Central Avenue's Newest Dinner Idea Is Smoke and Seafood, and It Starts at Park Central

Behind the patio at 3112 N. Central Ave. sits a competition-grade J&R Manufacturing smoker beside a custom dual-spit Santa Maria grill. Inside, a raw bar serves oysters with champagne mignonette and Old Bay shrimp cocktail. This is Cowboy Seafood, chef Christopher Collins's restaurant with Common Ground Culinary. Its announced opening date at Park Central was Oct. 9, 2026, and Arizona's Family reported it open by Oct. 19.

Most people know Park Central for Creighton University's health sciences campus, its medical offices and the Phoenix Medical Quarter. Cowboy Seafood changes what the property offers after work. It joins a handful of evening spots that have been there for years, and it lands at the same time an Uptown restaurant team is building around the same fire-and-seafood idea farther up Central Avenue.

A Smokehouse and a Raw Bar on the Medical Campus

The restaurant has two sides. Collins calls the concept "Surf & Smoke." The smoke side, the Misfit BBQ Smoke Yard, serves pecan-smoked St. Louis ribs, whole hog and prime brisket with three barbecue sauces. Order The Whole Truth and you get two meats, sausage, smoked wings, a bacon-cheddar drop biscuit and two sides. The surf side, Saltwater Saint Raw Bar, rotates its menu daily. It runs from spicy tuna and blue crab California rolls to platters with Florida stone crab and Maine lobster.

Then there are the seats. AZ Big Media reported an 80-seat dining room, a 22-seat island bar, a 12-seat community table and an 80-seat patio. That makes the patio as big as the dining room. The restaurant was designed with Plaza Companies, the local developer behind Park Central. Collins built it as a love letter to his own neighborhood.

Collins described what he wants the room to be in his comments to AZ Big Media:

"We wanted Cowboy Seafood to be the kind of place that works for whatever your day looks like. You can come in for a drink and some oysters, grab lunch, bring the family in for dinner or celebrate something with friends. It's meant to feel special, but never like you need a special occasion to come here."

The opening plan called for lunch, dinner and a daily happy hour, with weekend brunch to follow later. The cocktail list follows the same Western-meets-coastal theme. Smoke on the Water combines Casamigos Blanco, mezcal, grapefruit soda and smoked Hawaiian salt. Sweet Home Arizona mixes Lalo Blanco with blood orange, lime and grapefruit.

The Same Idea, Farther Up Central

At 5202 N. Central Ave., near Colter Street, Joyride Taco House served its last diners on Aug. 2 after 13 years in Uptown. Upward Projects brought Joyride to that midcentury building with the tree-shaded patio in 2013. The original Gilbert location remains open. The building is becoming Lado A Lado, a partnership between Upward Projects and Chiwas Hospitality Group. The Chiwas chefs are Armando Hernandez, Nadia Holguin and Roberto Centeno.

The concept will sound familiar to anyone who has eaten at Cowboy Seafood. Phoenix New Times reported that Lado A Lado plans open-flame cooking, a raw bar, a parrillada and family-style shared meals from the Sonoran region. Its announcement promised a "contrast of fire and sea, and smoke and citrus." New Times listed it in its fall 2026 roundup of anticipated openings as a wood-fired Mexican restaurant.

At the north end of the corridor, near Camelback Road, the newest project is burgers. The Joy Lush Club at 24 W. Camelback Road, which Kate and Mike Fasel opened in 2022, has been adding a permanent kitchen for Stoop Kid. That's Steven McMillen's smash-burger and bagel counter, which started in a shipping container at The Churchill on Roosevelt Row in 2020. According to New Times, the renovation adds a hood and fryer for Stoop Kid's burgers, fries and desserts, and the bar plans to add lunch hours.

What Already Keeps Park Central Busy After Dark

Cowboy Seafood joins neighbors that already draw an evening crowd. Next door at 3110 N. Central Ave. is Kobalt Bar, which opened in 2006 and is marking its 20th year in Phoenix in 2026. Its weekly lineup includes five drag shows, three karaoke nights and trivia on Tuesdays. West Hut shares that address. Owner Ernest Nyarko built the menu on West African cooking from Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon. The Green Woodpecker, a bar opened by brothers Aaron and Jared Pool of Gadzooks Enchiladas and Soup, has been at Park Central since late 2022, as the Arizona Republic reported.

Park Central's current directory also lists Zipps, Fired Pie, First Watch, Thai Basil, Jimmy John's, Jamba Juice and Starbucks. It also points to a public splash pad, putting greens around the property, public art and an ArtLink-curated gallery with rotating exhibits.

The owners say plainly what they want. On its leasing page, the Plaza Companies and Holualoa Companies joint venture says it is building on its existing restaurants and recruiting tenants "looking to attract customers morning, noon and night." The page also says space is still available in existing and new buildings. AZ Big Media described Park Central as surrounded by new residential developments, a dual-branded Hilton and the growing medical and university district.

December Dates on the Kobalt Calendar

The holiday season at Park Central starts at Kobalt. These December events are on the bar's calendar:

1. Friday, Dec. 4, 7 to 9 p.m. The Cillin Sisters open their holiday season with 90 Day Supply, a night of drag and live singing.
2. Sunday, Dec. 6, noon to 5 p.m. Throwing for Sin City, a cornhole, darts and pong competition where you can enter more than one game.
3. Saturday, Dec. 19, 7 to 9 p.m. The AZ D.R.A.G. Theatre Troupe performs Nutcracked, its own take on the Christmas classic.
4. Sunday, Dec. 20, noon to 3 p.m. Homo for the Holidays, a Cabargay Brunch hosted by Keith Clark, with proceeds going to Voices of the Desert.

Any of these makes an easy plan for dinner next door first. Kobalt and Cowboy Seafood are at neighboring addresses on the same block of Central.

The Light Rail Stop With a New Name

Getting there is easy without a car. On Feb. 20, 2026, city, transit and university leaders unveiled a Creighton University point-of-interest name for the Thomas/Central Avenue light rail station. The name honors the health sciences campus that anchors Park Central. According to Park Central, more than 800 medical and nursing students use the 180,000-square-foot building. At the station unveiling, university leaders said they are starting to plan a Phase II expansion.

The daytime side of the campus is growing as well. In May, Dignity Health Medical Group announced a lease for a 25,330-square-foot outpatient cardiology center on the first floor of the Burgbacher Building, with an opening expected in about 180 days. More students, clinicians and patients on the property during the day add to the lunch and happy hour crowd that Cowboy Seafood planned for from the start.

One light rail stop now serves a 20-year-old show bar, a West African kitchen, the Pool brothers' bar and a smokehouse with a raw bar and an 80-seat patio. For more about the city's other dining districts, see our Phoenix neighborhood guide and our look at downtown's Grand Avenue and First Avenue corridor.

If you're near this stretch of Central Avenue and wondering what a walkable dinner block and a renamed light rail stop could mean for your home's value, Timeless can help. Schedule a consultation and get a free home valuation from a team that follows Midtown block by block.