Angie Schuster
JMC 201
April 24, 2013
Enterprise Story
Whether sitting at Civic Space Park under a tree or holed up in a quirky
coffee shop, the presence of college students in downtown Phoenix is immense.
The Arizona State University Downtown Phoenix campus opened in 2006
and serves more than 17,000 students. The influx of students has played a huge role
in the revamping of the area and has helped create more business, especially on
Roosevelt Row.
Commonly referred to as “RoRo”, the Arts District is comprised of more than
200 businesses, according to the Roosevelt Row business directory.
Roosevelt Row, known as downtown Phoenix’s Arts District, is home to a
variety of restaurants, art galleries, boutiques and coffee shops. RoRo is located only
five blocks away from the Downtown Phoenix campus.
It begins at Seventh Avenue and extends east to Sixth Street. On the north
side it begins at the Interstate 10 and extends south to Fillmore St.
Robert “Wayne” Rainey, owner and creator of MonOrchid, an art gallery
which has been located in the Arts District since 2000, said, “ASU has had a very
positive impact on Central Phoenix, it’s been a catalyst for turning downtown into a
dynamic think tank.”
In the years since the campus was built new businesses have opened in the
area. Two new restaurants on Roosevelt Row include Scratch French Café and
Pallets, a Vietnamese, Chinese and Japanese restaurant, both of which are located on
the northeast corner of Roosevelt and Third streets.
The influx of students has not only led to new businesses, but it has also
caused many businesses to change the services they are providing in order to better
serve students.
Missconstrued is a new boutique located off of Roosevelt Street and Fifth
Street that opened in January 2012.
Reanna Diehl, the owner of Missconstrued and an ASU graduate, said that her
business caters to the college students and the alternative scene. Part of catering to
the new student demographic includes offering goods and services that are
inexpensive and appealing to students.
“I definitely like to provide art, fashion and other unique items that are
affordable,” Diehl said.
Kim Moody, the director of the Alwun House, Phoenix’s first gallery and art
space, has seen the many changes that the Arts District has gone through since the
gallery first opened in 1971.
“Our clientele has been added to by the campus and students,” Moody said.
“Alwun House encourages its artists to make prints that are more affordable to the
student population.”
Coffee shops and cafés are other common places that students tend to go to
in the Arts District.
Jackie Cotton, a 19-year-old freshman at the downtown campus said, “I like
going to Jobot Coffee or Song Bird Coffee & Tea House because they are great places
to hang out with friends. I also like to go off campus to do my homework and they
offer a calm and cozy atmosphere.”
Cotton believes that the indie and hipsteresque quality of the Arts District is
what draws students to Roosevelt Row.
Like many other ASU students, Cotton first discovered Roosevelt Row by
attending First Friday.
First Friday is the monthly art walk that takes place on the first Friday of
every month and it is one of the nation’s largest self-guided art walks, according to
the Roosevelt Row website.
What began as a simple art walk where galleries would open their doors has
turned into a huge event, drawing in large crowds with vendors, bands and even
food trucks.
“First Friday has gone through lots of evolution,” Rainey said. “I think
generally on a daily basis that the effects the campus has had on downtown is
extraordinary.”
Andrea Daly, a 19-year-old freshman at ASU who grew up in Arizona, first
went to the art walk a few years ago.
“There are definitely more people at First Friday then there used to be,” Daly
said. “The people on my floor and I all go together and we always see tons of other
students there, which makes downtown feel a lot more like a college campus.”
Roosevelt Row will continue to see the implementation of more businesses
due to the increase of people in the area, most of who are students.
“Roosevelt Row and First Fridays continue to evolve because of the campus
and I expect that downtown will become a more pedestrian-friendly, arts-friendly
and green city overall,” Rainey said.
Short Leash Hot Dogs, which is currently a food truck that roams downtown
Phoenix, is going to have a permanent location off of Roosevelt and First streets and
is scheduled to open in June.
The Roosevelt Point Apartments are also a new development on Roosevelt
row and are advertised as alternative student housing. They are in the process of
being built, and are scheduled to open this summer with tenants moving in around
Aug. 1.
The new apartments and restaurants will continue to draw in the students
from the Downtown Phoenix Campus and the Arts District is expected to continue to
grow as the campus grows.
“I think that since we don’t have anything like the Memorial Union here,
Roosevelt Row represents that for us and gives us a place to escape to,” said
McKenna Kutsop, a 19-year-old freshman on the Downtown campus.
The goods and services that are being marketed toward students will help
bring in more business and new customers.
“It’s nice having a creative, energetic group of folks that like to get involved in
things,” Moody said. “The campus has had an increasingly positive influence on
business and the awareness of Roosevelt Row.”
Source Information:
Jackie Cotton, student: jackiebcotton@gmail.com
Andrea Daly, student: abdaly@asu.edu
Reanna Diehl, owner of Missconstrued: reanna@missconstrued.com
McKenna Kutsop, student: kkutsop@asu.edu
Kim Moody, director of The Alwun House: (602) 253-7887, kim@alwunhouse.org
Wayne Rainey, owner and creator of MonOrchid: (602) 253-0339,
rainey@monorchid.com