MercBar in Phoenix to reopen on April 23, ready to welcome back guests, cautiously The restaurant near 24th Street and Camelback Road is opening with reservations. and last updated 2021-04-22 20:00:06-04 PHOENIX â Months before the first cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Arizona, MercBar quietly underwent a renovation -- brighter seating, new lighting, slightly darker paint -- to give the Biltmore-area bar a refreshed look, while keeping its timeless feel. "Business doubled," said Rick Phillips, who helped bring the New York-inspired bar (the first MercBar opened on New York's Mercer Street in 1993) with his business partner, John McDonald, to Phoenix in 1995.