At the southwest corner of Arizona Avenue and Chandler Boulevard, you now reach the padel courts by walking through a restaurant. Lomas Cocina de México fills the front of the old LOOK Dine-In Cinemas building, in the space that used to be the movie lobby and bar. Padeland, an indoor padel and pickleball club, takes up the rest. Mouth By Southwest described a crowd "just as likely to be in athletic gear as it is dressed for dinner."

That building held movie seats for years. Today it holds courts, a coffee bar, a weights area and a coworking room. Across both of Chandler's main gathering spots, the pattern this fall is the same: a night out now starts with something to do, and the food follows. The courts are only the most visible example.

The building that set the pattern

The LOOK Cinemas theaters, bar and cafe closed in February 2025, just after that year's Chandler International Film Festival ended. The Chandler Independent reported Padeland open at 1 W. Chandler Blvd. in August 2026. The club has indoor courts, a weights and strength area, a "wellness area," a coffee bar, an outdoor terrace and coworking space.

Lomas sets the tone for the whole building. Its design borrows from 1980s Mexican social clubs, and the menu is built for lingering, whether that means recovering after a match or staying for a full evening. Here's what that looks like on the plate, based on Mouth By Southwest's opening coverage:

• Breakfast: chilaquiles, enchiladas, Sonora-style omelets, and a $19 chile relleno de pan de elote, a poblano stuffed with corn cake
• Tacos: carne asada and al pastor at $12 to $15, with specialty tacos like quesabirria running $16 to $21
• Raw bar: shrimp aguachile, hamachi tiradito, blue crab tostada
• Dinner: camarones al ajillo at $27, up to a $62 parrillada ribeye with house-made tortillas
• Drinks: separate mezcal and tequila lists, plus a bacanora section with a Sonoran Mule and a Desert Rose

The hours suit a weekend morning on the square. Lomas opens at 8 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday, stays open until 11 p.m. on Saturday, and runs noon to 9 p.m. on weekdays. With the Saturday Farmers Market a short walk away at Dr. A.J. Chandler Park, a downtown Saturday that once meant a matinee can now mean the market, breakfast and a court reservation, all within a block or two.

The film festival had to move, too. For its January 2026 run, the Chandler International Film Festival spread screenings across Pollack Tempe Cinemas, Regal Theaters Gilbert and the Chandler-Gilbert Community College Pecos Campus theater, and held its awards event at Chandler Center for the Arts, according to the Chandler Independent. Downtown's last movie screen is now a coffee bar and a set of courts.

Three storefronts went dark the same week

Padeland and Lomas opened at nearly the same moment that three other downtown restaurants closed. Tipsy Egg, The Uncommon and Recreo Cantina, all under common ownership, shut abruptly in late August. Mouth By Southwest first reported the closures as temporary, with a reopening expected that weekend. A day later the outlet updated the story: all three would close for good at the end of business on Saturday, Aug. 29.

The Uncommon sat on the southeast corner of Arizona Avenue and Boston Street, Tipsy Egg was right next door to the south, and Recreo was on San Marcos Place. Tipsy Egg opened in May 2022 and The Uncommon in July 2022. Recreo rebranded around its first anniversary in January 2023. That's a brunch spot, a dinner room and a cantina gone in one weekend after about four years of business.

Chris Purcell, who manages several concepts for the ownership group, told Mouth By Southwest that the closures were clearing space for new concepts:

"We're extremely grateful for our time serving the Downtown Chandler community."

He said more projects are planned for Downtown Chandler in late 2026 and early 2027. Asked what's coming to the three spaces, he said: "Stay tuned for announcements soon on what is coming next." No reason for the closures was given, and as of mid-October no replacement tenants have been named in local coverage. The Chandler Independent also reported plans for different kinds of concepts in the same spaces, without naming any.

What's open, closed and pending as of mid-October

Pulled together, here's where the core of the square stands:

Greenwood is the one to watch if you like the parks. Phoenix New Times reported in February that the taproom was planned for The AJ with a fall opening. Greenwood's own announcement described beer, wine, light bites and picnic baskets meant for taking to nearby parks. We haven't found confirmation that it has opened.

The same logic at Chandler Fashion Center

Across town at 3177 W. Chandler Blvd., the mall is moving in the same direction on a bigger scale. Seafood City, the chain's first Arizona store, opened July 30 in the former Sears with a 300-seat food hall, Axios Phoenix reported. Construction on a south-side dining and entertainment district was expected to begin in August 2026. The plans include lawn games, a park, a splash pad and a music performance area, with Din Tai Fung and Wagyu House targeted for 2027.

General manager Monica Greenman told Axios that bowling alleys and grocery stores aren't typical mall tenants, "But guests want this, so why not give it to them?" A splash pad and lawn games next to the restaurants follow the same formula as courts behind a cantina. Downtown got there first because an empty theater was ready for reuse.

Until the new tenants arrive, the calendar fills the gap

With three storefronts dark and their replacements still unnamed, the square's scheduled events are carrying more of the load this fall. Downtown's two recurring events returned in October, according to the Downtown Chandler Community Partnership. The Farmers Market runs Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Dr. A.J. Chandler Park, and Third Thursdays run from 5 to 9 p.m. with local artists, crafts, live music and pop-ups. Both continue through May. This month's Third Thursday falls on Oct. 15.

The rest of the downtown and city calendar through December:

1. Oct. 30: the free Halloween Spooktacular at Dr. A.J. Chandler Park, with trick-or-treating, games and costume parades
2. Nov. 1: the free Entre Dos Mundos Día de Muertos celebration at Chandler Center for the Arts, with food vendors, live music, storytelling and a community altar. The 27th Annual Mariachi and Folklórico Festival is also listed for that day.
3. Nov. 7: the free Diwali: Festival of Lights at City Hall, with local food vendors, cultural tables, dance and music
4. Nov. 19: Third Thursday returns
5. Dec. 5: the free Tumbleweed Tree Lighting and Parade of Lights
6. Dec. 12: the Downtown Chandler Sippin' Santas Pub Crawl

Outside downtown, the city's Pumpkin Dunk on Oct. 24 at Mesquite Groves Aquatic Center has a floating pumpkin patch and a costume contest. Admission is $5 and registration is required.

Apart from the pub crawl, which moves through downtown's bars, every one of these events happens in a park, a plaza or a civic building, so none of them depends on the three dark storefronts. The courts and the calendar are carrying downtown evenings for now. That will hold until the Boston Street corner gets its new tenant, and Purcell's timeline puts the first announcements in late 2026 or early 2027.

Downtown Chandler's mix of tenants is changing faster than at any point since the theater closed, and new tenants on a block can change what nearby property is worth. If you own near the square and want to know how this fall's changes affect your home's value, David Ayers can pull the numbers for your street. Get your instant home valuation.