A doughnut case sat on the northwest corner of Main and Macdonald until July 19, when Outcast Doughnuts served its last layered doughnut. Five days later, Rebel Wine Lounge, at the same intersection, was set to pour out what was left of its bottles at $5 a glass. By late September, a burger operator who started with one food truck had signed a lease for the Outcast space and set an October opening goal. He can move that fast because the kitchen is already there.
That pattern runs through downtown Mesa this year. Several well-known businesses have left Main Street since January. A different group is moving in behind them, mostly small local operators, and the reason it is happening so quickly is that the spaces come already equipped.
The corner that lost two tenants in one week
Rebel and Outcast belonged to the same owner. Phoenix New Times reported in July that Incomparably Dope Venture Partners owns Rebel, Outcast Doughnuts, Level 1 Arcade Bar, and Alchemy 48, the speakeasy in the arcade's basement. Co-owner Christina Goldsmith explained the decision in plain terms:
"We didn't expect to see anything happen overnight. But we're two years into this particular location now, Outcast is three years in, and we have seen zero progress."
She told the paper that business was inconsistent and that the crowds expected from new downtown apartments never showed up. Neither brand closed for good. Rebel plans to reopen in early 2027 at The Gilmore, near Val Vista Drive and Germann Road in Gilbert. Outcast reopened August 1 as a drive-thru at 2955 Hayden Road in Scottsdale.
The same owners kept two businesses downtown. Level 1 Arcade Bar at 48 W. Main St. is still open, and its September calendar included a karaoke night on the 24th. The group pulled out its daytime walk-in concepts and kept its nightlife.
Why a finished kitchen changes the timeline
When Randy Gatewood, a former Arizona Rattlers standout, signed for the old Outcast space, the plan for his first Randizzle's Burger Bar changed. Mouth By Southwest reported that his first brick-and-mortar location was expected to be in Phoenix. The Mesa space is "already almost fully equipped," so Randizzle's can skip most of a normal build-out and is aiming for an October opening, pending inspections and final approvals. The Phoenix location at Seventh Avenue and McDowell is still under construction, with a late November or early December target. That puts Mesa first in line, even though Mesa was the second location to be announced.
A block east, The Salted Knot handed off its space the same way. Owners Maria Vassett and Chad Day first planned to close the pretzel shop at 21 W. Main St. by the end of May. They kept it open until they found a buyer for their equipment and assets who would also take over the space. That buyer is Sidewalk Coffee and Bagel Co., which has one shop in Queen Creek. Owner Azadeh Purvis told KTAR she isn't sure when the Mesa shop will open, because permitting and hiring are still ahead.
Here is where each changing space stood as of September 30, 2026:
| Address | Leaving or left | Coming in | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 104 W. Main, NW corner of Main & Macdonald | Outcast Doughnuts, closed July 19 | Randizzle's Burger Bar | October target, pending inspections |
| 104 W. Main, Suite 107 | Rebel Wine Lounge, closed by July 24 | No successor announced | Vacant as far as reported |
| 104 W. Main, Suite 101 | The Boutique | Pinnacle Brewing Company | 2027 target, announced in May |
| 21 W. Main, west of Center | The Salted Knot, last day Oct. 18 | Sidewalk Coffee and Bagel Co. | No opening date yet |
| 12 W. Main | 12 West Brewing, "summer break" since June | Unnamed new concept | Unconfirmed since June |
Three of the five rows are at a single address. Once Randizzle's opens, the building at 104 W. Main will have changed hands twice in 2026 and will have one more tenant coming in 2027.
The east end got the slow, expensive kind of opening
At the other end of the district, Crust Simply Italian opened the hard way. The restaurant and its hidden bar were first announced in 2023. The project stalled when the original developer filed for bankruptcy in 2024. A new developer took over and redesigned the building to include a hotel. The result is The 233, a 76-room Unscripted by Hyatt hotel that opened August 6, with 13,000 square feet of Class A office space on site.
Crust Concepts owner Michael Merendino put three businesses on the ground floor: Crust Simply Italian, the group's fifth location of its East Coast-style Italian restaurant; Bombolino, a coffee, doughnut and gelato bar; and The Nightingale, a bird-themed speakeasy. Phoenix New Times describes the three as serving food and drinks all day from the hotel's first floor on Main Street, just east of Hibbert.
That gives downtown two ways to fill a storefront. On the east end, a hotel project took roughly three years from announcement to opening and needed a second developer. Around Macdonald, a food truck graduate can take over a space in a matter of weeks because the previous tenant left the kitchen behind. Main Street Market, Local First Arizona's seven-vendor restaurant incubator near Macdonald, sits between those two models. It was under construction in July and is expected to open in early 2027.
The spaces still waiting on a name
Some spaces haven't been handed off. 12 West Brewing closed its two-story venue at 12 W. Main for a "summer break" by mid-June and said a fresh concept would arrive in the fall. It did not name the concept, and no local coverage since then has confirmed one. Rebel's Suite 107 has no successor announced.
Oro Brewing at 210 W. Main St. went through a near-handoff earlier in the year. It announced a January 25 closing and a sale. Days later, the Tacos Chiwas founders were reported to be turning the space into Mesa Brewing Company. By March 9 the sale had run into problems, Oro had reopened, and the Mesa Brewing takeover was presumably off. We haven't found a newer report on Oro since March, so checking its hours before you go is a good idea.
Where Friday nights moved
The evening event also changed. 2nd Friday Night Out, which for years brought people downtown once a month, now says on its own website that it is on hiatus, and it sends visitors to the Downtown Mesa Association. The City of Mesa runs the Downtown Mesa Sunset Market in the same slot, the second Friday of each month, at Macdonald and Main. That is the corner where Rebel and Outcast closed and where Randizzle's is moving in. The city's listing promises live music, local vendors and food, and says pets are welcome.
Dates on the downtown calendar for the rest of 2026:
- Friday, Oct. 9, 5 to 9 p.m. Sunset Market at Macdonald and Main.
- Sunday, Oct. 18. The Salted Knot's last day at 21 W. Main. Vassett says there will be bands, specials, and frozen pretzels to take home.
- October, pending approvals. Randizzle's Burger Bar's target for opening at 104 W. Main.
- Friday, Nov. 13, 5 to 9 p.m. Sunset Market.
- Friday, Dec. 11, 5 to 9 p.m. Sunset Market.
If you live within walking distance of Center Street, that list shows downtown's next few months. You can visit The Salted Knot before it closes and watch whether Randizzle's makes its October goal. Every Sunset Market between now and December is on the same corner as the spaces changing hands.
The kitchens that change hands downtown can also show where the next opening is likely to be. If you own near downtown Mesa and want to understand how this turnover affects your block, or you're weighing a move closer to Main Street, Francine Dinh is happy to go over it with you. Let's Connect.
