Hidden Track in downtown Phoenix has sold, new cafe moves in

After seven years of serving coffee, wine, cheeses and grocery items downtown, Hidden Track Cafe has been sold.

Owner Craig Dziadowicz says the sale was part of a "snowball effect" that began last year.

He originally owned a bottle shop and a cafe on the main level of The Monroe building, along with Hidden Track Bottle Shop & Wine Bar in uptown Phoenix. He sold the downtown bottle shop in 2023 to a former employee, who reopened the shop in October as Unfiltered Natural Wine and More.

Dziadowicz was open to selling the downtown cafe, too, but it had to be to the right person, he says. He found that in Quinlan Hamann, to whom he sold the shop in May.

“He loved the bones of the place, loved the concept and wanted to keep that same mentality of unique, great coffee, great service, part of the community, so the stars started to align,” Dziadowicz says.

Hamann has renamed the coffeeshop Cactus Cloud Cafe and plans to keep on the staff, according to Dziadowicz. The new cafe will continue with Hidden Track's hallmarks, including “an extensive menu featuring a curated selection of coffee beverages, artisanal pastries and fine wines,” according to its website.

Cactus Cloud will host a grand opening celebration beginning at 6 p.m. on Saturday.

The transition completes Hidden Track’s exit from downtown. Dziadowicz and his partner Danielle Middlebrook first opened Hidden Track as a small, curated bottle shop in 2015, followed by the cafe and bodega next door in 2017.
“I was sad to let it go after almost nine years but also quite an honor to have someone come in and say, ‘I really like what you’re doing,’” he says. “It just worked out and it’s been able to free up some time for me to really concentrate on our uptown shop and it’s going great.”

Those seeking Hidden Track’s unique natural wines, dishes and goods can continue to find them at the uptown bottle shop and wine bar, located on 12th Street near Highland Avenue.

Chef Marco Di Santo joined Hidden Track in October, evolving the wine bar’s menu of tapas, conserva-centered plates and flammekueche, a baked tart traditional to areas of France and Germany. In addition to cooking, Di Santo will offer hands-on classes on making salad dressings, pasta and more, Dziadowicz says.

The wine shop owner says he doesn’t have plans to bring the cafe element to uptown or anywhere else in Phoenix. For now, he’s focused on the wine shop, and celebrating the transition of the downtown cafe to Hamann.

“I couldn’t be happier for him and I’m happy for me, too,” Dziadowicz says.

Cactus Cloud Cafe

Grand opening: 6 p.m. Saturday, June 29
111 W. Monroe St., #121

Hidden Track Bottle Shop & Wine Bar

4700 N. 12th St., #118