When it opened in 1960, Pedro’s Mexican Food was one of the first commercial restaurant developments in Sunnyslope (photo courtesy of the Guglielmo Family).
At its Aug. 18 meeting, the Historic Preservation Commission unanimously recommended approving Historic Preservation Overlay Zoning on two Sunnyslope buildings: the Sunnyslope Presbyterian Church and Pedro’s Mexican Food.
The main church building at Sunnyslope Presbyterian Church, at 9317 N. 2nd St. and now operating as Franklin Phonetic School, is a stuccoed brick Mission Revival-style building with two-story bell tower that was constructed in 1949. The McCahan building and Parsonage buildings were built in 1950, and the Memorial Building was built in 1958.
According to the rezoning narrative, in 1938, members of the informal church of the Mission formed the Desert Mission Church and formally affiliated with the Presbyterian Church of the United States. By the late 1940s, the church had seen its congregation more than double, which created the need to separate the church from the Desert Mission. By 2014, the church had closed due to a decline in membership, and the space was leased to Tom and Cindy Franklin, who opened the Franklin Phonetic School, a charter elementary school, at the site. The couple purchased the property in 2016.
The main church building at Sunnyslope Presbyterian Church, at 9317 N. 2nd St. and now operating as Franklin Phonetic School, was built in 1949 (photo courtesy of City of Phoenix Historic Preservation Office).
A short stroll west is the second building, at 524 W. Hatcher, which was opened in 1960 as Pedro’s Mexican Food and is an excellent representation of midcentury commercial architecture. Opening one year after Sunnyslope was annexed by the city of Phoenix, Pedro’s was one of Sunnyslope’s first commercial restaurant developments.
With take-out service and an expansive dining room, the rezoning narrative said that Pedro’s Mexican Food was a popular neighborhood restaurant, particularly for Sunnyslope High School students and their families. Owned by Frank Guglielmo and family, this business sponsored neighborhood Little League teams, soap box derby competitions and Sunnyslope High School’s yearbook. These activities solidified the connection between this family business and the Sunnyslope community.
After a couple of transformations as other restaurants, including as the Eye Opener Family Restaurant, which closed in 2020, the building was adaptively repurposed as Eye Opener Curated Vintage by Joe and Adam McCallum in 2023. While the vintage shop has since relocated, Joe McCallum said that they have plans to convert the building once again – potentially as a beer/wine bar and community space at the beginning of 2026.
According to the city’s Historic Preservation Office, the eligibility criteria for HP-L zoning (overlay) are the same as for HP zoning, except that HP-L-zoned properties are required to demonstrate “exceptional significance.” These properties are subject to higher levels of protection and receive the highest priority for financial incentives; HP-L zoning designates properties as historic landmarks.
The North Mountain Village Planning Committee heard the cases Aug. 20; the Planning Commission will consider the requests at its Sept. 4 meeting.
Learn more at www.phoenix.gov/administration/departments/pdd/historic-preservation.html.
