TUCSON, ARIZ. (KGUN). — Two new businesses are set to open their doors on the Sunshine Mile in just a few months.
The Gebremariam family owns Zemam's Ethiopian Cuisine and the international sports bar next-door, Zerai's. Within the next month or so, they hope the doors to their newest coffee shop, Zedamo, will be open.
The Safford family is also eager to open up the Sunshine Wine.
“It’s very homegrown. We left our jobs to start a small business," Rebecca Safford explained. She co-owns the Sunshine Wine with her husband, and they also own Tap & Bottle with a few locations across Tucson.
The Sunshine Mile was an area they were specifically eager to open up a place in. “It feels really… Tucson. Tucson is all about the people and so we just create a spot where people can gather and have a good time," Safford said.
The Rio Nuevo development district is helping restaurants expand and develop in the Sunshine Mile.
“We want to continue to be good stewards of the space and make sure that they are proud that this restaurant and this collective space is in their backyard," Favin Gebremariam said regarding Rio Nuevo giving them a helping hand.
Between both families, one thing that's for sure, is that they both had to take leaps of faith.
"We feel totally lucky. But it was a big leap of faith to do it," Safford explained.
Creating the international sports bar and coffee shop "was sort of a leap of faith. And we’re really happy we did it," Gebremariam said.
Lucas Gebremariam manages the bar, Zerai.
“I never would’ve thought from when we started that this would be almost a full block of property that we’re in charge of," Lucas said.
The Sunshine Mile runs along E Broadway Blvd, from Euclid Ave to Country Club Rd.
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Athena Kehoe is a reporter for KGUN 9, she joined the KGUN 9 team in July of 2024 after graduating from the Arizona State University. Share your story ideas with Athena by emailing athena.kehoe@kgun9.com or by connecting on X/Twitter.
