01.12.2018 Views

JAVA Dec '18 issue

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

BUZZ<br />

CREATIVE COMMUNITIES<br />

By Robert Sentinery<br />

Phoenix is a city with diverse roots, a melting pot of cultures and ethnicities with<br />

a multitude of beliefs and traditions. What gives this community strength is the<br />

fusion of these differences, coming together to form a well-rounded whole.<br />

Chef Danielle Leoni epitomizes this. She grew up in an Italian family, absorbing<br />

old-world culture and recipes passed down for generations. In the 1940s, her<br />

great-great-grandmother opened an Italian restaurant, Leoni’s, in the Melrose<br />

Park suburb of Chicago that operated until 1988. Being a chef seemed like a<br />

natural path for Leoni.<br />

But at the time Leoni married Dwayne Allen, a native of Jamaica, she was<br />

teaching yoga and had zero interest in cooking professionally. It was Allen’s<br />

cultural pride that drove them, almost on a whim, to open The Breadfruit, a<br />

Jamaican restaurant, in what was the wilds of downtown Phoenix in 2008. So<br />

much has changed since then, and Leoni has kept pace with it, garnering tons of<br />

awards and recognition for her work in sustainable cooking.<br />

To honor her family roots, Leoni and Allen plan to open a full-fledged version<br />

of Leoni’s Focaccia (from their earlier incubator space), adding another layer of<br />

edible authenticity to downtown (see “Chef Danielle Leoni Brings Sustainability<br />

to the Plate,” p. 8).<br />

Gerd Wuestemann was born into a working-class family in the small town of<br />

Eschwege, Germany, near Kassel. Being the first of his clan to graduate from<br />

high school, expectations of achievement were fairly low. It was a passion for<br />

music, specifically classical guitar, that swept Wuestemann from his small-town<br />

roots and took him around the world as a performer and recording artist.<br />

A broken wrist put an abrupt end to his musical career, and Wuestemann<br />

eventually transitioned into a leadership role at the Acadiana Center for the Arts<br />

in Lafayette, helping build one of the largest arts organizations in Louisiana.<br />

Now he is at the helm of Scottsdale Arts, which oversees SMoCA, Scottsdale<br />

Performing Arts and Scottsdale Public Art (whose recent Canal Convergence<br />

was a glowing success). It takes strong vision and leadership to unite such a<br />

sprawling arts organization, and Wuestemann seems a natural fit for the job (see<br />

“Gerd Wuestemann: At the Helm of Scottsdale Arts,” p. 12).<br />

Many Phoenicians will remember Brian Smith as the frontman of top bands like<br />

the Beat Angels and Gentlemen After Dark. When the rock ’n’ roll lifestyle began<br />

to grind, Smith picked up a pen and made a smooth transition into professional<br />

writing, first for the Phoenix New Times, then relocating eastward as a staff<br />

writer for the Detroit Metro Times.<br />

Smith eventually made his way back to his beloved Southwest, picked up a gig<br />

writing for the Tucson Weekly, got married to Maggie, a longtime fan, and is<br />

now an author with two books under his belt. His latest volume, Tucson Salvage,<br />

collects and expands on some of his best writing for the Weekly. Maggie, an<br />

accomplished filmmaker, has produced a documentary version of the book that<br />

will debut at festivals and run theatrically in Los Angeles and elsewhere. Look<br />

for more from this dynamic couple in the coming months (see “Brian and Maggie<br />

Smith: Tucson Salvage, the Book and Documentary,” p. 34).<br />

DAMN GOOD<br />

COFFEE<br />

wholesale organic coffee<br />

cold brew | nitro | tea<br />

equipment | service | training<br />

Roastery of Cave Creek<br />

www.roc2.coffee | 480 330 0504<br />

CAVE CREEK, AZ<br />

available retail at Whole Foods & LGO

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!