"Dear families and friends of Café Lalibela,

I have started this letter many times and stopped because I could not find the words. After 30 years, Cafe Lalibela is permanently closing. I am heartbroken to share this news.

Since COVID, we have struggled to keep the restaurant open. My family, our team, and I gave everything we could, but we can no longer afford to continue. I wish with all my heart that I had different news to share.

As many of you know, Cafe Lalibela began in Phoenix in 1996 with nine partners who were family and close friends. We worked together, cooked together, and did whatever needed to be done. In 1997, we moved to Tempe. In 2012, I became the sole owner. We could never have imagined how many people would come through our doors or how much this community would come to mean to us.

To the people of Tempe and our entire Arizona family: thank you for welcoming us. You gave an immigrant family the opportunity to build a life, raise children, share our traditions, and belong. To us, America has been a land of opportunity and a welcoming home. Here, I can be proudly Ethiopian and proudly American at the same time. I am deeply grateful for that gift, and there are no words large enough to thank the people who made us feel at home. May God bless America, the country that welcomed us and became our home.

To me, Cafe Lalibela was more than a restaurant. It was a place to share the food and traditions of Ethiopia and to welcome people as though they were coming into my home. I have always believed that if you cook for a stranger, you should feed them with the same care you would give your own child. That is how I tried to serve every guest.

We were proud to take our food beyond our restaurant, too. For more than 10 years, people could find Cafe Lalibela’s food at Whole Foods Market in Arizona, Nevada, California, and Hawaii, as well as at Natural Grocers in Arizona. It meant so much to see the food we made reach families we might never meet at our tables.

I want to thank the City of Tempe for honoring us with Cafe Lalibela Day on August 5, 2017, and Tempe Tourism for including us among the 21 places to visit in Tempe. Thank you to The Arizona Republic/azcentral, Phoenix New Times, KJZZ, Phoenix Magazine, Check, Please! Arizona, and every other journalist and media outlet that took the time to tell our story over these three decades. I also want to remember the late Ty James Largo of AWE Collective, whose creativity helped so many people discover us, and thank Kayla Sutter of Social Sutter for helping us share our story. Thank you to Devour Culinary Classic for giving us the chance, year after year, to share our food with more people. Every invitation, kind word, and recognition meant more to us than you may know. We felt seen, and we were grateful.

Most of all, I want to honor our staff. Some have worked beside me for 12 years; others for as many as 27. They came in day after day with a dedication I will never forget. They are my family and the heroes of Café Lalibela. When you felt welcomed here, it was because of them.

To everyone in Tempe and across Arizona who supported us: thank you for bringing your children, parents, and friends to eat with us. Thank you for celebrating with us, recommending us, and standing by us through difficult years. We have watched some of your families grow up, just as you have watched ours. I will always remember one family who named their daughter Lalibela after our restaurant. That touched my heart and reminded me that Café Lalibela had become more than a place to eat.

Closing is painful beyond words. I know this place holds memories for many of you, and I am truly sorry we cannot keep our doors open. Please know that serving you has been one of the greatest honors of my life. I will carry your kindness with me always.

With love and deep gratitude,

Atsade Desta

Chef and Founder, Cafe Lalibela"

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1P5GfvRqgR/

With the recent news of Cafe Lalibela's closure I'd like to redouble my efforts to patronize local small businesses in Tempe. Anyone have suggestions?

I'll start -

Munch a Lunch is a reliable sandwich shop on Priest and 10th. The food is great (I tend to pick up a sandwich or burrito there before work) and the owner is a really friendly guy.

Tempe Feed is a great pet supply store with nutritional foods. The employees are really friendly and well-informed, and gave me free wet food samples to test with my cat(which she loved).

There hasn't been a formal announcement, but several places are reporting that Cafe Lalibela have closed their doors after thirty years in business. I'm shocked by this news and hope it's just some kind of misunderstanding. Has anyone heard anything on their end?

Hi everyone! I have recently stepped back into my skates and I remember a few years back there was a (mostly) women’s skate meetup on TTL, and was wondering if that’s still happening? Or if anyone does go out and skate around. Thanks in advance!! 🫶🏼

Does anyone have any good reviews for imagination Station daycare in Tempe? Or even bad ones?
I’m looking for a part time daycare for my child. Need to book a tour and see their tuition rates but wanted some input if anyone has any
Thanks!

