Phoenix Natives Behind Award-Winning Telluride Eatery Bring Urban Hip-E Fresh Kitchen to Mill Avenue

“Elevated Fast Casual” Restaurant Pairs Mediterranean Flair and Globally Inspired Fare With a High-Profile Location Steps From ASU Gammage and ASU Art Museum

From one of the most beautiful towns in America to one of Tempe’s most prominent locations, two Phoenix-area natives with deep Arizona roots and more than a decade in Colorado’s restaurant scene have come home with a fresh take on fast casual, opening Urban Hip-E Fresh Kitchen on Mill Avenue.

Stanya and James Gorraiz, the husband-and-wife team behind G6 Culinary Concepts, opened the new “elevated fast casual” restaurant Monday, Aug. 10 at the corner of Mill Avenue and 10th Street. Sitting across from the Arizona State University campus and ASU Art Museum and catty-corner from ASU Gammage, Urban Hip-E Fresh Kitchen puts fresh salads, gyros, grain bowls and other globally inspired food within easy reach of students, faculty, neighborhood residents, theatergoers and others passing through one of Tempe’s busiest districts.

The opening also represents a homecoming of sorts for the Gorraizes, both of whom grew up in the Phoenix area. Stanya attended Xavier College Preparatory, while James attended St. Mary’s High School before later earning his degree from Arizona State University. Today, the parents of four children split their time between Telluride and Tempe.

“We’ve been watching this place evolve for years and years,” Stanya said, of Tempe and the Mill Avenue corridor. “We’ve seen how much it’s changed and how much the city has done to revitalize the area. To now be smack-dab in the middle of it all is amazing.”

The Gorraizes see plenty of parallels between their two home bases. Both Telluride and Tempe have layouts, parks and amenities that encourage people to get out, walk and explore, and while Tempe’s grown more rapidly, it maintains the same small-town feel that they’ve come to appreciate – and associate with – both communities.

The Tempe restaurant is the second location of Urban Hip-E Fresh Kitchen, with the first opening in Montrose, Colorado, in November 2024. No strangers to the restaurant industry, the Gorraizes also opened Steamie’s Burger Bar, a two-time winner of “Colorado’s Best Burger,” and Shake N’ Dog, both in Telluride.

Restaurants were not always the couple’s bread and butter, but the seeds of what Stanya and James are doing today took root long before they moved to Colorado. In north-central Phoenix, the Gorraizes owned a large landscape design, installation and maintenance firm as well as a public nursery. They’d long envisioned turning the nursery property into more of a neighborhood gathering place complete with a restaurant, bar and other places for people to spend time together.

The couple sold the property before moving to Telluride, but the idea they had in mind for it ultimately took shape. Today, the site at 12th Street just north of Glendale Avenue is home to The Orchard Phoenix and Luci’s at the Orchard, a neighborhood destination centered around food, drinks and gathering. For the Gorraizes, it offered an early glimpse of what culinary neighborhood development could look like. After moving to Telluride, they finally had the opportunity to pursue that vision themselves, turning their longtime interest in food and community into a growing restaurant business.

When the pair decided to open the first Urban Hip-E Fresh Kitchen in Montrose, they wanted to fill a gap in an area known for traditional fast food and steakhouses. They created Urban Hip-E to be quick and approachable enough for a casual lunch or dinner, but with more attention to ingredients, preparation and flavor than diners have come to expect from a typical counter-service restaurant.

“Fresh Is Hip” became both the restaurant’s tagline and the philosophy behind the concept.

Urban Hip-E’s menu centers on what the Gorraizes call “Mediterranean flair,” drawing inspiration from the cuisines and flavors of Morocco, Spain, France and other parts of the world. Salads, pastas, flatbreads, ramen and dumpling soups and fresh smoothies are just some of what’s on the expansive menu, offering plenty of choices for diners looking for fresh, filling food without a lengthy sit-down meal.

Ingredient transparency is also a key part of the concept. Urban Hip-E Fresh Kitchen eliminates all seed oils and high-fructose corn syrup from its offerings, and makes all of its dressings, sauces and drizzles in-house, rather than relying on premade versions.

For Stanya, who describes herself as a “culinarian,” those details matter as much as the finished dishes. Some of her personal favorites include the Urban Gyros, which include traditional and unique flavor and ingredient combinations, the Hot Honey Flatbread topped with peach, prosciutto and other goodies, and the Ruby Scarlet Salad made with beets, pomegranate molasses chicken, pumpkin seeds, feta and other mix-ins.

She’s also a big fan of the Salmon & Shrimp Cold Protein Bowl, which features both proteins served over a bed of jasmine rice with fresh veggies and a pineapple sweet chili drizzle. The menu’s global influences also extend to dessert, with sweets from Portugal, France, Italy and Spain adding more international flavor to the mix.

The restaurant also accommodates dietary preferences and restrictions, including gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian options. Offering a full liquor license, it serves cocktails, including Aperol spritzes, with prices it intentionally keeps approachable. Its counter-service format makes it equally suited to a quick meal between classes, dinner before a performance at ASU Gammage or a casual night out on Mill Avenue.

Urban Hip-E Fresh Kitchen also offers another amenity that’s often elusive around downtown Tempe: easy parking.

About 15 employees currently staff the Tempe eatery, which is open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

For the Gorraizes, the new Tempe location is more than just a second outpost – it also ties their restaurant business back to the community where they grew up and attended school. The pair also hopes to franchise future locations of Urban Hip-E and open the elevated fast-casual model in additional markets.

For now, though, they’re focusing on their new corner of Tempe, bringing together the food they love and the standards they’ve developed over more than a decade in the restaurant business in a city that once again feels like home.

For more about Urban Hip-E Kitchen or to check out the full menu, visit UrbanHip-E.com.