one another at Restaurant Depot talking about the site,” he said. “Seeing is believing. Being at the location is making them believe and understand that this is bigger than all of us. This is the welcome center for food in Tucson.”

Tucsonans who want to visit the Tucson Gastropark for themselves won’t have to wait much longer.

Anadranistakis said the park will open in three phases, with a heavy focus on community integration and interaction.

“We’re going to have what I would call light, organic and mobile food events, meaning one of the first things we plan on doing is have some of the best taco places in Tucson come so we can host Taco Tuesdays,” he said.

Anadranistakis said his vision is for Tucson Gastropark to give local operators the opportunity to showcase their food while also fostering community.

The second phase will expand to larger community events.

“We’re talking to at least three different very large brand-named events in town to start hosting their events at our site,” he said.

The final phase will mark the official opening, which ultimately depends on approval from Rio Nuevo and the City of Tucson for final permits.

English believes the finished Gastropark will reflect the true Tucson spirit.

“Brillat-Savarin, the French philosopher, said, ‘tell me what you eat and I’ll tell you who you are.’ We want this to be a place where that idea comes to life,” English said. “We have the essence of that by having such strong community spirit.”

Elias Bonilla is a journalism and political science major at the University of Arizona and Tucson Spotlight intern. Contact him at ebonilla1500@gmail.com.

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