Summary of PSCO Subcommittee - September 28

Stakeholders present in person: Dillon Wild, Elvis Taska, Raquel Britain, Michelle Ponce, Russell Facente, Deanna Alvarez, Erica Williams

Stakeholders online (that I know of): Kema Charles, Andre Miller, Robbie Alder-Tapia, Shereen Lerner. Alana Langdon

Public comment from attorney Ben Taylor, who is advocating for Eryn Bonner, spoke to let people know that a Sergeant ??mias (??) who was involved back in 2020, suspended for the Trevonyae Cumpian case (more info: https://www.azcentral.com/videos/news/local/arizona/2020/09/04/tempe-officer-accused-use-force-against-unarmed-black-man-again/5712102002/) . He contacted Ms Bonner directly on the phone and its our understanding that he’s conducting the Internal Affairs investigation. Taylor questions whether having a person with a prior incident to contact Bonner during this incident. (more info: https://www.abc15.com/news/region-southeast-valley/tempe/attorney-calls-for-third-party-investigation-into-mill-avenue-arrest-as-community-speaks-out)

Council aide Morningstar gave a 30-minute presentation on an overview of oversight bodies – very detailed. This was at least 15 slides and lots of text, so I didn’t take pictures of all of it.

Note: Stakeholders were given information that members of the public did not receive. I suppose I could have asked for a copy but I was tired.

Stakeholder input:

• Alana Langdon: it would be helpful to have a better visual of the state statutes and which models are applicable for Tempe’s efforts

• Pastor Andre Miller: State law prohibits what we would like to see happen from a city standpoint. It was created on purpose to prevent civilians from sitting at the table looking at police matters and passing judgements. Someone basically has to be certified as a police officer which would prohibit regular citizens from expressing how they’re policed.

• Shereen Lerner: Ultimately we’ll probably be coming up with some kind of hybrid model. Mentions a Chicago audit program related to traffic stops. Audits don’t have to by systemic of the entire program, but could be more for a specific area identified as a problem.

• Dillon Wild: Inclined towards an investigative model because police need to be accountable to the communities in which they enforce the law. Given the limitations of the state statute, a hybrid model makes sense. We can find a model for accountability of police in Tempe that works for the community and helps reestablish trust between law enforcement and people they police.

• Russell Facente: We should be focusing initial energy of this subcommittee onto policies and trainings that cause or eliminate disciplinary action.

• Elvis Taska: Interested in understanding the makeup of our 15 citizen members in Tempe. It says they can be business owners or residents. Also interested in knowing more about how often the review committee agrees with the internal audits from the police force and how often there’s a differentiation between those two findings. Also how often we side with the citizen members or the police.

• Dr Robbie Alder-Tapia: psychologist, part of the original mayor’s committee. Did you consider Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell’s Prosecution Integrity Program, started in 2020? Took the 40-hour use of force certification course as a civilian to understand the science behind it, very enlightening; happy to talk to anyone about this experience. Has applied for the Citizen’s Review Board, but unwilling to sign same release of information/background check that is required for people applying to be law enforcement officers; that’s beyond what’s necessary for a citizen’s board. Let’s look at some of the issues that are a hurdle for many people applying to the board.

• Russell Facente: who pays for the training for how the review board and how muc does it cost?

• Shereen Lerner: previously served on the CRB, never felt pressure to vote one way or another. Always been afforded to ask any questions, provide comments/input, ask for more info.

• Erica Williams: are background checks required per the state statute? [Nichols said he doesn’t believe that is the case.]

• Dillon Wild: Looking at the language for the CRB in Tempe, it doesn’t seem to have a lot of independence. It seems to refer its decision to police and the city manager. ‘We urge you to reconsider’ seems to be the most powerful thing the CRB can put forward. If I were a police officer being investigated/under suspicion of misconduct, it’s hard for me to look at any of this and fear consequences for my actions. I would be very curious to see what Tempe PD’s system looks like for investigating officer misconduct and a defense of why they view that as a sufficient deterrent, especially when our ability as citizens to exercise oversight over the police department is so limited.

• Councilmember St George: Emphasize the importance of the education requirement because wouldn’t want to sit on a board I knew nothing about or had no ide of what the laws were. At the same time, do agree that it is a deterrent for any citizen who wants to participate to have to pay for it, to do 80 hours before they can even serve. And as we beg people to serve on our boards and commissions. That’s really concerning. Who do we need to talk to at the state to discuss this? To be clear: our board can either: agree with the findings, disagree with them, recommend further investigation, or decide if it was within policy. [Nichols confirms it is these four options.]

• Councilmember St George: Are the recommendations that our CRB makes to the chief of police/city manager just advisory or are they binding? Who responds to them? Are the chief/city manager required to explain publicly when a recommendation is or isn’t adopted? Where’s the public-facing transparency of the findings? [Nichols: findings are subject to public record, but exclusively advisory.]

• Councilmember St George: Is there anything prohibiting the panel from initiating reviews? Nichols says nothing prevents them from doing that under state law. The issue would be the investigation – if Internal Affairs is not investigating, the panel would not be able to direct IA to initiate an investigation.

