None of McCormick Ranch's new restaurants this fall needed a new building. They are going into storefronts along Hayden Road and Via de Ventura that residents have driven past for years. The people opening them have either already succeeded somewhere else or live in the neighborhood themselves.
One has been open since mid-September and one is expected in November. Two more opened earlier in 2026. All four point to the same pattern. The neighborhood is filling in its everyday dining by reusing what it already has, with places built for nearby households more than for out-of-town destination crowds.
The Z'Tejas Room Gets a Mesquite Grill
Vecina, the modern Latin American restaurant from James and Raenee Fox, built its name in Arcadia. Its second location opened Friday, September 18, 2026, at 8300 N. Hayden Road, Suite D-101, according to Phoenix New Times. It took over the former Z'Tejas space. Raenee Fox told the paper the new restaurant is "a really good extension of what we do in Arcadia."
The McCormick Ranch Property Owners' Association's retail directory calls the center Mercado on Hayden. Most people know the building by its old tenant. Forking Scottsdale's first look put it simply: "anyone who remembers that building knows this is not a small room."
The size is the reason this location can do more than the original. Forking Scottsdale reports the space is roughly three times larger than Vecina's Arcadia restaurant. It gives the Foxes room they didn't have before:
- A much larger kitchen
- Private dining areas
- A mezzanine
- Catering capabilities
- Room for chef dinners and special events
- A lakeside patio
The extra kitchen space also lets Chef Fox add crudos, ceviches and oysters, which were hard to serve consistently in Arcadia's smaller kitchen. Phoenix New Times notes that Beverage Director Sloane Van Zanen came over from the Arcadia team too. The Scottsdale location builds on the same chef-driven, wood-fired menu, craft cocktails and minimal design.
For now it's a dinner restaurant. Mouth by Southwest reported hours of 4 to 9 p.m. daily, and OpenTable showed the same hours as of mid-October. Forking Scottsdale points out that Experience Scottsdale lists 3 to 9 p.m., so check before planning an early dinner. Lunch is planned "in the coming months," but it hadn't launched as of the latest coverage.
Twelve Seats, Built Around a Daily Drive
Vecina brought an established restaurant into a big room. Dash takes a smaller space and builds its concept around the people who live nearby.
Chef Matt Carter and his longtime business partner Brian Raab are behind The Mission, Fat Ox and Zinc Bistro. Their next project is Dash, an all-day restaurant and neighborhood market at 9619 N. Hayden Road, Suite 101. The POA's directory puts that address in Mountain View Plaza, at Hayden and Mountain View Roads.
Carter has lived in McCormick Ranch for 17 years. He described his reasons to KTAR, in a story from the Phoenix Business Journal:
"I've been dreaming of this concept for 10 years, driving past this exact space several times a week wishing our community had a real neighborhood joint."
The details back that up. PhoenixBites reports 12 seats in the dining room and 40 on the patio, plus online ordering and dedicated curbside pickup. Most diners will be picking up food or eating on the patio. Carter calls the idea "dash in, dash out, morning, noon and night." The reported menu runs through the whole day:
- Morning: gourmet coffee and house-made pastries
- Midday: sandwiches and Roman-style pizza, plus pizza pasta
- Evening: Portuguese-style charcoal chicken
- After dinner: soft serve, and a mushroom cola PhoenixBites promised to explain
The market may matter most on a weeknight. PhoenixBites reports it will stock prepared foods, including dishes from the partners' other restaurants. Zinc Bistro's mac and cheese, Fat Ox polenta and The Mission's chips and guacamole are all expected. That means food from restaurants at Kierland Commons and in Old Town will be available a few minutes from home. Carter told Phoenix New Times, "There's a lot going on, but we're going to have some fun."
There is no firm opening day yet. Both PhoenixBites and Phoenix New Times reported a November opening. As of mid-October, Dash's own site still said "Coming Fall 2026."
Via de Ventura Turned Over First
The Hayden Road openings follow a spring of changes a few blocks west, along the same pattern of established operators expanding into the neighborhood's existing centers.
KTAR reported on April 28 that Starfish Scottsdale, a California-based Asian coastal concept at 8390 E. Via de Ventura, would take limited reservations starting that Friday, May 1. Its full opening was scheduled for May 5, 2026. Soon after, PHOENIX magazine's May openings roundup listed BLU Seafood at 7300 N. Via Paseo Del Sur. It's a second location, in the former OBON Sushi space.
Taken together, here's what McCormick Ranch has gained in 2026:
| Restaurant | Address | Space | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starfish Scottsdale | 8390 E. Via de Ventura | California-based Asian coastal concept | Full opening scheduled for May 5 |
| BLU Seafood | 7300 N. Via Paseo Del Sur | Second location, former OBON Sushi | Listed in May openings |
| Vecina | 8300 N. Hayden Rd, D-101 | Second location, former Z'Tejas | Open, dinner 4 to 9 p.m. |
| Dash | 9619 N. Hayden Rd, Suite 101 | New concept from a resident chef | Expected November |
Two of the four are second locations of restaurants with followings elsewhere in the Valley, and Starfish brings a California concept to Arizona for the first time. The fourth comes from a chef whose other restaurants are in Old Town and at Kierland Commons and who chose his own neighborhood for his first new concept in a decade. All four went into existing shopping centers, and none needed new construction.
Planning a Week Around the New Openings
The two Hayden Road restaurants serve different parts of the week. Vecina's lakeside patio, private dining and evening-only hours make it the place for a planned dinner. Its Forking Scottsdale first look mentions room for chef dinners and special events, so it should also be on the list when hosting visitors this season. Dash is set up for the rest of the week: coffee on the way out, lunch on a busy day, or dinner from the market case when nobody wants to cook.
For the last nights of October, McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park at 7301 E. Indian Bend Road is a short drive south of both restaurants. Its Halloween event runs through October 31, from 6 to 9:30 p.m. AZFamily lists train rides, trick-or-treating and activities. AZFamily also notes that event times and details can change, so check before heading out.
Jaime Fernandez follows changes along Hayden Road the way most residents do, one storefront at a time. If you own a home in McCormick Ranch and want to know how the neighborhood's newest additions show up in your home's value, Jaime Fernandez can put together a valuation built around your street, not the city average. Request your free home valuation.
