Tempe Marketplace Guide for ASU Students
Everything ASU students need to know about Tempe Marketplace — what's there, how to get there, and how to make the most of it on a student budget.
Tempe Marketplace: What It Is and Why You Should Know It
Tempe Marketplace is an outdoor shopping center on Priest Drive at Rio Salado Parkway — about 2.5 miles north of ASU's main campus. It's not the closest thing to campus, but it's one of the more complete commercial areas near ASU with a mix of restaurants, shops, entertainment, and services that you'll actually need as a student.
It's different from Mill Avenue. Mill Avenue is a walkable urban street. Tempe Marketplace is a planned outdoor mall with parking — more suburban in format, more chains, but also more practical for certain things. Here's what's actually there and when it's worth the trip.
Getting There
Tempe Marketplace is too far to walk conveniently from campus, but it's reachable:
Light rail: The Tempe Marketplace area is close to the light rail corridor. The Mill Ave/3rd St stop puts you within a couple miles — it's not direct but combined with a rideshare it makes sense.
Bike: About 15–20 minutes by bike from central campus, mostly on flat roads. Rio Salado Parkway has bike infrastructure. Doable but not convenient with shopping bags.
Car or Uber: 10 minutes. For a shopping trip where you're buying things, this is realistic.
Bus: Valley Metro buses serve the area. Check the Valley Metro trip planner for routes from campus.
Food at Tempe Marketplace
The restaurant selection here skews chain but there are enough options to make it worth knowing:
Harkins Theatres: The Tempe Marketplace Harkins is the closest major movie theater to ASU campus. Tuesday discount days bring ticket prices down significantly — check their Loyalty rewards program for even better deals. This is the right place to see a movie if you're near ASU.
The Yard House: Sit-down casual, wide menu, good for a group meal. Happy hour at the bar is genuinely useful — appetizers and drink specials that make the prices manageable.
Culinary Dropout: One of the better restaurants in the Tempe Marketplace area. Gastropub style food — pretzels, fried chicken, flatbreads — in an industrial space with a patio. Happy hour deals at the bar. Brunch on weekends is popular.
Spinato's Pizzeria: Local Arizona pizza chain, better than the national chains. Their specialty pizzas are legitimately good and the prices are reasonable for a full sit-down pizza place.
Oregano's: Another Arizona chain with good pan pizza and Italian comfort food. Calzones are oversized in a good way.
Fast casual options: Tempe Marketplace has a Chipotle, a Raising Cane's, a Jersey Mike's, and other familiar fast-casual spots. These are the reliable, under-$12 meal options when you want something quick.
Shopping at Tempe Marketplace
Target: This is probably the reason you'd go to Tempe Marketplace most often. A full-sized Target with grocery section, household goods, clothing, electronics, and pharmacy. For dorm and apartment setup shopping, Target at Tempe Marketplace beats the alternatives in terms of selection and price.
REI: An outdoor gear store that most students underestimate. Beyond camping and hiking gear, REI stocks good quality basic clothing, sunglasses, water bottles, and other everyday useful items. Their used gear section can have real deals, and the garage sale events are worth following.
Barnes and Noble: Less useful for textbooks (prices are unreasonable) but fine for leisure reading, gifts, and the cafe inside. Good if you want a bookstore experience.
Other retail: DSW shoes, Bath and Body Works, Torrid, and other national chains fill out the retail mix. Nothing particularly special, but conveniently concentrated.
Entertainment
Harkins Theatres 14: Already mentioned above. This is the practical movie theater for ASU students. The IMAX and PLF screens are good for movies worth seeing on a bigger screen.
Dave and Buster's: The arcade and bar concept. Not a regular student hangout but worth knowing for birthdays, group outings, or when you have a visitor who wants to do something different. Happy hour prices make it less expensive.
Events
Tempe Marketplace occasionally hosts outdoor events in their central gathering area — free concerts, holiday events, seasonal activities. The outdoor spaces work well in the cooler months (October through April) and the events are typically free to attend. Check the Tempe Marketplace website or social media for current programming.
The Student Budget Reality at Tempe Marketplace
Tempe Marketplace is not a cheap destination. Most of the restaurants run $10–$20 per person for a meal. The shopping is retail-priced.
Where it makes sense on a student budget:
- Target run for apartment essentials (competitive pricing)
- Happy hour at Yard House or Culinary Dropout (brings prices to a reasonable level)
- Movie on Tuesday discount day at Harkins (significantly cheaper than weekend)
- Quick lunch at Chipotle or Raising Cane's (fast casual prices)
Where it doesn't make sense: full-priced retail shopping when you could find the same things cheaper online or at Walmart. Restaurant dinner at full price when you're on a tight budget.
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