South Mountain's Fall Belongs to the Places Coming Back
October 15, 2026
October 15, 2026
"What we thought would be a short-term project has been much more extended than we anticipated," Brian Madrigal told Arizona's Family in September. He was talking about rebuilding his family's restaurant near 16th Street and Broadway Road.
The same sentence could describe most of what South Phoenix was promised for 2026. The biggest new project near South Mountain, a full-service grocery at Central Avenue and Baseline Road, was supposed to open in August and is now expected in early 2027. Meanwhile the places the area already had have been returning one at a time since late summer. If you live between the Salt River and the mountain, this fall's calendar runs on reopenings, and the most useful dates are when familiar doors open again.
The Farm at South Mountain, at 6106 S. 32nd St., closes its restaurants in stages every summer. This year Phoenix New Times printed the return dates. Morning Glory Café was set to reopen August 27 and The Farm Kitchen September 16. Quiessence's summer break ran through July 23.
Two have posted regular hours, and the third is taking reservations.
Breakfast at Morning Glory stops at noon on weekdays. That makes it a morning plan, and it pairs well with the Sunday road closures in the park described below.
The Farm has also gone back to small, ticketed weekend events, mostly on the Botanica patio and at the garden arch. The Farm's event calendar lists these for the rest of October:
Later on the calendar are outdoor bilingual Pilates on Saturday, November 14, and a fire-cider workshop on Saturday, December 19.
The Farm held a fall festival in 2025, on October 25. Its calendar does not list one for 2026, so do not plan on a repeat unless it is announced.
The Farm reopens every year. Cocina Madrigal's return took much longer. An electrical fire damaged the family's original building near 16th Street and Broadway Road in March 2024, during service. Everyone inside got out safely.
In August, Phoenix New Times reported that the restaurant was on track to reopen in October. Construction setbacks had caused the delay, but by then work was under way inside and outside the building. The family business is led by chef Leo Madrigal with his sons Brian and Edson.
In September, Arizona's Family narrowed the target to mid-to-late October. The same report said customers had followed the family to its food truck during the closure and kept asking when the restaurant would reopen.
As of October 12, that is still a target, not an opening. The restaurant is at 1530 E. Wood St. Cocina Madrigal's website is the place to watch for a confirmed date.
Earlier this year the area did get one new restaurant. Princess Pita opened a South Phoenix branch at 2170 E. Baseline Road, according to PHOENIX magazine's openings roundups. Small openings like that one have been the norm. Nothing larger has opened near the mountain this year.
The project that would most change a weekday errand in South Phoenix is Vallarta Supermarkets. It will be the chain's first Phoenix store, planned for 26 E. Baseline Road at Central Avenue. In January, The Arizona Republic cited city documents showing remodeling under way and an expected opening in August 2026.
August came and went without an opening. A City of Phoenix release dated June 10 had already said the store was expected to open in early 2027. ABC15 repeated that timeline on July 14 but reported no new construction or hiring details.
The city describes the project as reuse of a vacant building. Plans include a La Cocina food court, a seafood and ceviche counter, a meat counter, tortilla and deli offerings, a bakery, a juice bar and a coffee bar.
The store will be next to the Central Avenue and Baseline Road light rail stop. The City says that stop became Phoenix's second-busiest station after the South Central extension opened in June 2025.
In April 2026, Valley Metro reported more than 1.6 million rides on the extension since opening, averaging more than 6,400 boardings a day.
Baseline/Central is the B Line's southern end. It has a 110-space park-and-ride, and trains run every 12 minutes on weekdays until 7 p.m., then every 20 minutes.
That means the corner already handles a large flow of riders, and the planned grocery is still months away. Until it opens, this fall's plans in the area run through the restaurants, the park and the community centers.
South Mountain Park/Preserve and the city's community centers make up the rest of the season, and nearly all of it is free. Here are the dates from now through December, in order.
On the other Sundays, Summit Road closes from 5 to 10 a.m. at the 1-mile marker. That keeps some lower-park trailheads and picnic areas open that are unreachable on full-closure Sundays.
In August, the city closed Holbert, Mormon, the Hau'Pal Loop and the Pima Canyon access to National Trail from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday. That was a temporary closure during an Extreme Heat Warning, Arizona's Family reported. It was not a standing fall rule.
Some of these dates fall on the same weekend. Sunday, October 25 has both the full-day Summit Road closure and Jessica Dent's morning yoga at The Farm. Saturday, October 31 has the Boo Bash on Alta Vista Road in the morning and the cookie class at The Farm. For the rest of 2026, those are the confirmed dates for South Mountain, along with whenever Cocina Madrigal confirms its reopening.
Cynthia Brown tracks openings like Cocina Madrigal's reopening and Vallarta's revised schedule alongside sales activity near Central and Baseline. If you own a home nearby and want a current read on what it's worth, Cynthia Brown can prepare one. Get your free home valuation.
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