Every day, 58,000 Maricopa commuters flood State Route 347.
Most are headed off to their jobs; others are going to medical appointments or making their weekly Costco run in Phoenix or its conterminous suburbs. But others still are fulfilling their entrepreneurial dreams when they flip on the lights at their small business somewhere beyond the city limits.
Starting a business is no small feat — from securing loans and finding the perfect space to being the first one in the office every morning. But doing all that while living miles away from home? That’s dedication.
We interviewed three Maricopa entrepreneurs and asked them what it would take to bring their Maricopa County businesses to their backyards.
Tony Vicich
Maricopa Meadows
ComedySchools.com, Phoenix
What’s your business? I’ve been operating a comedy development and comedy production company for 24 years. We run comedy workshops at the Tempe Improv, Desert Ridge Improv and Stand-Up Live in Phoenix on a weekly basis.
Who are your customers? We get a variety of people taking the classes, from people who want to be stand-up comedians to business professionals, CEOs and preachers who want to improve their public speaking skills. Josh McDermott is a Phoenix native who started in our classes. It’s kind of cool to think that we’re doing this from Phoenix, not New York or Los Angeles.
Would you move your business to Maricopa? I would love to bring the business to Maricopa, and for a while, we did a comedy night at The Roost. But we would really like to find a permanent space for comedy entertainment and a place to do our performance development workshops. We could develop the next national star from Maricopa instead of Scottsdale or Phoenix.
What would it take? We just need affordable spaces and some support from the city to develop programs. We didn’t really need that in the Valley because there was a large number of private businesses that wanted improv. We’re still kind of an island out here, so assistance from the city or commercial entities to help support it would be wonderful.
Ryan Musgrove
Rancho El Dorado
Forever Doors AZ, Phoenix
What’s your business? I do big, ornate, wrought-iron doors for large and normal-sized houses. Phoenix is a nice, central location because we’re not far from Tonopah, Buckeye, Chandler and Gilbert. We’re kind of centralized to those growing communities.
Who are your customers? My customers are all over the metro, which means most wouldn’t want to come down SR 347 to see the doors at my business if I had a showroom in Maricopa. Maybe from Casa Grande or Sun Lakes because those are places that people would come from because they’re just as far as Phoenix. But some of the city residents, they’re just not going to come out here. That would limit the scope of my business.
Would you move your business to Maricopa? The goal is to move the business out here because my family is going to move out a little farther into Hidden Valley and I don’t want to have to go into Phoenix every day to show doors and to work.
What would it take? Ideally, if I could move it out here and just service Maricopa, that would be great. But we need easier access to Maricopa; we need to widen SR 347.
Nino Buccellato
The Villages at Rancho El Dorado
Little Italy Pizza, Gila Bend
What’s my business? We’re an Italian restaurant and pizzeria operating in Gila Bend since relocating from Maricopa 2006. We serve the usual classic things like lasagna, chicken piccata, spaghetti with clams, subs and salads, but our main seller is pizza. Personally, I love the penne boscaiola and gourmet pizza.
Who are my customers? The locals help us a lot, but we also get a lot of travelers from San Diego, Ajo or Mexico. We also get winter visitors and people who make a special trip from the Valley or Maricopa. Prince Harry even visited us in 2012 while he was doing military training. They showed up one night and he ordered the meat lover’s pizza.
Would I move my business to Maricopa? We could do pretty good, and we do live here. But is a move going to make sense financially and economically? We’ll see.
What would it take? When we left, Maricopa was booming and property prices were high. We were on a month-to-month lease, which felt insecure since the owners could ask us to leave at any time. So, when we found an affordable place in Gila Bend, we bought it. Still, if the right opportunity came up—a reasonably priced rental or a building for sale—we’d seriously consider moving back. I’ve looked into it a few times, but so far, it just hasn’t made sense.
The interviews have been edited for length and clarity.
