Highlights
- Vecina, the Arcadia Latin American restaurant owned by James and Raenee Fox, will open a second location in Scottsdale's McCormick Ranch in August 2026.
- The new space at 8300 N. Hayden Road, Suite D-101 is more than double the size of the original, with a lakeside patio and multiple private dining rooms.
- Vecina was a James Beard Award semifinalist for Best New Restaurant in 2020 and appears on Phoenix New Times' Top 50 Restaurants list.
- The Scottsdale location takes over the former Z'Tejas space, which closed all Arizona locations in June 2025.
Vecina, the Latin American restaurant that James and Raenee Fox opened in Arcadia in 2019, is expanding to Scottsdale's McCormick Ranch neighborhood, with an August 2026 opening targeted at 8300 N. Hayden Road, Suite D-101.
The new location will be more than double the size of the original Arcadia restaurant, according to Phoenix New Times, with a kitchen three to four times larger, a lakeside patio, a mezzanine, and multiple private dining rooms. Chef Fox told USA Today the expanded kitchen will allow for new menu additions including tacos, crudo, and potentially oysters, alongside the wood-fired grill program the Arcadia location built its following on. The Scottsdale menu will also add dayparts the original does not offer: lunch, brunch, and happy hour.
The Foxes are taking over the space vacated by Z'Tejas, the Mexican chain that closed all its Arizona locations in June 2025, as Phoenix New Times reported.
Vecina earned a James Beard Award semifinalist nomination for Best New Restaurant in 2020, the year after its Arcadia debut, and holds a spot on Phoenix New Times' Top 50 Restaurants list. The Scottsdale expansion is the concept's first location outside Arcadia.
Who is behind Vecina?
Husband and wife James and Raenee Fox own Vecina, with James serving as chef. The couple opened the original Arcadia location in 2019. The Scottsdale restaurant is independently operated and is not affiliated with Sam Fox's Fox Restaurant Concepts.
The August opening at McCormick Ranch puts Vecina in a corridor that has seen significant dining turnover since Z'Tejas departed. Reservations and a firm opening date have not yet been announced publicly.
Where to find them
- Vecina · vecina.wheree.com
- Best New Restaurant · phoenixwanderer.com
Sources
Every factual claim in this article traces to one of the sources below. See how we work for the editorial process.
- usatoday.com retrieved 21/07/2026 19:19
- Phoenix New Times retrieved 21/07/2026 19:19
- Vecina (official site) retrieved 21/07/2026 19:19
- Best New Restaurant (official site) retrieved 21/07/2026 19:19
Authored by The Scottsdale Signal. Drafted by AI from primary-source material under our beat-specific editorial guides; reviewed by humans before publish under our five-gate process. Sources retrieved at 21/07/2026 19:19. Every claim traces to a source.
