A two-story midcentury building at the corner of Seventh Avenue and Camelback Road has traded Southeast Asian fusion plates for hand-laminated pain au chocolat and Cave Creek-roasted espresso. Brasserie Melrose, which opened in December 2025, is now drawing crowds to that same Melrose District corner with a French-inspired concept that runs from sunrise pastries to late-night cocktails.
Owners James Lenhart and Tory Johnson, who also serves as the restaurant’s executive chef, took over the property at 4971 N. Seventh Ave. in September 2025, according to Phoenix New Times. The pair designed the space to mirror the all-day rhythm of a European brasserie: a morning bakery and café that gives way to a full-service restaurant and evening cocktail lounge, all within the same walls. Brasserie Melrose is located in Phoenix, and the ownership duo built the operation to capture customers across breakfast, lunch, happy hour, and dinner rather than betting on a single meal period.
That multi-shift approach stands in contrast to the building’s last tenant. Belly Kitchen & Bar, a Southeast Asian fusion concept that opened in late 2020, closed its original Phoenix location on October 30, 2024, per the same Phoenix New Times reporting. Brasserie Melrose occupies the space formerly housing Belly, and its second East Valley location at Gilbert’s Epicenter development shut down for good on December 31, 2024, before Scottsdale’s Latin concept The Mission moved into that spot the following year, as Hoodline previously reported.
A Compact Building Built for Two Different Crowds
The build-out makes efficient use of a tight footprint. The ground floor houses an open kitchen and espresso counter for the bakery crowd, while the upper level holds a 13-seat central bar and a second-story outdoor patio wrapped in black-and-white striped drapes, according to the same Phoenix New Times account. That layout lets the same building serve a quiet coffee run in the morning and a lively cocktail crowd after dark without the two experiences colliding…