番茄社区

The town of Gilbert recently received the Arizona 番茄社区’s 2019 Best City for Business Award.聽In this special edition of Showcase AZ, Gilbert restaurateur Joe Johnston and Northrop Grumman representative Rick Kettner share their perspectives on the economic growth in the town聽and how their businesses have thrived in the city.

Before the building that currently houses Joe鈥檚 Real BBQ became a restaurant, it was once a church in the heart of Gilbert鈥檚 Heritage District. Further back, in 1929, it was a grocery store serving a population of about 700 people.

鈥淚t was a pioneering town, and pioneers are kind of can-do people,鈥� said Joe Johnston, owner of Joe鈥檚 Real BBQ and several other Gilbert restaurants.

By 2000, Gilbert鈥檚 population had grown to more than 115,000 people, according to the town鈥檚 And the growth is expected to continue for the foreseeable future; the town estimates that by 2030 Gilbert will be home to more than 300,000 people.

Johnston opened Joe鈥檚 Real BBQ in 1998. The longstanding counter-service eatery serves house-made barbeque dishes and sides out of its historic Gilbert location. Johnston has since opened several other Gilbert restaurants, including Joe鈥檚 Farm Grill and Liberty Market. Johnston was also involved in the planning of Agritopia, a residential community near Higley.

“My normal title is visionary, because that’s what I do 鈥� I come up with ideas and just see them through,” he said.

With four generations of family living in Gilbert, Johnston said he has witnessed the town鈥檚 growth firsthand.

鈥淭here’s a lot of really, really good momentum,鈥� Johnston said. 鈥淚t used to be considered a bedroom community, but it’s becoming a very well-balanced community overall, with a variety of kinds of jobs.鈥�

Many of those jobs have been in tech-based industries. Aerospace & defense company Northrop Grumman builds satellites at its facility in Gilbert, as well as ground-support systems and other space-centric technologies. The facility has been in operation for more than 30 years and was acquired by Northrop Grumman in 2018 鈥� it was previously operated by Orbital Sciences.

鈥淭hey’ve started to call it the Silicon Desert because we’re starting to develop a lot of high-tech companies here,鈥� said Rick Kettner, director of Northrop Grumman鈥檚 Gilbert site.

Kettner said that while the aerospace industry tends to go through cycles of growth depending on a mix of factors, right now it is 鈥渄efinitely on an upswing.鈥�

鈥淭here’s a whole resurgence in commercial space, they call it, where there’s now non-governmental monies coming into space for commercial ventures,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t’s really an exciting time鈥� it’s really driving growth and driving expansion of the industry.”

Kettner said Northrop Grumman鈥檚 Gilbert facility has close to 500 employees and is still hiring more. He said Gilbert鈥檚 鈥渄iverse鈥� and 鈥渇amily-friendly鈥� community makes it a good fit for the types of skills the company is looking for and the type of culture it wants to create internally.

鈥淚t’s a great place to raise a family,鈥� Kettner said. 鈥淚t’s very affordable, when you look at other geographies across the United States. And it’s really centrally located with the universities to draw from 鈥� that have those skill sets.鈥�

Johnston said, as a restaurateur, the growth of other industries is key to the success of his businesses.

鈥淧eople need to eat, and so the growing number of financial jobs, tech jobs, those things, are super important,鈥� he said.

Johnston said, despite the increased saturation of businesses in Gilbert, he still thinks there is a lot of opportunity for small-business owners to create and grow their companies.

鈥淭here are still many holes in the market of things that don’t exist that should exist here,鈥� he said. 鈥淧roperly done, you should have good success, because the population is open to trying new things.鈥�

Kettner and Johnston both agree the Town of Gilbert has created a highly pro-business economic climate.

鈥淭he leadership of the town is phenomenal with respect to business,鈥� Kettner said. 鈥淭hey really encourage growth and work very closely with the businesses.鈥�

Johnston agreed.

鈥淚 feel as though we have an ear, and that’s all anybody can ask for is to be listened to, and for someone to reasonably listen to their concerns,鈥� he said.

Johnston said he is optimistic that Gilbert will continue to be a good place for business as it evolves in the coming years.

鈥淭hey’ve been pro-growth, but pro-quality growth, and have had high standards,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat’s made it the town that it is, and I don’t think there’s a better time to live in Gilbert than now.鈥