A Bar Fights City Hall Over Parking Spots, and Wins. What Does It Say About Doing Business in Scottsdale?

Photo Credit: oldtowntavernaz.com

A Long Fight Over a Simple Expansion

Old Town Tavern just won something that should not have taken months to get: permission to expand into the empty space next door. The Scottsdale City Council approved the permits this week, clearing owner Paul Mitchell to grow his bar and restaurant. Mitchell called himself “ecstatic.” He had reason to be relieved as much as excited.

The holdup was Scottsdale’s parking code for bars with live entertainment. Businesses in that category must provide a set number of parking spaces or pay a fee into the city’s parking garage fund. Old Town Tavern got tangled in that requirement for months before finally clearing the finish line this week.

A Vice Mayor Says the Quiet Part Out Loud

Vice Mayor Maryann McAllen did not mince words about the process. She called it “a little outrageous” that a business had to be dragged through this just to expand. McAllen also said the city needs to take a hard look at its parking standards as they apply to businesses like Old Town Tavern. That is a notable admission from someone sitting on the council that enforces those rules.

Maryann McAllen. Photo credit: Scottsdale Progress

A Good Outcome, but Not a Good Sign

Scottsdale should be glad this ended the way it did. A working small business gets to grow, add space, and presumably add jobs. That is worth celebrating. But the length of this fight is the real story, not the vote itself.

Months of delay over a parking formula is exactly the kind of friction that makes small business owners in Old Town think twice before investing further. Scottsdale markets itself as a premier destination for hospitality and nightlife. That reputation depends on the city making it easy, not grueling, for existing businesses to grow. A zoning rule that treats every expansion as a fight worth having in front of the full council is not a business-friendly policy. It is a bottleneck.

What Scottsdale Should Take From This

McAllen’s instinct is the right one. The city should revisit its parking mandates for entertainment venues now, rather than waiting for the next small business owner to spend months navigating the same maze. One approval does not fix a flawed standard. It just proves the standard needs fixing.

Old Town Tavern’s win is good news for Paul Mitchell. Whether it is good news for Scottsdale depends entirely on what the council does next. If this fight leads to a genuine rewrite of outdated parking rules, the months-long ordeal will have served a purpose. If it does not, the next entrepreneur trying to expand in Old Town should expect the same fight.