Basis New American

Located in Moon Valley at 410 East Thunderbird Road in Phoenix, Basis New American features eclectic new American cuisine in an unpretentious environment.

Arizona Republic - Howard Seftel
“ A kitchen that takes diners to the precipice of sophistication without ever threatening to fall over it “

Arizona Trends Magazine - Marnie McGann
“contemporary and sophisticated , warm and inviting”

New Times
“If the food is first class , Basis has not gotten wrapped up in swank “

Arizona Food and Lifestyle Magazine - Candy Lesher -
“This is premium quality fare prepared with panache “

Arizona Foothills - “The fare is the basis for stepping out of your Scottsdale comfort zone “

Basis and Steve Short have been featured several times on channels 3, 5 , 10 and 15

Featured in Arizona Food and Life annual publication “ Chefs and Their Kids “

Phoenix Magazine Best Brunch 2005

THE STORY OF BASIS JULY 5, 2010
2002 was a year spent crunching numbers, reviewing spaces, designing menus, choosing textiles and colors. 2003 was an exciting time as Basis finally opened for business on January 29. That year was full of ups and downs as we literally learned on the job. The past eight years of planning and running Basis have provided a lot of wonderful experiences for me, my family and our guests. Through Basis I have met a lot of wonderful people I wouldn’t have met otherwise and provided me the opportunity to work with fantastic charities and organizations. Basis provided a creative outlet for both me and my staff. The flexibility of the menu allowed for endless opportunities to try new dishes and presentations.

Basis since its inception has been a neighborhood restaurant, a restaurant in and serving Moon Valley. Moon Valley is my neighborhood and a neighborhood of which I am proud of. Being closed tied to the small community meant Basis felt the economic changes Moon Valley felt. Basis also felt very directly the seasonality of the school vacation calendars and always knew when families were typically traveling. Being a small, independent, chef run restaurant also meant that when several national chains moved into the area the affect on our lunch business was felt.

As the years progressed from 2002 to 2010, my priorities in business and life began to shift as my family grew. Many people may not realize that while I am the managing member of Basis, I also own and operate Atlasta Catering and Event Concepts, the largest catering company in Arizona. In 2002 (and for years after) I didn’t mind working nights and weekends in addition to my already 60+ hour work week at Atlasta. Eight years later, I have a nine year old son and six year old daughter who adamantly vocalize their desire for me to be home and I find myself agreeing. I realize the importance of my children having their father available to them.

Over the past two years I worked out several different scenarios for Basis but always came back to the same conclusion. The reality and facts of the situation are this: Basis does a very modest amount of business; the amount of business cannot support the overhead; the landlord is not willing to reduce our monthly rent by half, the property manager of the center is an adversary instead of an ally; not only are the modest sales not creating enough revenue the modest sales are not providing enough revenue to adequately support the staff.

Factors such as these are always magnified in the slow summer months of Phoenix, Arizona. It became clear that after seven years it was time to close Basis. This decision while laden with sentimentality is a decision that is right and timely. I think all of you know but it bears saying, I have truly enjoyed serving you and your families over the years and have been honored to share your days, evenings and special occasions with you. My passion for creating new american food will continue at Atlasta and my devotion to Moon Valley will continue through philanthropic efforts and my family’s support of Moon Valley’s many local business. I hope you will consider doing the same.

Steve Short