Culver's Opening in Chandler

On the Culver's website, they have a new "Coming Soon" location listed. At 3155 W. Ray Rd. Chandler, AZ 85226, Culver's ButterBurgers and Frozen Custard will be opening their 13th restaurant in the state. It is not yet known when exactly the restaurant will open, but they are already hiring so the grand opening cannot be all that far off. If Chandler is just a little too far, you can read up on the previously announced locations reported by the AZFoodDude that have opened or are in the process of opening.

The Wisconsin-based chain has an extensive menu, featuring everything from their famous ButterBurgers to chicken, pot roast, cod, tuna, salads, and their other staple, frozen custard.

Starbucks Bringing Back Pumpkin Spice Latte

Over the past few days on their Facebook page, Starbucks has been having a contest between their over 24 million fans to see which cities would get the Pumpkin Spice Latte first. Tonight, we know the winning cities are Chicago, IL and Calgary, AB Canada.

Not to worry though, while they will be enjoying the drink a week early, the rest of us will be able to get the Pumpkin Spice Latte as of Tuesday, September 6 and throughout the holiday season.

The 16 oz. Pumpkin Spice Latte made with espresso, pumpkin, spices, whipped cream and steamed 2% milk has 380 calories, 13 grams of fat and 14 grams of protein. Check out this link to change the size and ingredients and see the full nutritional information.

D'licious Dishes Closes Today, Parc Central Closed

According to AZCentral, D'licious Dishes is closing as of 8pm tonight. After three years of being in business at 5345 N. 7th Ave. Phoenix, AZ 85013, the tough economy has just been too much for the owners. Whatever food is not sold by closing will be donated to local food banks. Earlier this year, D'licious Dishes was voted best takeout market for 2011 by The Arizona Republic.

Also, just under two weeks ago, Parc Central in the Scottsdale Quarter area closed without much notice. Parc Central only opened back in January of this year with an upscale setting, "in what its marketing team called 'Central Park-inspired surroundings and exuberant lounge atmosphere' designed to "inject an oasis of unexpected and unabashed New York City glamour against Arizona's desert landscape."

Subway Café Concept Opens In Flagstaff

Hoping to dig into McDonald's and Starbucks particularly, Subway has begun testing a new type of restaurant. The Subway Café in Flagstaff is the first reported of its kind in the state. According to Subway, usually people feel like they need to eat and go in a Subway restaurant, but at the Subway Café, the hope is the customers will stick around a little bit longer. To encourage that, the Subway Café has an area with electrical outlets and Wi-Fi, flat-screen TV's and comfortable chairs.

Besides serving up Seattle's Best Coffee, if you are wondering what's on the menu, The East Valley Tribune has some of the items:

Blueberry crumb cake and chocolate chunk muffins are displayed along with marble pound cake and key lime Danishes at the Subway Cafe, while the menu advertises espresso drinks, Panini sandwiches and chicken Caesar salads, among other things.

Checking out this Subway Café brochure in PDF format, you can see some item specifics on the menu, including the fact that they also sell gelato, as well as some interior photos.

The restaurant just opened today and sadly the address is not readily available. Once I have it, I will update the story.

Update (8-25-11): The Flagstaff Business Review has listed the address as 1500 E. Cedar Ave. Flagstaff, AZ 86004

Celebrity Backed BBQ Joint Coming to Phoenix/Scottsdale

The celebrity backed and celebrity hot spot, Southern Hospitality BBQ, is set to expand into markets besides New York, where there are currently two locations. According to NRN, one of those markets is the Phoenix/Scottsdale area.

Southern Hospitality was the creation of three friends, one of which is Justin Timberlake, back in 2007. Now, Ryan Tedder, leadman of OneRepublic has become the first franchisee and hopes to bring the restaurant to at least 10 markets around the country:

The first 10 markets Tedder has targeted for a Southern Hospitality BBQ unit are Denver, Colo.; Nashville, Tenn.; Scottsdale/Phoenix, Ariz.; Dallas, Austin and Houston, Texas; Washington, D.C.; Palo Alto, Calif.; New Orleans and Atlanta.

Southern Hospitality BBQ has a "full bar with specialty bourbons and in-house beers" and specializes in Memphis-style BBQ that includes, "a menu of fine pulled pork sandwiches, baby back ribs, BBQ chicken, Southern fried catfish and many other southern favorites." Feel free to check out the entire menu.

The plans are not yet known for when a restaurant will open in the Phoenix area or where exactly it will be, however, I am led to believe it will be somewhere in the east valley and a Scottsdale location would not be surprising at all.

Whataburger Introduces Banana Pie and Shake

Today, in fact, 42 minutes ago, Whataburger began selling their new Banana Pie and Banana Shake, both of which will be available until October 31.

The Banana Pie, with its creamy banana filling surrounded by a flaky crust, comes in at 300 calories, 13 grams of fat and 3 grams of protein. Meanwhile, a medium Banana Shake has 940 calories, 28 grams of fat and 23 grams of protein.