EMDR Therapy in Oro Valley, AZ

Read all about it! This article is dedicated to all of those who still love to read because Stacks Book Club is officially opening its coffee shop and bookstore on Saturday, July 8.

The new husband-and-wife-owned caffeine provider in Oro Valley is located at 1880 E. Tangerine Rd. #140 and will be open 7 a..m – 8 p.m. daily.

“It has been quite a journey, with many setbacks and delays, but we couldn’t be more proud of where we have gotten this business to today,” the couple shared on Instagram.

Stacks Book Club is a brand-new independent bookstore and coffee bar with more than 2,000 new books on-hand. When it comes to the cafe, they’ll have coffee provided by Yellow Brick Coffee, espresso, tea, plant-based energy drinks, pastries from Cal’s Bakeshop, and other grab-and-go food items like bagels from Bubbe’s Bagels.

“Our beautiful new space near the Tangerine Road entrance of Oro Valley Marketplace features a dynamic mix of seating areas, including cafe tables, cozy leather couches and armchairs, and lush end chairs to sink into. A variety of designated indoor and outdoor seating areas means there are plenty of spaces for you to meet and gather with friends to talk books or anything else. You really have to come to see it for yourself to understand the concept in its entirety.”

Additionally, they’ve handpicked a selection of local beer and wine and the list of local pastries continues to grow.

“We are thrilled to announce we’ll have a rotating selection of Prep & Pastry’s Prep Tarts, scones, loaves, and other options to enjoy with a cup of coffee while you browse for your next great read. Available Saturdays and Sundays until sold out.”

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Stacks Book Club is located at 1880 E. Tangerine Rd. #140, Oro Valley, Arizona. For more information, follow bookshop.org and follow Stacks Book Club on Instagram and Facebook.

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At a very young age, Matt Sterner was gifted with the artistic ability to masterfully roll a burrito to the highest of standards, but the wrapped medley of delicious innards wasn’t his first love. Matt’s first true love was a...

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ORO VALLEY, Ariz. (KGUN) — Oro Valley is gearing up for its 2026 General Plan, a strategic document that will outline the town's growth areas for the next decade.

As the town prepares to engage the community for this important planning effort, we sought the opinions of current residents regarding the town's development and their hopes for the future.

Eight-year resident Vickie Lehr said, "It has grown in many ways, in very positive ways. In other ways, I have some concerns."

General plans are not a novelty, given that the state of Arizona mandates them by law. Oro Valley is currently in the seventh year of its 2016 plan.

Gina Harris and her family moved to Oro Valley from Seattle just a year ago. Despite her limited experience in the town, she describes Oro Valley as a 'utopia' compared to Seattle.

She appreciates the efforts made to involve those directly affected by changes, stating, "I know that there's a lot of controversy with growth, and people get upset about it, but it's naturally going to happen, so knowing that there's some kind of a plan makes me feel more confident in the investment I made."

Community engagement is the foundation for every general plan in Oro Valley, as underscored by the town's recent Public Outreach Award for its efforts in better involving its residents.

Town Planning Manager Bayer Vella emphasized, "We want the residents to own this and recognize that it's theirs. It's their words, it's their desires."

Earlier this year, more than 700 residents were surveyed on how to improve their connection to the town as the 2026 General Plan takes shape in the coming months.

Lehr, despite her concerns, commends the city of Oro Valley for their proactive efforts.

However, for long-time residents like Lehr, it's the prospect of enhanced community outreach that they eagerly anticipate as a means to actively shape the future of Oro Valley.

"I think anybody who has their eyes open when they move to a new town and cares will see both the good and the areas that could be improved on," she said.

The official kickoff for the general plan is slated to begin this fall.

Copyright 2023 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Clean-up efforts are underway in Oro Valley after a monsoon storm hit which left some homeowners saying this is the worst storm damage they have ever seen.

“I never thought in a million years something like this would happen. We always joke there’s no natural disasters in Tucson, but if my window is getting blown out, that’s kind of crazy,” said Oro Valley resident, Colby Quist.

Colby Quist has lived in the Tucson area his entire life and said he has never seen anything like this before. A large window in his living room shattered as a result of the storm. He also had items moved in his backyard, including a large grill.

Quist hired a restoration company to help with the damages to his home.

“They’re checking for water damage, they’re taking off the baseboards… that’s a big window, so the A/C, I'm worried about that, because that’s going to be running all day,” said Quist. “I think it’s 80 degrees here.”

Derrick Cushing, who is a lead carpenter with the restoration company, Disaster Restoration Innovation, said Thursday was busy for them because of the storm.