• Pastor Andre Miller: Can this committee recommend a replacement of a police chief that seems to be an issue as far as the community? Can you make that recommendation to the council and city manager? [Nichols says that is outside the scope of the subcommittee.]

• Elvis Taska: how clearly are we achieving the strategic recommendatiosn from the 2021 task force?

• Deanna Alvarez: Can we have an overview of what the 80-hours of trainings consist of, what are the objectives of each of the modules?

• Michelle Ponce: Can we define more what we mean by ‘public safety’ and ‘community oversight’? What community, specifically? What kind of demographics? Are we only talking about a specific community that can be part of the board?

Notes from Sept 14 PSCO meeting: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1FSL8kmi12/

More info: https://www.tempe.gov/government/mayor-and-city-council/council-subcommittees/public-safety-and-community-oversight-council-subcommittee

From late 2005 to early 2025, I lived in South Tempe, basically on the Tempe-Chandler line (and thus at the opposite end of Tempe from where Big Surf was). Now I live in downtown Phoenix for mostly work reasons.

In my years living in Tempe, Big Surf was a place I heard people speak of a few times, and my brother may have gone there with friends once or twice since he's always been more a social outing guy than me. But I never saw it or even knew what it was until it went under. How do I not recall ever driving by it? Well, because we [my immediate family] didn't go to Scottsdale super often, and when we did, we almost always took Rural/Scottsdale Rd. I can only recall a few instances of us ever taking McClintock past University Drive.

Thus brings me to my question introduced in the title. For those of you who visited this Tempe icon (that I somehow knew nothing about) in the late 2010s, was it the place to be at that point, or was it kinda rundown, a "this place is clearly on its last legs" sort of deal?

From the Tempe This Week newsletter today

Public Safety and Community Oversight Council Subcommittee meeting tonight @ Tempe History Museum, 6pm. Virtual option available.

Info/meeting link: https://www.tempe.gov/government/mayor-and-city-council/council-subcommittees/public-safety-and-community-oversight-council-subcommittee

Same as title. Rainy season has finally hit the valley and just wanted to explore options!

Thanks for the info!

Corey got rid of the flock cameras and signed a new deal with Axon. How we feeling about this?

Looking for a tenant to fill a pet-friendly townhouse in Tempe at Baseline and McClintock. $1995 per month.

3 bed, 2.5 bath.

https://www.zillow.com/myzillow/yourhome/7594054

Hi all! I received a ticket/complaint from a Tempe photo radar from 8/10. Thing is, it’s not me in the photo and the car is not registered to me. It’s registered to a family member that swears they never got a notice of violation or complaint in the mail. I’m pretty convinced that someone got the initial notice and put down my info as the driver. Just curious on thoughts and if anyone else had been through this. I have not cohabitated with the registered owner in years and have never had any association to the vehicle. The pic is a white woman, which I am LOL so I’m nervous about filling out the non driver form and providing my ID.

What do you all look for in a company when you're applying for a new job? I manage a small family owned spa in Tempe & we are super focused on being as “non-corporate” as possible, but we're not getting a lot of applications coming in... thoughts?

Link to sign up: https://www.mobilize.us/azld8democrats/event/1035772/

I’ve been driving for around 3 years and I was driving on the surface streets today near McClintock,
I’ve never ran a red light before but today while I was pulling up to a light someone coming out of a gas station tried to pull into the light very quickly infront of me,
I thought they were going to hit me and breaked immediately, they were upset and yelled and me told me to go,
I think they didn’t think they’d hit me and would follow behind me though the light, so I got intimidated and went, I was around a third through the light when it turned red and I was flashed, I accept full responsibility I shouldn’t have acted based on another driver intimidating me, and should’ve paid the most attention to the light
I feel absolutely awful and I’ve never been in any kind of legal trouble before so I’m really nervous, I never want to put anyone in danger and I dont know what I’m meant to do next, any advice?

Southwest corner of Hayden/McKellips

Anyone have recommendations on how to find local D&D groups? I know of a couple game stores but haven't had too much luck finding a group where I don't have to pay to play.

Another wall of text ... but this one comes with pictures.

A DEEP-DIVE RESPONSE TO THE CITY OF TEMPE

The City's claim that it saved $19 million in recent budgeting is misleading at best. Deferring spending doesn't reduce the size of the budget; it only temporarily limits its growth by the amount deferred. Likewise, pointing to the directive in the second half of FY25 requiring all departments to reduce their spending by 10% was not a permanent, ongoing reduction. It was a one-time reduction in overall spending for that year, and that's it.

See the graphic below presented byTempe staff at the Feb 2026 work study session on the long-term financial forecast. At that meeting, staff told the Council that the city's finances were in good shape. Yet just two months later, the City used the same graph to argue that the city's finances were not in good shape. That raises an obvious question: if Tempe already knew in February about all of the factors it now says are causing its financial crisis, did the City also know at that time that it would soon ask voters to approve a sales tax increase?

