PoNy’s Michés, the West Valley mariscos spot built around a house michelada mix and shrimp ceviche, is saddling up for a downtown debut, taking over the high-profile corner that longtime locals still associate with FEZ. The move into central Phoenix will give the team a full kitchen and a proper bar, opening the door to more than just tacos and loaded fries. City diners are expected to start spotting the downtown PoNy’s in the coming weeks, once the new location swings its doors open.
The new spot will sit in the circular corner space at 105 W. Portland St. and carry the name PoNy’s Michés Michelada Bar & Grill. The ownership team is eyeing an early 2026 opening, according to Phoenix New Times.
From Tailgate To Table
Jose “Pony” Flores and his wife, Analiz Gonzalez, first built a following in 2020, selling michelada mixes and ceviche out of the back of a truck before upgrading to a full food truck the next year. Their leap to a brick-and-mortar shop in Goodyear came in summer 2024, as Flores explained in an interview with ABC15, and that West Valley home base helped grow the fan base that is now headed across Central Avenue.
What To Expect
At the Portland Street corner, the PoNy’s crew plans to secure a liquor license and roll out a bigger menu that adds wings and burgers to the shrimp ceviches and seafood tacos that made them a West Valley staple. They say they will “pony-fy” the midcentury space with a beachy refresh while still tipping a hat to FEZ, even floating the idea of keeping a few of the former spot’s greatest hits on the menu as a tribute to the restaurant that occupied the space for more than two decades, according to Phoenix New Times. A full bar will finally let Flores’ michelada mix be poured the way he intends: fully loaded.
The downtown move is the latest food-truck-to-restaurant success story in the Valley. Owners Jose Flores and Analiz Gonzalez, joined by chief financial officer Sergio Escamilla, told ABC15 they plan to keep their family recipes and back-of-the-truck spirit front and center as they grow. For fans who have followed them from pop-ups to Goodyear, the new downtown address is poised to become the spot to linger over micheladas and a full plate.
