Fort Defiance

I love great food, coffee, and cocktails. Fort Defiance has been a cornerstone business in its community since the day it opened. Service has always been warm and effective. Food is always familiar and challenging. It helps that I've known the owner, St. John Frizell for decades, and have seen his personal commitment to excellence firsthand. When he mentioned his ambitious plan to expand the loved business I was really excited. But there was one thing that gave me pause: the move to a new location. Sometimes it's the exact spot that makes a business. After a few moments of thought, I realized that the Fort's customers love it for what it provides, not where it currently resides. Pre-COVID it provided a cozy, bustling space with great food but sometimes frustratingly long lines. In this move to the new location, it will rekindle the dining capability that sustained it for so long, and extend the marketplace offerings it adopted in the face of lockdown from the pandemic. It seems like a perfect mix of adapting, overcoming, and retaining all the best of its pedigree: Defiance indeed!