“There's two or three trees that are currently resting on homes right now, so there are a few different crews that are out there to take care of the damage. And more water damage and glass,” said Cushing.

Gary Brown and his grandson Tristan started their morning at 6 a.m. doing any cleanup they could do themselves after several trees fell at their house.

“We’re working out here getting all we can cleaned up and then we’ll let the big boys come and get the big stuff shortly,” said Brown.

Brown echoed what Quist said, and said he too had never seen anything like this before.

“It was a pretty good storm. I've been here five years next month, and this is the most powerful one I've seen,” said Brown.

While these storms were something the homeowners had never seen before, Cushing says they always expect the worst during the monsoon.

“Monsoon season is by far the craziest time. It’s one of those times they say to expect to work crazy hours, because the monsoon is unpredictable,” said Cushing.

Copyright 2023 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Their dream finally came true last weekend with the grand opening of their 2,300-square-foot shop, Stacks Book Club. The store opened Saturday, July 8 at 1880 E. Tangerine Road Suite 140 in the Oro Valley Marketplace.

Stacks offers more than 2,000 books including fiction, non-fiction, romance and children’s books, a full-service coffee bar featuring Yellow Brick Coffee, and fresh baked goods from Bubbe’s Bagels, Cal’s Bakeshop and on weekends, Prep & Pastry. You'll also find a selection of local brews and wines, plus grab-and-go food from Flora’s Market Run.

“We want this to be a place where whether you're an avid reader or not, there's something for you to find here,” said Crispin. “Whether it's exploring the shelves or it's exploring the pastry case or the coffee menu, there's something for everybody here. And we really want it to be a place where the community gathers. So, if that's book discussions, great, if that's PTA meetings, awesome, if that's high school reunions, meetings or get-togethers, great.

“We really just want it to be a place where we can start to connect with each other again, spend time dialoguing and discussing and understanding each other.”

The shop’s mid-century and industrial design is community-oriented with all of its furniture centered around tables, making it easy to interact with each other for a quick book-and-coffee break or during one of Stacks’ book club discussions.

So far, Stacks has two book clubs — one to discuss some of the latest reads hitting the shelves and a multi-generational reading and discussion group aimed for kids ages 9-12. But there are a few more book clubs in the works, according to Crispin, including possible clubs for romance books and manga.

But even if Stacks doesn’t currently have a book club that piques your interest, the Jeffrey-Francos are open to ideas.

Stacks also has a kid’s corner where they plan to host frequent storytelling events (including events that are bilingual) in partnership with Make Way For Books. The kid’s corner carries a selection of children’s books in English and Spanish, which was important to Crispin, who is Mexican-American.

“I hope people come in here and they're excited to read,” Crispin said. “If you read one book or you read 100 books a year, either way, you're a reader, right? But we hope people that maybe don't consider themselves readers come in here and it's, like, inspiring and they leave with a sense of excitement to find something great on one of the shelves. We hope that coffee lovers come in and have the best cup of coffee they've had and that's the same every time they come in.

“Really, we just want people to come in here thinking, ‘I want to come back’ or people leaving thinking, ‘When am I going to come back again?’ And we hope that they come back, they come back, they come back and they come back.”

Before Stacks Book Club became a brick-and-mortar, it was indeed just a club — founded in the winter of 2016.

“I sent an email to about a dozen friends, saying, ‘Hey, I’m thinking about starting a book club, would anybody want to join?’ I expected to get maybe one or two people to say yes. And instead, we ended up having our first discussion in February of 2017 with about 20 people there,” Crispin said.

During the club’s first meeting, they discussed the science-fiction novel “Ready Player One” by Ernest Cline. In the dystopian novel, the main character Wade Watts lives in a village called the Stacks — which became the inspiration behind the club’s name.

After moving away from Tucson, the Jeffrey-Francos returned in 2019 and kept the club — and its name — going.

Taking advice from a Startup Tucson coach, Stacks then started doing pop-up events at local restaurants and businesses as a way to start small but work their way up.

“‘That’s a way to bridge the gap so you don't go from nothing to everything and to see if you like it and see if people are excited,’” Crispin recalled their coach telling them. “So that's where the idea came from and it ended up being the best decision that we could have made.”

Over nearly 11 months of hosting pop-ups, the Jeffrey-Francos learned the basics of operating an independent bookstore, but more importantly, they learned the community’s desire for a bookstore like the one they had in mind.

