Nightlife in Maricopa sits just over the horizon. Or, in the case of Duke’s Roadhouse, just past the overpass.

The former pawn shop on Maricopa and Edwards Roads is making slow but steady progress toward becoming a premier nightlife destination in Maricopa. A scour of public records found renderings, a site plan and other details about a will-be rustic western bar.

A selection of a proposed site plan for Duke's Roadhouse as of July 1, 2023. [Courtesy of City of Maricopa]
A selection of a proposed site plan for Duke’s Roadhouse as of July 1, 2023. [Courtesy of City of Maricopa]
Plans for the 7,800-square-foot bar and restaurant include remodeling the building with an enclosed front canopy, according to project architect Mark Tomecak. He’ll demolish the floors, ceilings and interior walls for a dining room on the first floor.

The restaurant will include about 2,100 square feet of outdoor seating with patios on either side of the building.

Renderings reveal a homespun interior style with weathered wood, steel walls and large windows. The restaurant will be situated next to a pending pedestrian bridge.

A site plan offers a first look at the restaurant’s proposed parking lot, which will sit on some land owned by Wildcat Landscape Supply.

The renderings and site plan were submitted with pre-application paperwork. This stage of development means developers and owners have only indicated an interest in building or doing business in Maricopa.

This paperwork has yet to be reviewed by the Planning and Zoning Commission.

In April, InMaricopa reported the restaurant-bar was headed to town by Steve Kovach, an owner of a mason jar cocktail concept in Chandler.

“I want to keep it separate from The Stillery,” Kovach said at the time. “It’s Duke’s Roadhouse. The big similarity is live music. It will be country and western, Thursdays through Sundays.”

A rendering from July 1 shows the proposed front view of Duke's Roadhouse at dusk. [Courtesy of City of Maricopa]
A rendering from July 1 shows the proposed front view of Duke’s Roadhouse at dusk. [Courtesy of City of Maricopa]
At the time, Kovach said the restaurant will anticipate seating 250 patrons with a large bar, dance floor and a broad — though still undeveloped — menu.

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6 COMMENTS

  1. Putting a bar next to the high school, the train tracks AND the food pantry just under an overpass, not to mention a hair away from a residential area who could experience the joys of drunken rednecks crashing into their houses after a night of listening to Merle Haggard and pounding beers? What could possibly go wrong?
    Worst effing idea yet, Maricopa.

  2. 1. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed Lidi, but every single bar in town is literally within minutes of a neighborhood. Every business on John Wayne literally backs into a neighborhood.

    2. The business is proposed as a restaurant/bar. The “club” aspect of it would not be open during school hours. As a mater of fact, I don’t see anything wrong with high school kids walking into the restaurant after school to dine. “Will someone please think of the children!!!”

    3. Referring to a demographic as “rednecks” is racist.

    • Which “demographic” did I mention? None. You just made an assumption on your own which reflects your own racism. I’m from the South; from Kentucky to Arkansas to Florida to Mississippi to Georgia – “redneck” is used quite liberally for and by everyone (not just a “certain” someone) referring to how rural their location is. For example: You would refer to those living in Fulton as “rednecks” but not so much those in a city such as Tupelo.
      Again, C&W music is enjoyed and performed by a diverse audience, it’s not exclusive to only one. See Charley Pride, Darius Rucker, Kane Brown and several others for reference.

  3. 4. The majority of downtown dining/entertainment districts are within proximity of public transportation hubs- light rails, trains, water taxis, etc… They have proven to stand the test of time. Of course accidents will happen but that’s just the reality of life. So that being said, I think we’ll be just fine with the proximity of the restaurant to the train tracks.