Los Portales to Orchard Street Market: What’s Changing in Carefree

The shops that used to fill Los Portales Mall at 99 Easy Street have not closed. They have moved to other addresses. In its October newsletter, the Town of Carefree announced that work to turn Los Portales into Orchard Street Market "is officially underway." The same issue listed where each of the mall's tenants had gone.

So for now, the shopping that used to happen under one roof is spread across Sundancer Center, Spanish Village, Carefree Plaza, the Post Office Building and one storefront in Cave Creek. The building those shops left will come back as something the town has contracted for in detail. The council's agreement covers public restrooms, retail occupancy and a minimum level of taxable sales. Finding your barber is one question. What the town wants downtown to be when construction ends is a bigger one.

Where Each Los Portales Tenant Landed

Here is where each shop moved, according to the town's October newsletter:

• Sundancer Center: Arizona Territorial Antiques and Thunderbird Artists Gallery. Visit Carefree lists the gallery at the Sundancer Building, 7202 E. Ho Road, Suite A2.
• Spanish Village: Carefree Collective, Little Barber Shop and It's a Nail Thing
• Carefree Plaza: Compass & Crow Studios
• 100 Easy Street, the Post Office Building: Local Finds, which also runs a second shop at Frontier Town in Cave Creek

Spanish Village picked up three former tenants, more than any other center. Your haircut, your nail appointment and a vintage-shop stop can still happen in one parking lot. They just happen in a different one.

Carefree Collective shows how quickly the moves happened. On August 17, the town featured the shop in a business highlight. Owner Joycelee had been in Los Portales, Suites 201 through 205, for nearly five years and had expanded into a second space the year before. At that point the town wrote that the shop would move to "a new, still undetermined, location." Six weeks later, the October newsletter listed it in Spanish Village. The post also describes her stock: vintage Pyrex, kitchenware and glassware, Christmas décor, books and games, and the colorful "Jeep" ducks. It also calls her the town's unofficial "Carefree concierge."

The newsletter's request to residents was simple:

"Be sure to stop by, check out their new locations, and help spread the word as they settle into their new spaces!"

What the Town Agreed To for Up to $1.3 Million

On June 2, 2026, the Carefree Town Council voted 7–0 to approve Resolution 2026-12, the development agreement with Los Portales HR, LLC for the property at 99 Easy Street. Greater Phoenix In Business reported the unanimous vote on July 7. According to the meeting minutes, Economic Development Director Steve Prokopek presented the main terms:

• A minimum developer investment of $2.2 million
• A minimum taxable sales threshold of $2.6 million
• A completion deadline of July 1, 2028
• Public restroom availability
• Retail occupancy requirements
• Development fee waivers and help from a blight-removal grant
• Reimbursement of construction and sales taxes
• A cap of $1.3 million on the total incentive package

Compare the numbers. Ken Martindale, speaking for the project, estimated private investment at more than $5 million. The town's maximum contribution is about a quarter of that. The incentive is also tied to results. The project has to reach a minimum level of taxable sales, keep retail space occupied and provide restrooms the public can use. Those last two conditions describe how someone walking down Easy Street will experience the block, beyond what the building's owner gets out of it.

The council's vote followed an earlier step. According to the resolution, the town adopted a notice of intent to enter a retail development tax incentive agreement on May 5, 2026.

A Market Upstairs, Dinner Downstairs

The town's July 1 announcement describes Orchard Street Market as an adaptive reuse of the 18,200-square-foot Los Portales building. The project is led by co-founders Ken Martindale and Sharon Aulicino, with operating partner Charlie Yamashita. The plan puts a fresh-food market and artisan makers on the upper level. The lower level would hold restaurants, wine bars, and dining and gathering spaces. The founders say they will restore the building's historic features and update the interiors.

The market side is planned around independent specialty food sellers, including butchers, bakers, fishmongers and cheese sellers. As of now, the project's website is still recruiting those vendors, and no tenants have been named. Foothills Focus also reported that no opening date has been announced. The one firm date is the contract's July 1, 2028 deadline, and that is for finishing construction, not for opening. In Business reported that the developer is aiming to finish months earlier, without naming a date.

So until then, the shops that used to sell gifts, antiques and haircuts at 99 Easy Street are elsewhere in town. The building is being redesigned around food.

This Fall's Calendar Is Built Around the Construction

The construction fencing does not cancel the season. Most of Carefree's fall events take place a short distance from 99 Easy Street, at Carefree Desert Gardens and the Sanderson Lincoln Pavilion at 101 Easy Street. Here is what remains as of October 7:

1. Carefree Friday Farmers Market, every Friday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., October through May, at Carefree Desert Gardens and the Sanderson Lincoln Pavilion, 101 Easy Street.
2. Carefree Art Night, returning Thursday, October 15, then on third Thursdays through May, 4 to 7 p.m., in Carefree Town Center.
3. Desert Foothills Theater's Little Women: The Broadway Musical, October 15 through 18 at the Sanderson Lincoln Pavilion. Opening night is the same evening as Art Night.
4. Fall Carefree Restaurant Week, October 19 through 25, with participating restaurants offering special menus and multi-course meals.
5. YMCA x Carefree Trunk or Treat, Friday, October 23 at 5:30 p.m., along Easy Street and at the Sanderson Lincoln Pavilion.
6. 33rd Annual Fall Carefree Garden Art Experience, November 7 and 8, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., free, at Carefree Desert Gardens.
7. Kiwanis Christmas for the Kids, Saturday, November 28, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Sanderson Lincoln Pavilion, followed by Carefree Lights Up! at 5 p.m. there and in Carefree Desert Gardens.
8. Chanukah in Carefree, December 4 through 12, nightly at 5:30 p.m. at the Sanderson Lincoln Pavilion.

Thunderbird Artists shows up twice this fall. Its gallery moved from Los Portales to Sundancer Center. The organization also moved its fall art show to Carefree Desert Gardens, while its winter and spring street festivals stay downtown. If you go to the November show, the gallery's new home is Suite A2 at 7202 E. Ho Road. On Restaurant Week nights, you can also stop by Spanish Village and Carefree Plaza to see shops that until this year were in one building.

The Glass Pumpkin Patch fundraiser for Foothills Food Bank ran October 2 through 4 and has already ended.

Changes on Easy Street can affect property owners nearby, from foot traffic to how the town center may look in 2028. If you'd like to talk through what Orchard Street Market and the rest of the town center's plans could mean for a Carefree home you own or are thinking about buying, AZ Unique Homes can help you sort out the facts. Let's Connect.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.