Alameda - Tempe, AZ Area Guide

Tempe grew around a ferry crossing on the Salt River where two communities formed from camps occupied by early settlers. In 1879, the communities joined and adopted the name Tempe. The town grew into a regional center of commerce and education as a Territorial Normal School, founded in 1885, developed into a teacher’s college and later became Arizona State University.

When World War II ended, Arizona's flourishing service and manufacturing economy propelled a boom that tripled the city’s population every decade from 1940 to 1970. Residential developments sprang up on Tempe's outskirts. On the town’s southern edge, the neighborhoods of University Park, University Estates and Daley Park developed just north of East Broadway Road. Through the 1970s, new development continued to pull the city’s population to the south, and the Broadmor-Mach 8 area immediately to the south of East Apache Boulevard represents an early phase of that post-war residential growth.

The dining hub for the neighborhood can be found in the retail district on the neighborhood's southwest corner at South Mill and East Southern Avenues. Red Devil Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria has been family owned since 1960. Besides making all the Italian favorites, they specialize in catering for local businesses and special events. The 40-wing bucket blurs the line between catering and serving a serious wing lover, or go there for hand-tossed pizza that ranks among the area's best.

The family-run Byblos Restaurant on South Mill has proven to be a local favorite over the years. Here you will find typical Middle Eastern and Greek entrees. However, the quality surpasses your typical Greek food experience. One bite of the moussaka proves that to be true. One of the reasons Byblos remains a favorite can be attributed to its excellent customer service.

American craft beers and outdoor-patio dining make Boulders on Broadway a neighborhood hangout. Owned by adventurous types who love rock climbing and mountain biking, Boulders welcomes bikes to be safely parked inside while their owners jump into the restaurant for a pizza, and to sample from 30 draft beers and more than 70 bottled craft beers.

For night time fun, the Yucca Tap Room has been Tempe's go-to local live music venue for almost 40 years. An area landmark with 28 beers on tap and over 200 in bottles and cans, plus micro distilled spirits, put the Yucca on your must-visit list. Another Tempe tradition, the Tempe Tavern, sits right outside the neighborhood and puts on a steady live music line-up, and a good selection of daily specials on drinks and pub food.

The Monkey Pants Bar and Grill features long happy hours, Thursday night stand-up comedy shows and unconventional karaoke. Take your shirt off at 1:00 am for a free shot with their shirtless shots special.

Most people in the Broadmor-Mach 8 neighborhoods own cars, and about 78 percent of area residents use private automobiles to get to work. Outside of downtown Tempe and the ASU campus area, light traffic and plentiful free parking remain the rule. Interstate 10 and two other major freeways pass within a mile of the neighborhood, and surface roads give easy access at several points, making out-of-area travel a simple matter. Several call-taxi companies serve Broadmor-Mach 8, and the Zipcar car-share service operates on the Arizona State University campus. Uber and Lyft also currently serve the area.

Valley Metro, the Phoenix regional public transportation system, provides bus services to the neighborhood with stops along the main arteries. Along with covering local routes, the buses connect with the Tempe Transportation Center, a transit plaza that supports Metro light rail connections, dozens of bus routes and the free Orbit local shuttle. The Orbit Jupiter route along South College Avenue serves the Broadmor-Mach 8 neighborhoods.

Despite a lack of dedicated bike lanes, the area's dry weather, flat terrain and fairly easy access to several retail districts support bicycle transport. The neighborhood has more bicycle commuters than 98 percent of all U. S. neighborhoods. The area can also be considered walkable due to the presence of retail and service areas within a mile or two of the residential districts.

Several public parks make the Broadmor-Mach 8 neighborhood a pleasant place to live. Daley Park just to the north has off-street parking and lots of green space peppered with mature shade trees. Local athletes play at two softball fields, a baseball diamond, basketball and volleyball courts while families enjoy complete picnic facilities and a playground.

Meyer Park, a few blocks to the east and adjacent to Meyer School, supports local sports teams with a soccer field, softball fields and a baseball field. Volleyball courts, basketball courts, a shaded playground and picnic facilities all benefit from the park’s lighting system. Clark Park, about a mile to the west down Broadway Road, has all the usual amenities and also serves as the center of activity for several neighborhood associations. It hosts a recreation center as well as a public swimming pool.

Just 2 miles to the north beyond downtown Tempe on the banks of the Tempe Town Lake, Tempe Beach Park provides lake access for swimming. The beach park also features a water playground with pools and splash pads.

Compared to the rest of the country, the cost of living in the Broadmor-Mach 8 neighborhoods runs just over 1 percent above than the U.S. average and about 2 percent higher than the downtown Tempe average. A one-bedroom apartment averages $643 per month. Gas costs 23 percent less than the U.S. national average. A ticket to any place in the area on Valley Metro goes for $2. A ride into downtown Tempe or nearby areas on the Orbit residential bus service remains free. Domestic draft beer runs around $4 a pint, while a bottle of import costs $5 on average, but good happy hours near the university campus can cut those prices by a dollar or more.

Broadmor-Mach 8 residents can buy groceries at Fry's Food in the Fry's Shopping Center on the neighborhood's southwest corner, Safeway on East Broadway, or at the Smart & Final warehouse market. Sprout's Farmers Market also has a location nearby, and Friendly Market includes a florist along with grocery shopping. The Tempe CSA has a location next to Daley Park and a farmers market operates seasonally in downtown Tempe on the Cady Mall at Arizona State University.

Arcos Brasil on nearby Rural Road sells their own handcrafted student violin bows made from sustainably sourced, naturally dried, Pernambuco wood. They also serve the needs of local student musicians with quality instruments, rosin, accessories, and tools.

Broadway Plaza Shoe Repair on East Broadway gets high recommendations from locals for their old-fashioned, family-owned approach to shoe repair and general leather care. They can also repair handbags and make custom leather sandals.

Located in the heart of the Broadway Industrial Park, University Animal Hospital provides the neighborhood with complete small-animal veterinary services, including specialties such as laser surgery, dentistry, endoscopy, digital x-ray, ultrasound, and EKG. The hospital also operates a full-service boarding and grooming facility.