Aaron Chamberlin Says Plans for Downtown Restaurant Include Knocking Out Exterior Wall -- and Sentrock's Mural

By Claire Lawton Thu., Dec. 20 2012 at 5:00 AM

But in May 2012, the Public Market shut its doors. Dan Klocke, board president of Community Food Connections wrote, "like any business there are risks with opening your doors and sometimes it just does not work out." Chamberlin says he was at the right place at the right time and negotiated a deal with landlord Kurt Schneider.

courtesy of St. Francis

Aaron Chamberlin

"From the artist point of view, its [sic] very disheartening," Sentrock wrote to Jackalope Ranch this afternoon. "For me to donate my time in creating a public mural for my community and then having it destroyed, makes me feel like my work is very insignificant. I understand the new owner had a design concept, and I know that's business. Aaron Chamberlin is a staple to this city's culture, but I hope that he acknowledges that the arts are just as valuable to our city's cultural life as a restaurant."

Chamberlin says he's working with a design team and has big plans to clean up the building, which includes sandblasting the exterior, building awnings, and adding windows for his cafe-goers -- windows that will replace Sentrock's mural.

"We want to work with the community," says Chamberlin, who admits to not knowing Sentrock's mural was chosen by popular vote or involved in a community contest. "We're super excited to be working with the Public Market, and for our plans to take shape ... I've spent a considerable amount of time and money to bring local art into my projects and that's not going to end. That's stuf I love. But we're moving on with our plans ... we're in the middle of construction."

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vida.vazquez

Opening a quality restaurant in a historic downtown location is an apt
business move that will likely contribute to the vitality of the
neighborhood. This does not need to occur simultaneously alongside the
removal of the very work that has made the location desirable for
investment. Through dialogue and collaborative effort, advancing
economic interests in the community is possible without wiping away that
which is authentic and relevant to the citizens.

MrPhx

See the time-lapse of this mural by Sent Rock here --->

http://vimeo.com/31591339#at=0

heather834

The Phoenix Public Market did not close - only Urban Grocery and Wine Bar, the indoor portion of the Phoenix Public Market, closed. The open air markets are still taking place every Wednesday night and Saturday morning.

fairymagic13

@heather834 Count on New Times' editors to miss facts - happens in practicallyevery article and in this case can screw up a whole lot of locally ownedbusinesses who work hard to make the Public Market happen every week!Losing a mural is kinda sad, but losing 1000s of customers who purchasegoods at the Public Market because they read this article's FIRSTSENTENCE and think it's closed is really really bad - Phoenix New Timesshould print a LARGE correction and apology to the Public Marketmerchants who will lose business because of their faux pas in thisinstance.