The Perch: Brews, Bites, and Rescued Parrots in Downtown Chandler
This week's hidden gem is The Perch, the downtown Chandler brewpub you have to see to believe: a craft beer spot where rescued macaws and cockatoos live in a sanctuary courtyard all around you. Since it opened on Valentine's Day 2014, it has anchored South Wall Street in the heart of downtown Chandler with house-brewed beer, scratch-made pub food, a rooftop bar, and weekend live music. It is one of the most original hangouts on the entire Eastside, and it has been hiding in plain sight downtown.
A Brewpub Built Around a Rescue Mission
The Perch started with owner Rebecca Lavenue, a Chandler resident who left a 24-year career in the medical field to chase a very different dream. She opened the pub with craft beer veteran James Swann, who helped launch SanTan Brewing Company, inside a converted building in the Olde Time Market Square compound, a cluster of 1960s-era homes turned into businesses. What made it special from day one was the idea to put the birds at the heart of the house.
The Perch partnered with Arizona Bird Rescue, a local nonprofit, to give abused, neglected, and abandoned pet birds a safe, enriching home. Today a flock of rescued macaws and cockatoos lives in the sanctuary courtyard, perched right beside your table while you eat. The official line from the house is that the birds are family, not decoration, and owner Lavenue puts the goal simply on the For the Birds page: give these birds a second chance and lots of love.
What to Order and Where to Sit
The beer is brewed in-house with a rotating lineup of craft taps, a full bar handles cocktails and wine, and the kitchen turns out scratch-made pub food to go with it all. The patio is the main event: a shaded, greenery-wrapped courtyard where the birds chatter overhead while you eat. Head upstairs for the rooftop bar and watch downtown Chandler light up at sunset, then come back on a weekend night when live bands take over the room.
- House-brewed craft beers plus a full bar
- Scratch-made pub food from the in-house kitchen
- The sanctuary courtyard, a rooftop bar, and weekend live music
Why Locals Love It
There is no other place like it in the Valley. Locals bring out-of-town guests here specifically to watch their faces, families come on weekend afternoons when the courtyard is at its liveliest, and regulars each have their own favorite corner of the patio. Every visit is a small act of kindness: the pints and plates help feed, shelter, and enrich a sanctuary full of birds that once had nowhere else to go.
That is the Eastside at its most generous: a great meal, a great beer, and a reason to feel good about the neighborhood you call home. Come for the birds, stay for the brews, and find a seat in one of the most unforgettable rooms in downtown Chandler.
The Perch turned a 1960s-era home in downtown Chandler into a brewpub with a sanctuary courtyard where rescued macaws and cockatoos get a second chance. Part neighborhood hangout, part rescue mission, and entirely one of a kind.
Grab a courtyard table for a pint and some parrot company, take the sunset up to the rooftop bar, or come for weekend live music. The Perch is at 232 S Wall Street in downtown Chandler, open Tuesday through Sunday and closed Monday, and you can check current hours, the tap list, and the bird family at perchpubbrewery.com.
This week's hidden gem is part of our Small Business Spotlight series, where we introduce the independent shops, cafes, and makers that give the Eastside its character. Know a small business we should feature next? Send Tricia a note.
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