The first tenant named at Craig's Crossing is a burger bar. The grocery store that the rest of the project is built around still has no public name. KTAR reported on November 8, 2026 that Cold Beers & Cheeseburgers will take about 5,525 square feet at the new center on the northeast corner of Carefree Highway and Cave Creek Road. The restaurant expects to break ground in 2027.
Lower Villages households already drive down Cave Creek Road on their way out of Desert Mountain, so the announcement gives them a destination to picture. The Town of Carefree's draft development agreement sets the dates by which a grocer, or a large block of retail, has to be open before the developer collects any of the Town's incentive money.
A Grocery-Anchored Plan for the Town's Southwest Edge
The draft development agreement describes Craig's Crossing as a shopping center with about 90,000 square feet of mixed retail. That total includes one or more primary retail tenants taking up about 30,000 square feet. Scottsdale-based SimonCRE is the developer. The Empire Group of Companies owns the land, and Western Retail Advisors handles leasing, as ABC15 reported, citing the Phoenix Business Journal. That report places the site on the far southwestern side of Carefree. The draft agreement puts the property at about 24 gross acres.
On the Town's developments page, Carefree says the project is expected to be anchored by a national grocer that is "currently at lease." ABC15's headline goes a step further and calls the incoming store a "first-rate specialty grocer." The same story frames the project as Carefree getting its second grocery store.
Carefree's first grocery store is Bashas' at Carefree Marketplace, in the center of town. On the same developments page, the Town is marketing an 8,400-square-foot junior anchor space next to Bashas'. So Carefree is leasing up its existing grocery center while it lines up a second one about 24 acres in size at the Town's southwest corner.
A Corner Zoned in 2018
The Town has been working on this site for years. Commercial zoning for the corner dates to 2018. The project's earlier version, called Carefree Quarter, reached the Development Review Board on June 9, 2025. According to the board's minutes, the board approved the final site plan for Parcel A only and required separate applications for Parcels B and C.
The public comments at that hearing were specific. Speakers raised concerns about the inward-facing layout, the design and building color, shade, tenant quality, signage, and the need for clearly defined milestones. One speaker was optimistic about possible benefits to nearby property values.
The previous development team later decided to stop pursuing its plans. At the April 7, 2026, council meeting, the Town announced that SimonCRE was working with the property owner. Carefree Mayor John Crane put it this way on the Town's page: "While there remains much work to be done, we are hopeful that our patience will be rewarded with a prestigious retail center that will make all of us proud."
Residents asked for "clearly defined milestones" in 2025. The draft agreement in front of the council in fall 2026 includes them.
The Calendar Written Into the Draft Agreement
Under the draft development agreement posted by the Town, the developer only qualifies for sales tax rebates if it meets four conditions by December 31, 2028.
| Milestone | Deadline in the draft agreement |
|---|---|
| Project start, including permits for public improvements and grading and drainage on the site | December 31, 2027 |
| Public improvements built, dedicated and accepted by the Town | December 31, 2028 |
| At least 45,000 square feet of the project built | December 31, 2028 |
| Either the primary retail tenant or 30,000 square feet of retail open for business | December 31, 2028 |
The 2028 date can move once. If the developer has at least 45,000 square feet built or under vertical construction by the end of 2028, and fully executed leases covering 45,000 square feet, the deadline extends automatically to December 31, 2029. The draft also allows extensions for delays outside either party's control, as long as both sides agree in writing.
The developer is paid to open either the primary tenant or 30,000 square feet of retail by the end of 2028, or the end of 2029 if the extension applies. KTAR's burger restaurant news fits inside that window. A groundbreaking in 2027 lines up with the agreement's December 31, 2027, start requirement. KTAR also notes the restaurant's opening date will be announced in 2027.
How the Incentive Is Built
The draft agreement proposes two rebates to the developer. One equals 49% of the Town's retail sales tax generated at the site. The other reimburses 49% of the construction sales tax. The construction reimbursement, a fee waiver and the sales tax rebates together are capped at $11.6 million. The incentive period is 10 years, with a possible automatic two-year extension if certain conditions are met. According to ABC15's summary of the Business Journal report, the money is meant to help SimonCRE cover public infrastructure costs.
Arizona law requires an outside review before a town approves this kind of agreement. In an October 28, 2026, letter from Applied Economics, the reviewer estimates the Town would net about $12.6 million in revenue after the incentives are paid. The letter also concludes that the agreement meets the requirements of A.R.S. § 9-500.11.
Because the rebates are tied to the deadlines, they work as a schedule as much as a subsidy. Carefree's share of the money depends on the center opening and making sales. The developer's share depends on hitting the milestones in the table.
Where the Vote Stands
On October 22, 2026, the Carefree Town Council adopted Resolution No. 2026-15. ABC15 reported the vote at that special meeting as 6-1. The resolution is a notice of intent, the first step the statute requires before the council can consider the incentive. The Town's notice states that the October 22 action did not approve the development agreement, the maintenance agreement or the incentive.
The resolution set the agreement for consideration at the council's November 10, 2026, meeting or a later meeting. Carefree posts its Craig's Crossing documents, including the draft development and maintenance agreements, on its Developments & Opportunities page.
The Tenant Already Named
Cold Beers & Cheeseburgers is run by Square One Concepts. In a statement quoted by KTAR, founder and CEO Barrett Rinzler said the group had "been eyeing this exact location for many years." He added, "We have been looking forward to serving the Carefree and Cave Creek areas for some time now and are happy that it will finally come to fruition."
KTAR reports that this is the group's third deal with SimonCRE. The other two are at Village at Prasada in Surprise and at Medina Station in Mesa. Western Retail Advisors calls Craig's Crossing the planned "premier retail destination in the Carefree / Cave Creek corridor," as quoted on the Town's developments page.
For Lower Villages residents tracking the project from Cave Creek Road, these are the checkpoints in order:
- The council's vote on the development agreement, maintenance agreement and incentive, set for November 10, 2026, or a later meeting.
- Project start, including permits and grading on the site, by December 31, 2027.
- The Cold Beers & Cheeseburgers opening date, which KTAR says will be announced in 2027.
- The primary retail tenant or 30,000 square feet of retail open by December 31, 2028, or by December 31, 2029, if the extension applies.
The fourth checkpoint is the first date in the draft agreement that requires something on the corner to be open for business. Under the draft, the primary retail tenant space is about 30,000 square feet, the same size as the retail alternative on that line.
A new grocery-anchored center on the main road out of Desert Mountain is part of how a home here lives day to day, and it can come up when owners think about timing and value. If you'd like to talk about what changes near the gate mean for your property, Linda Salkow can bring member-level knowledge of the villages to that conversation. Request a Home Valuation to get started.
