The Roosevelt Tavern Now Open!
After a year of navigating the many challenges of adaptive re-use in Phoenix, Matt Pool has finally opened the doors of his new neighborhood tavern, The Roosevelt.

Some may remember Matt Pool from his days tending bar at Bar Bianco in Heritage Square in the renovated historic house next to Chris Bianco’s pizza restaurant. More recently, Matt has become highly regarded as the owner, chef and proprietor of Matt’s Big Breakfast, a small and incredibly popular spot that serves some of the best breakfast in downtown Phoenix.

The new neighborhood tavern named for President Theodore Roosevelt (the logotype is fashioned after the President’s signature) serves cold beer and fine wines along with a limited menu of quality bar food. The beer is served truly cold. Pool had a special cooler designed and built that keeps the rotating selection of handcrafted beers icy cold. Four Peaks Brewery in Tempe even created a beer just for Matt, the Roosevelt House Beer, a highly drinkable brew. The tavern features a selection of over forty-five beers and twenty different wines.

The menu features items like hot-pressed sandwiches, “Campfire Beans and Franks,” and “Hot and Salty Peanuts,” spicy premium peanuts from Feridies in Courtland, Virginia served warm. Each item has the attention to detail and the distinctiveness of Pool’s breakfast menu around the corner.

The Roosevelt is located in the Evans Churchill neighborhood at 816 North Third Street, just south of Garfield Street, immediately north of the Red Dog Gallery and west of Holga’s. Third Street is a one-way street south of Roosevelt Street. From Roosevelt, travel south on Third Street and the tavern is on the west side of Third Street. The Roosevelt opened in an historic building that was constructed around 1900.

The interior décor preserves the structure and details of the 1900 Farish House and adds a few contemporary details like a steel wrap around the original fireplace, now decked with candles and fresh-cut flowers. The rooms are painted in a deep green that accents the dark wood trim throughout. There are sleek drink rails along the walls and numerous cozy rooms to share food and drink with friends. The small building behind the house has been converted to a kitchen and prep area which is connected by a new deck and ramp leading to the parking area. The building has thirteen foot ceilings and unusually high windows.

Located at 816 North Third Street, the Roosevelt is open evening hours only. Pool can only be in one place at a time and enjoys greeting each of his customers at both businesses. Regular hours are 5PM to midnight weeknights, 5PM to 2AM weekends, and closed on Mondays.

Stop in and help welcome this new and long-awaited business to the neighborhood!

Roosevelt History
For history buffs, horses were still the primary means of transportation when much of the original surrounding Churchill Addition neighborhood was built. The circa 1900 Farish House is on the Phoenix Historic Property Register and was home to the first Phoenix City Manager William Addison Farish. Theodore Roosevelt helped to ensure the long-term viability of development in Arizona and other western states when he signed the National Reclamation Act in 1902 authorizing the construction of dams. Construction of the Theodore Roosevelt Dam in Arizona was started in 1906 and the dam was dedicated on May 18, 1911.