An del Sol
Casino del Sol is teaming up with local restaurant magnate Kwang C. An to open a new Asian eatery at the casino at 5655 W. Valencia Road. An del Sol will seat 250 and serve sushi and contemporary Asian cuisine when it opens in October. An owns Great Wall China (2445 S. Craycroft Road) and Mr. An's Teppan Steak and Seafood Sushi Bar (6091 N. Oracle Road). His other project, An Congress, a 15,000-square-foot restaurant and sports bar at Congress Street and Fifth Avenue, is expected to open early next year.
New Brew Store
Brewers Connection, a Tempe-based store specializing in supplies for making beer and wine, has opened a Tucson location at 4500 E. Speedway Blvd., No. 28. Amie Blethen, general manager of the Tucson store, says the store is open, even though it's not fully stocked. A grand opening is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 21 and 22; 881-0255.
New Chef at Acacia
Chef Albert Hall and his wife, Lila Yamashiro, have hired Odell Baskerville to be the executive chef at Acacia at St. Philip's (4340 N. Campbell Ave.). Baskerville headed up operations at the Arizona Inn for a decade and is an instructor at the International Culinary School at the Art Institute of Tucson. Acacia will debut a new menu in October. Hall and Yamashiro take charge of the Gardens Café at the Tucson Botanical Gardens on Wednesday, Sept. 15, and are adding an organic juice bar to their Marketplace at Acacia (4340 N. Campbell Ave., Suite 107). They also operate the Tohono Chul Park Tea Room.
Corona de Tucson Farmers' Market
A new farmers' market takes place from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., every Friday, at the American Legion Post at 15921 S. Houghton Road, in Vail. Expect locally grown produce, rubs, salsa, honey, nuts, beans, plants, artwork and more; 870-1106.
Noshing Notes
Aqua Vita Natural Foods (2801 N. Country Club Road) has reopened. It closed in May due to fire damage. ... Repairs to fire damage at the restaurant at Lodge on the Desert (306 N. Alvernon Way) are nearing completion. ... El Saage (1800 E. Fort Lowell Road) is now Falafel King, but the name is all that's changed. ... Café Pacific (3607 N. Campbell Ave.) has closed.
