Lovebite Dumplings, the tiny takeout dumpling counter that's built a loyal following in downtown Phoenix's Roosevelt Row, is packing up its steamers and moving two blocks west into a space roughly five times its current size. Owner Angel Gould launched the shop in 2024 inside a former 400-square-foot bike shop, offering takeout and a handful of sidewalk-side tables, and now she's preparing to reopen this fall inside the landmark Ten-O-One building at 1001 N. Central Ave., Suite 100.
Gould told Phoenix New Times that Lovebite simply outgrew its original space after two years, a cramped setup that also dealt with air-conditioning outages along the way. A liquor license application filed with the Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control, and reported by WhatNow, shows the new suite spans 2,984 square feet with a curved central beverage counter and indoor front seating, though no drive-through or patio. That filing pegs an estimated renovation completion date of September 1, but the New Times reports the opening could slip later into the fall.
The new address sits about one-tenth of a mile from Lovebite's current spot, according to the seed report, putting it inside a building with plenty of built-in foot traffic. Per WhatNow, the site directly overlooks the Valley Metro Light Rail stop at Roosevelt Street and Central Avenue and includes a multi-story attached parking garage with its entrance off First Street.
What's Actually Changing on the Menu
The original shop built its menu around customizable Loveboxes: six dumplings, whether chicken, pork, shrimp or vegetable, paired with rice, greens or noodles and topped with house sauces like Kewpie, yuzu soy, sriracha and shuug, according to the WhatNow report. Lovebite has served customizable boxes of steamed foods along with gyoza, noodles and a pink lemongrass-coconut rice that includes dragon fruit powder, a recipe Gould traces back to her Persian mother, per the New Times.
At the new location, Lovebite is planning to expand its dumpling lineup well beyond gyoza. Gould is currently tasting locally made manti, a bite-sized, meat-filled dumpling often served with yogurt or yogurt sauce, and has identified it as a priority addition after fielding customer requests for Chinese soup dumplings. Gould has said she personally likes Nepalese momos, and the shop may eventually showcase dumplings from other parts of the world as the concept grows, sourcing some from outside vendors rather than making everything in-house.
The new build-out will keep counter ordering intact while dedicating the rest of the space to seating, a bar, and a grab-and-go cooler. New additions will include indoor seating, soft serve, desserts, slushy margaritas and other inexpensive alcohol options. Gould has said she wants people to treat the new Lovebite as a hangout and hopes to host more events there. A portion of the new space will also be occupied by Gaia Floral, per the New Times report.
A Following Built on More Than Dumplings
Lovebite's rapid growth traces partly to its visibility outside Arizona. In April 2025, festival organizers selected the business to serve its steamed dumplings in custom dumpling briefcases at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California, according to Phoenix New Times.
The shop has also leaned into community giving. During the October 2025 federal government shutdown that suspended SNAP benefits for nearly 1 million Arizonans, Lovebite partnered with Local First Arizona and Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes on a pay-it-forward $13 meal initiative aimed at providing more than 700 free lunches to EBT cardholders, according to KJZZ. On Christmas Day 2025, Gould and the Lovebite team spent the morning hand-crafting 1,000 dumplings and five large bowls of rice to donate to St. Vincent de Paul's annual holiday meal in Phoenix, as reported by FOX 10 Phoenix.
Moving Into a Roosevelt Row Landmark
The Ten-O-One building itself carries its own backstory. Commercial developer True North Studio acquired the property for $15.25 million in February 2019, kicking off a major adaptive reuse conversion of former Maricopa County government offices into a creative hub at the entrance of Roosevelt Row, according to AZ Big Media. The nine-story building's exterior features a massive public mural depicting civil rights icon James Baldwin, painted in August 2020 by local Phoenix artist Antoinette Cauley, per Downtown Phoenix Inc.
Lovebite will join a lineup of notable tenants already inside. The building houses Revolución Tacos + Cantina and Dialog, an urban design concept store, Taschen art book library and espresso bar that opened in July 2022, designed by Phoenix architect Wendell Burnette, according to Phoenix Home & Garden. Down in the basement sits Rough Rider, an award-winning Victorian-themed speakeasy built inside an abandoned former mailroom and reached via a hidden elevator in the lobby, as described by Arizona PBS.
Gould is aiming for a September opening, though she's acknowledged that timeline could slide later into the fall as construction wraps up. Either way, the move marks a major leap for a shop that started as a sidewalk-table operation squeezed into a former bike shop just two years ago.