“We learned that there was a real desperation, or a craving, for a space like this, especially on the northwest side, especially in Oro Valley,” Crispin said. “So all the stuff that we learned in that time was invaluable to us. Turns out that to get a Small Business Association loan, you need to have done everything that your store will do, in order to qualify. And so if we hadn't done that pop-up experience, we actually wouldn't have qualified for an SBA-guaranteed loan. And we didn't know that going into it. We didn't do the pop-ups to get that experience. We did the pop-ups to start to meet people and talk about it — (it) ended up being like a really crucial part of this actually happening.”

Opening a community bookstore and coffee bar was always the plan — even if it took a little longer than expected.

Last fall, Stacks announced its plans to open a brick-and-mortar in spring 2023. However, that date was pushed back more than once due to construction setbacks, waiting for equipment to arrive and putting the final touches on the shop.

When #ThisIsTucson chatted with Crispin a couple weeks ago, he said he was feeling “stress, excitement, hope, concern” and just about everything in between before the shop’s opening.

“The amount of excitement that we feel through social media, the amount of phone calls and emails we’re receiving on a daily basis asking if we're open, when we're going to be open and how excited they are, leaves us feeling really excited and thankful at the end of every day for what this place will be,” he said.

Almost everything inside Stacks has a touch of Tucson magic.

From the handcrafted baked goods in the pastry case to the merchandise that is designed and sourced right here in the Old Pueblo, you can find a little bit of Tucson everywhere you look.

Their gift table and shelves have a variety of cards, candles, games, T-shirts and other locally-sourced or desert-inspired items.

“We are as invested in Tucson as we can be,” Crispin said. “Almost our entire beverage program is being sourced from Tucson. (We have) Southern Arizona wine, Tucson beers, Tucson food, Tucson coffee, Tucson tea. We are investing in the local business ecosystem.

“So, when you come here, yes, you're supporting an independent bookstore, but you're also supporting this network of small businesses and independently-owned businesses that are in our own community. … As many things we can do in Tucson, that is our priority and our preference. Because we really do believe that Tucson is a special place. There's a lot of really talented people that are operating and growing businesses here and we think this is the perfect place for those businesses to have an opportunity to just continue to grow and flourish.”

In addition to a selection of gifts, Stacks also offers a yearly store membership.

With the First Edition membership, Stacks members receive benefits including 10% off every purchase (excluding gift cards), 15% off pre-orders, early access to ticketed events and exclusive member-only events. The membership costs $49 per year. (Membership is not required to shop or eat at Stacks.)

“We liked the idea of not being (just) a bookstore (because) a store, to me, feels very transactional, like you come and you go. And a club is more of a place you come and belong,” Crispin said. “And so while it can be a little bit confusing at times when people are like, ‘Do I have to join to, you know, (eat or shop)?’ No, you don't. We have really liked the idea of being a place where you come in, you exist and you belong.”

Despite just opening their brick-and-mortar location this month, this isn’t “The End” of the story for Stacks. The Jeffrey-Francos already have bigger dreams — including a larger shop in a more central or eastern location that will serve another part of Tucson’s community.

But, that’s a dream — and a story — for another day.

“Everyone is welcome here,” Crispin said. “If you’re the biggest book reader, not a book reader, coffee drinker, not a coffee drinker, to us, it doesn't matter. You walk through the doors, this is a place for you.”

Stacks will be open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. For more information about Stacks Book Club, visit their website or Instagram page.

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TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Step into a painting with this exhibition that has been touring since 2017 with over 5,000,000 visitors. Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience will take place at Oro Valley Marketplace starting Friday, Aug. 11.

Discover the works of Vincent Van Gogh with a 360-degree, digital show. The exhibit has digital displays, sound effects and projection mapping. The visit will take around 60 to 75 minutes.

Time slots available every half hour:

Monday and Thursday: 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. (last entry at 7 p.m.)

Tuesday and Wednesday: closed

Friday: 10 a.m. – 9 p.m. (last entry at 8 p.m.)

Saturday: 9 a.m. – 9 p.m. (last entry at 8 p.m.)

Sunday: 9 a.m. – 8 p.m. (last entry at 7 p.m.)

Ticket prices will start at $36.20 for adults and $19.90 for children. For more information on tickets, visit their website.

Location: 11975 N Oracle Rd, Oro Valley, Tucson. AZ 85737

——-Brooke Chau is a reporter for KGUN 9. She was a part of Fresno State's newscast, Fresno State Focus and interned at KFSN-ABC30 in Fresno, CA before coming to KGUN 9. Share your story ideas and important issues with Brooke by emailing brooke.chau@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.