The magazine you hold in your hand is the 50th issue of Edible Phoenix. What a milestone!

As the Valley’s local food and drink scene has evolved over the past 12 years, we’ve introduced you to the many talented, committed men and women who toil day in and day out to keep our local food and drink community vibrant. We’ve told you their stories and given you a peek into their lives.

We couldn’t have done it without our many contributors, to whom we’re greatly indebted. We’d especially like to call out writer Sharon Salomon, who recently retired from contributing to every issue of Edible Phoenix, for her always personal, enlightening and entertaining contributions.

Our advertisers are the lifeblood of the magazine. We’re proud to call them our friends and supporters and that so many have stuck with us through the years. We encourage you to get to know them if you haven’t already.

And finally, many of you have been our readers since our first (black-and-white!) issue and we’re grateful for your continued patronage. We also appreciate those of you who discovered us along the way and are now loyal members of our Edible community.

Loyalty and being loyal to local—for us, that’s what it’s all about.

P.S. We’re continuing to evolve the magazine and you’ll see a few new features and contributors in this issue. Tell us how you like the changes and be sure to share your local Instagram photos with us for the new Last Byte.