Hifi closes downtown, other businesses on that corner have also closed

If you pass by Congress and Fourth in Downtown, you might not realize that Hifi Kitchen and Cocktails closed down. It still has a few lights on outside, but they announced on their social media that they are closed.

However, they’re not the only business to have closed on that corner. Urban Pita a few doors down temporarily closed and Funky Monk closed in 2023.

Basqueria is across the street from Hifi and opened in August. Their general manager Willie Audifre said business has been going really well for them.

“It’s been super busy so it’s kind of flying by,” Audifre said.

He said a lot of people from Hifi would stop by after going to the venue or before. With Hifi and other nearby businesses closed, he said it’s going to impact them.

“This is going to affect it because this is the start of downtown. This is the entrance to downtown and now you have two of the biggest locations completely dark and vacant. It’s not a good look,” Audifre said.

He said he just hired people from Hifi. A former employee who worked there gave KGUN9 a letter they got from Hifi’s management. It said Sunday February 23 was their last day. It does not give a reason as to why they closed.

KGUN9 reached out to Evening Entertainment Group which owns Hifi, but did not get a response back.

“They fill those bigger, vacant spots that maybe a local business can’t afford that high of rent,” Audifre said.

The Downtown Tucson Partnership said last year four businesses closed.

“Everybody’s excited. They’re going in, they’re trying it out and then eventually it just slows down,” John Hardin said.

Hardin owns Johnny Gibson’s Downtown Market, Highwire, and the Grand. He said sometimes Hifi would close on certain days.

“We definitely saw an increase in our foot traffic for those nights specifically,” Hardin said.

He also said some nearby venues that closed during the COVID-19 pandemic would impact their foot traffic, but when they opened back up, it brought in more people into Highwire.

Last year the Downtown Tucson Partnership said 28 businesses opened. Audifre is hoping the trend continues.

“The more the merrier….It brings different looks to downtown,” he said.

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Andrew Christiansen is a reporter for KGUN 9. Before joining the team, Andrew reported in Corpus Christi, Texas for KRIS6 News, Action 10 News and guest reported in Spanish for Telemundo Corpus Christi. Share your story ideas with Andrew by emailing andrew.christiansen@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, or Twitter.