It is going to be a big couple of weeks for metro Phoenix. Between the Super Bowl and the Phoenix Open, there’s no shortage of activities for local sports fans. It also means there’s going to be a large swath of tourists coming in, which is another great opportunity for local businesses, specifically in the hospitality industry. Hotels are filling up, and restaurants will be busier than normal. Ideally, it should be a good few weeks for restaurants with televisions, and yet, for whatever reason, one long-time establishment has decided to shut down, right before the festivities kick off.
The Union Jack in Scottsdale specializes in serving both British food and beer. It’s the kind of place you go to when you want a traditional IPA paired with fish and chips. It was also the place to go when wanting to watch soccer and other sports popular outside of the U.S. With that said, it also featured plenty of local sports, and the second location in Mesa does plan on having a Super Bowl watch party. Yet not the original Scottsdale location. This location has quietly closed, with little to no explanation.
Initially, The Union Jack posted on Facebook that it was closing temporarily for renovations. Of course, those are some poorly timed renovations for a restaurant to close a week prior to major sporting events. That post eventually was taken down from the Facebook profile, and in fact, every mention of the Scottsdale local has been stripped from the restaurant’s various social platforms as well. Instead, the restaurant is directing patrons to either its Mesa or Tucson locations. Furthermore, the property is currently for rent, which goes to show the restaurant was never actually going to receive any kind of planned renovation. As of this writing, The Union Jack has not responded to requests for additional information or what happened to cause it to immediately close down without a word.
In these kinds of situations, especially when the property is already listed for rent, it typically means there was some kind of issue with either the payment of rent (rent hikes offer some foreshadowing several months out, although that possibility can’t be discounted either). Despite the price of buying property dropping throughout Phoenix, there’s no denying rental costs in the area, specifically, Scottsdale, are continually rising, and it’s possible the restaurant simply could no longer afford those costs.
For now, there isn’t any additional information, but patrons are encouraged to visit the Mesa location for all their British food and drink cravings.
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