Northeast Tucson restaurant Commoner & Co. will host its last day open at 6960 E. Sunrise Dr. on Saturday, July 19.
“We are excited to move Commoner to Gilbert,” said Nathan Ares, owner of Ares Collective Restaurant Group. “We’re excited to do some fun things in Tucson in the future, but for the time being, our concepts are performing so well in the Valley.”
While the company’s roots are in Tucson, his key management team is now based in the Phoenix-Gilbert area where the company is currently growing the most, he added.
While Ares’ brunch restaurant Prep & Pastry now has two locations in Tucson and one in Scottsdale, Ares doesn’t plan on expanding Commoner & Co. the same way.
“I’ve always treated Commoner like Sam Fox treated Wildflower,” he said. “I don’t think Commoner is a multiple location concept.”
However, Ares plans on evolving the restaurant itself.
“We think we can do a more upbeat Commoner,” he said. “We’re excited to drive it into the direction we’ve always envisioned it to be.”
The new location will open as early as late 2025 in Gilbert’s Cooley Station area.
The Past, Present, & Future of Ares Collective Restaurant Group
Ares Collective Restaurant Group also includes August Rhodes Market, which opened in 2019 before becoming August Rhodes Bakery and sharing space with Flora’s Market Run, which opened in April 2021 and closed in January 2025.
“We still do our baking for our restaurants, just not supplying it publicly until we find a brick and mortar,” Ares said.
In 2019, Prep & Pastry opened its first location outside of Tucson in Scottsdale. Its fourth location opened in Heritage District in Gilbert during 2023, but will relocate to a more residential area, Ares said.
The restaurant group also currently plans on opening the indoor-outdoor concept Clare House Social in the former in Prep & Pastry Gilbert space late 2025.
For more information, visit commonerandco.com.
Article written by:
Jackie Tran
More about JackieJackie Tran is a Tucson-based food writer, photographer, culinary educator, and owner-chef of the now-closed food truck Tran’s Fats. Although he is best known locally for his work for Tucson Foodie, his work has also appeared in publications such as Bon Appétit, National Geographic, and the New York Times.
An adventurous foodie, he enjoys culinary experiences ranging from seasonal omakase to sloppily devouring green chili patty melts in his car afterhours. His favorite foods include aguachile, garlic noodles, and leftover fried chicken illuminated by the fridge light. His favorite drinks include morning micheladas, fireside imperial stouts, candle-lit negroni, and grassy mezcales.
Outside of food, he also loves playing musical instruments, karaoke, Tetris, Super Smash Bros. Melee, and petting Addie’s dog Spaghetti.
If you’d like to stalk him, visit his Instagram @jackie_tran_ or jackietran.com.
