FOUND:RE Hotel’s onsite restaurant, MATCH, recently rebranded itself from an upscale sit-down experience to a fast-casual counter service affair with a market and a more accessible cocktail program.
Another exciting endeavor – the hotel and restaurant’s new Passport Series, which is designed to transport guests to different destinations around the globe without leaving the FOUND:RE grounds. The monthly event kicks off on Saturday, December 12, which will take guests on a trip to Germany.
The hotel’s pool and bar area will feature flavors and influences from various vacation spots to fully immerse guests in the cuisine and culture of the destination.
December’s event will also be inspired by other Eastern European countries such as Poland and the Czech Republic and will feature a holiday twist. Guests will get to experience a traditional German Christmas market (Christkindlmarkt) with carolers, food and drink specials and an appearance from Santa.
Into 2021, attendees can enjoy additional vacations to Mexico, New Orleans, Japan and Brazil.
MATCH’s new director of operations, Christopher Genung, is an avid traveler and wanted to bring the décor, food, drinks and atmosphere of other countries to Phoenix.
“One of the biggest struggles this entire year has been the lack of ability to travel,” he says. “I wanted to create a way to travel without actually traveling.”
He says Christkindlmarkts take over the smaller towns in Germany every December. It was an easy way to translate what they do at the hotel and restaurant.
“We’re a market. We have retail goods and most of our products are locally sourced,” he says. “I wanted to figure out a way to marry those two ideas.”
On January 16, guests will be transported to Tulum, Mexico. Genung says the tropical locale is the perfect place to “travel” for winter because of its warmer weather and festive food and drinks.
“It’s a new destination that people wouldn’t be able to necessarily go to right now or wouldn’t feel safe,” he says. “It’s an easy concept to get people to latch onto.”
Genung wants to give guests the opportunity to return to normalcy for a night.
“Everyone’s looking for an outlet right now. The hotel is an art gallery as well, so it’s quite literally like going on vacation,” he says.” You can see a small bit of outside culture and go and see all this unique art and then get some food without having to run all the inherent risks that come with travel right now.”
His biggest goal is to make people feel safe and comfortable, so the events will take place outdoors and masks will be required. The best part? No actual passport needed.
“It’s escapism at its best,” Genung says.
