Hanny's

Look around any corporate office these days, and the sea of khakis and polo shirts will attest to the move toward business casual attire over the past two decades. That trend, coupled with the rise of chain retailing, has inevitably led to the decline of a venerable institution that once existed in almost every major city: the independent menswear shop. This type of store was always more than just a purveyor of the unspoken corporate uniform; for many, it was a multigenerational tradition. The father-son trip to buy junior's first suit was a rite of passage for many young men. Some stores like this, most notably Carter's and the Clotherie, still exist in Phoenix, but the area's best known player, Hanny's, closed its final location at Scottsdale Fashion Square in 1994.

The void at a suburban mall was easily filled by a national chain tenant, but Hanny's older Downtown store, closed since 1986, languished for much longer as an empty and neglected site on the prime corner of First Street and Adams, just a block or two from the Washington / Central (westbound) and Jefferson /1st Avenue (eastbound) light rail stations. It took another trend, adaptive reuse, to bring the Downtown Hanny's site back to life -- not as a menswear store, but instead as one of the most promising new restaurant openings in Phoenix's downtown core. Sure, there's plenty of fashionable food and drink with late hours half a mile north in the Evans-Churchill area, but Hanny's is unique in bringing style, taste, and late hours to the business district south of Van Buren.

Adaptive reuse isn't cheap, and it's obvious that Hanny's is the product of a big investment in renovating the old store. It shouldn't come as a surprise, then, that Hanny's is owned by Karl Kopp, the proprietor of Scottsdale's AZ88, and that the design is a product of Janis Leonard, who also designed AZ88, along with a giant dartboard now installed in the lobby of a Phoenix office building. The makeover of Hanny's is upscale but minimalist; in fact, from some angles, the bare bones look might make potential customers wonder if the place is even open. Inside, the look is clean and almost clinical with the staff wearing white jackets and a meat slicer adorning the bar in the center of the room. Upstairs, the restrooms await down a mirrored hallway. Only one elevator is in use; the other shaft is unused with thick glass barriers providing an interesting opportunity to stand unharmed over a gaping hole leading to the basement.

The meat slicer at the bar says a lot about the menu at Hanny's. Prosciutto and parmesan cheese both play key roles here. What do those ingredients, along with similar items like pistachios and olives, have in common? They're salty, savory, treats that stimulate the thirst and pair well with the flavors of vodka, gin, vermouth, and other traditional cocktail components. Remember, Hanny's is as much a bar as a restaurant, but it's not a place for a pint or a longneck. While there is a limited selection of bottled beer, the emphasis is more on wine and classic cocktails like martinis and Manhattans. Some customers may complain about the small size of those cocktails, but at $5 and $6 respectively, the prices are equally small. It's easy to enjoy one as a mini-aperitif or a prelude to a glass of wine later.

The food choices are heavy on red meat -- not only prosciutto, but also pork loin and roast beef. A sandwich of the latter comes accessorized not only with bacon, but also a fried egg. At the other end of the spectrum, there are plenty of meatless options, including a hearty vegetarian sandwich, entree-sized salads, and several pizzas, about half of which are made without meat. The pizzas are built on a thin, elliptical crust. New York and Chicago pizza purists may be offended, but it's a pizza style that works well for a casual nosh with a cocktail. What's missing from the menu? Poultry and fish. With the exception of one appetizer involving shrimp, there is none. Still, the choices are sufficient to please most appetites, the quality of the ingredients and food is generally high, and the staff are good about steering customers away from any failed experiments on the menu.

Although the restaurant's look might suggest otherwise, Hanny's does welcome well-behaved children so that, according to a sign near the front entrance, they can "observe how adults behave when they drink." Because of Hanny's location near the US Airways Center, Symphony Hall, the Herberger Theater, and other Downtown venues, it's a good choice for a pre-event meal. Happily, the late hours (kitchen cooking until 1 AM and bartenders pouring until 1:30 AM each night) also make it a viable post-event gathering spot -- something that Downtown Phoenix has needed for eons. The clientele at Hanny's may no longer wear sharp suits to either work or play, but the debonair aura of the new Hanny's is a fitting legacy for a spot that used to clothe the businessmen of Phoenix.

40 N. 1st St., Phoenix, AZ, 85004 | Map
(602) 252-2285
http://www.hannys.net