Chef Tandy Peterson is opening a new restaurant that’s poised to be Midtown Phoenix’s new favorite gathering space.
The restaurant, which takes over the former The Larder & The Delta space at 2320 E Osborn Road, will see chef Peterson offer her favorite comfort food at her eponymous Tandy’s Cafe.
“My whole idea is to create this beautiful oasis in the Midtown Phoenix area,” says Peterson whose goal is to host guests in a warm setting while serving crave worthy food. “We’re focusing on quality,” says the chef. Examples include meatloaf and chicken and dumplings. “It’s the food we grew up on. The meals that take you back,” she adds. Peterson and her team are also driven to use the best ingredients, such as eschewing seed oils for beef tallow.
Tandy’s will also offer a concise cocktail program, made with the same care. “We want to do a chocolate negroni or a beautiful Spanish gin and tonic instead of some crazy thing that has 18 ingredients in it. We’re working on a honey butter old fashioned.”
And, of course, there will be chocolate. Peterson, after all, has her own Ember Chocolate company, and Tandy’s will take advantage of the expertise, with a drinking chocolate menu. “Chocolate is this ancient food and drinking chocolate has been used to nourish people,” says Peterson, who likens fine chocolates to wine and coffee. “There are multiple origins, and you have to take time to taste and process them.” To further help guests really experience the drinking chocolate, she plans to serve them in mugs without handles — so it’s more difficult to doom scroll while drinking, allowing people to enjoy the chocolate, the fire pit, the garden, and the people around them. “It’s important for everyone to find a moment of peace,” says the chef and restaurateur, whose restaurant’s motto is, “Food, Fire, and Friendship”.
Tandy’s will open at first for breakfast and lunch, daily, from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., offering counter service, eventually offering happy hour and a sit-down dinner service, by the end of December 2025.
