Using the phrase “food processing” around Downtown Phoenix might lead people to think of celebrity chefs preparing delicacies at fashionable restaurants. But historically, that term sometimes carried a more industrial connotation. Local food processing included the well-known citrus warehouses south of the railroad tracks and the Arizona Canning Co.

What’s new in Downtown Phoenix? Better yet—what isn’t? In a city where the action and adventure never end, an influx of new businesses has emerged amid the excitement of major events and developments. Here’s a first look at the 13 new businesses now open in DTPHX.

The Monroe Street Abbey is an open-air arts and culture venue that is a stunning example of adaptive reuse from its former life as a church. But what makes this project so impressive is that a fire had gutted the building, leaving only the outer walls standing. If ever there was a challenging structure to repurpose, this was a textbook case.