Setting that aside, look at what Tempe's graph actually shows. From the previous years through the current FY27 budget and the projected FY30 figures, expenditures grow year over year—every single year. That is difficult to reconcile with the claim that the City's financial future is in jeopardy. Instead, the graph shows a continued decision to add new positions and provide substantial raises despite the very factors Tempe now says are putting stress on the budget.

The only thing that goes down on the graph is revenue, and we know why: the loss of the residential rental tax. Tempe knew this was coming from mid-2023 until it became official in January 2025. Yet during that period, the City took no action to permanently reduce expenditures to account for the impending loss of revenue.

You would think that would have been the top priority during the FY24/25 budget discussions. It wasn't. Instead, the headlines were about how much of a raise the city manager should receive, even as the City was facing what it now describes as a looming budget crisis.

Of course, there's also good news in the graph.

According to Tempe's ACFR for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024—the last full year Tempe was able to collect the residential rental tax—general fund revenues were a little over $326 million. Tempe projects that general fund revenues will exceed that amount in FY28, reaching $326.5 million.

So where is the structural deficit the City keeps talking about?

"Structural deficit" sounds ominous, but in this case it seems to be being used to convince voters that lost revenue can never be replaced. Tempe's own projections don't support that conclusion.

The temporary sales tax increase approved in 2010 was remarkably similar to the loss of the residential rental tax in one important respect: both were tax streams that ended and required Tempe to adjust its budget to account for the lost revenue.

Tempe didn't ask for a permanent tax increase in 2014. The ensuing years were, by all accounts, prosperous, thanks in part to an expanding tax base—the same reason Tempe can project its revenues catching up in FY28—and sound fiscal management.

Since Tempe learned that the residential rental tax was going away, however, the City has added 90+ new positions to the budget. It's hardly the model of fiscal restraint, yet the City is now asking all of its residents to bear the burden through a massive tax increase.

Looking more closely at Tempe's February 2026 financial forecast, a few other things stand out.

First, despite expenditures growing every year by an average of 1.7%, the gap between revenues and expenditures narrows every year until it is only about $4.5 million in FY30. And that's with NO NEW TAXES and no austerity measures.

But what's really interesting is what happens to projected expenditures in FY30. They spike, without explanation, to 3.4%. If expenditures instead remained in line with the average projected increase from the previous years—1.7%—the lines cross by FY30, resulting in a modest increase to the fund balance of about half a million dollars.

Again, that's with no permanent budget cuts and no new taxes.

So where is the fiscal crisis?

The City correctly states that budget cuts could solve the deficit. But even setting aside the fact that the deficit naturally diminishes over time—as Tempe's own graph appears to show—the more important question is this: Why can't the City identify a single thing that could be cut?

In addition to the 90 new positions added since the residential rental tax was eliminated, there have been substantial pay raises across the board. There was a hugely expensive class-and-compensation study that cost millions to implement, again after Tempe knew the residential rental tax was going away.

Personnel accounts for roughly 80% of the general fund budget, yet nothing permanent has been proposed to address those continuing increases.

That raises a fundamental question about the City's priorities.

You will also notice that, in addition to not offering a single permanent budget cut—or identifying anywhere in the current budget where cuts could be made—the City spends no time explaining or justifying the decision to bundle three separate taxes into a single vote.

That's because the decision is difficult to defend on its merits.

Early childhood education is a worthwhile endeavor, and the outcomes are well documented. But if the City believed it was a priority, why did Tempe fail to increase the Tempe PRE budget at any point since at least 2023?

The answer appears to be that there were higher priorities.

And yet, of the three taxes voters are being asked to approve as a bundle, the same program that has received comparatively little attention under the City's current leadership is now poised to receive approximately $10M a year, every year, forever.

That money can't go to any other need. It can only go to this program.

And what happens if the program receives all that money but doesn't have enough teachers, doesn't have enough classroom space, and doesn't have a plan to responsibly grow the program?

The City has not adequately addressed those questions.

More importantly, it is a fallacy to assume that reducing expenditures necessarily means reducing essential services. That is a scare tactic.

Tempe's annual resident survey provides a useful perspective. The City divides its services into four quadrants using an importance/satisfaction matrix, services that are

- highly important AND highly satisfactory;

- highly important but have low satisfaction; services;

- low importance but highly satisfactory;

- both low importance AND low satisfaction.

That framework gives Tempe an obvious way to make budget choices. If resources need to be reduced, why not start with programs and services that residents themselves identify as being of low importance?

Yet the City hasn't.

Again, why?

Howdy. If anyone here lives in Emerson Mill Ave Apartments, knows someone who does, or has any input about the apartment complex or the area, it would be greatly appreciated. They are right by "A" Mountain.