Native New Yorker set to open today

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When the Native New Yorker restaurant opens in the Bashas’ Fiesta Center today, July 25, you will be able to dine on pizza, salads, seafood, some Italian dishes, and a variety of sandwiches. Native New Yorker is best known for its chicken wings, which have been consistently voted best in the Phoenix area.

Native New Yorker has a family dining room (kids have their own special menu), a separate bar where smoking is allowed and a party room, which can accommodate birthdays, meetings and even rehearsal dinners. Food can be eaten in or picked up.

According to owner Pat Kieny, this is a family restaurant / sports bar. The sports logos on the windows indicate that fans are more than welcome. The 31 televisions will give everyone a great view of any sporting event.

The restaurant will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. seven days a week. The kitchen will close at 11 p.m. During football season, however, a 9 a.m. Sunday opening will provide breakfast for fans wanting to see early games broadcast from the east coast.

No stranger to the restaurant business, Kieny owns a second Native New Yorker in Mesa. He was a partner in the one on Ray Road and, with that same partner, brought Wendy’s into Phoenix in 1984.

A native of Omaha, Nebraska, Kieny started out as a Pepsi truck driver, owned a steak house in Hastings and moved to Arizona for the weather. He and his wife Susan live in Gilbert and are the parents of three teenage girls.

Native New Yorker had 150 job applicants. Of that number, 85 were hired. Maricopa residents will fill 70 of those positions while approximately five to eight employees are from the Hidden Valley-Stanfield area. The rest will be driving in from Phoenix.

According to Kieny, unlike Mesa where many college students are employed, the servers’ ages here are from 25 to 40. “The first few weeks are hectic, but then we’ll really improve,” he said. Servers have been trained at the Mesa site.

By mid-September Maricopa’s Native New Yorker will have three full-time managers. After that date, new hires will train locally for positions that will average 15-25 hours per week. Job applicants are always welcomed.

“Native New Yorker does well with employees because we’re not corporate driven,” explained Kieny. “Employees feel really comfortable working here.”

“Look for us to do things for schools,” Kieny added. “We had teachers and administrators as celebrity waiters in Mesa, and that junior high made about $500 to $600 that night.”

Asked why he decided to open in Maricopa, Kieny explained that he and his family have driven through here for the past 20 years on the way to visit relatives in San Diego. Maricopa seemed like a great opportunity for a Native New Yorker.

“We are really excited about coming to Maricopa because of the small town feel and the relationships we’ll be able to develop,” Kieny remarked. “It will be great to be here at the start up of all the growth.”