Heroes

I

f you’re enjoying a cold Chocolate Orange Stout or a Human Kind(ness) Table Beer at Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co., you’re enjoying the fruits of Ashley Benson’s labors. She’s the head brewer—the company’s first female head brewer—and one of the few women in the industry to have broken that amber glass ceiling.

“I’ve always loved craft beer and used to do home brewing as a hobby,” Benson said. “Working at this brewery is a dream come true.”

But Benson didn’t start at the top at Arizona Wilderness. Founded in Gilbert in 2013 by partners who emphasized conservation, local sourcing, and community partnerships as their business ethos, Arizona Wilderness is known for its award-winning beers and comfort food menu.

Leaving work in social media marketing, Benson, 33, moved from San Diego to Arizona for a career reset. She worked for Arizona Wilderness first as a hostess, and later doing grunt work like filling kegs and sweeping floors, before climbing her way up the stainless steel ladder to the position of head brewer. Benson was so committed that she even brewed during the pregnancy of her first child.

“Everyone here at the brewery has been so supportive of my journey,” Benson said. “And now we have two other women involved in brewing here.”

Though Arizona Wilderness now has a second location in downtown Phoenix, Benson is adamantly a Gilbert fan.

“This is most definitely a community,” Benson said. “We have a lot of regulars and, for them, we’re part of their everyday lives. Even during the pandemic, it was our community that supported us, buying beer online and driving here to pick it up. We gave back, too, making food for healthcare workers and helping other local businesses stay open. We are all in this together.”

D

ave Dietlein isn’t one to sit around much. Six days a week, his days start at 6 a.m. and often don’t end until after 11 p.m. As the founder and executive producer of Hale Centre Theatre, he’s hands-on with his team of 40, putting on some 12 family-friendly musicals and plays—not to mention live concerts—year-round.

Theater is literally in his blood. His grandparents, actors Ruth and Nathan Hale, opened the Glendale Centre Theatre in California in 1947, where his parents also worked.

“My earliest memory is looking for my grandmother and wandering on stage while she was in the middle of a performance,” said Dietlein, who lived with his parents and four siblings in a house behind the theater. “She ad-libbed her lines and took me off stage.”

After working in the family theater for years, Dietlein wanted to do his own thing and came to Gilbert in 2000 at a cousin’s urging.

“There wasn’t much in the Heritage District at the time, but the town of Gilbert and the community were very supportive of my idea to build a live theater venue.”

In 2003, his Hale Centre Theatre (named for his grandparents) opened with a production of Beau Geste. And since, the theater has grown to include a prop shop, costume department, and dance studio.

The secret to his success?

“There’s an audience for live theater in Gilbert,” he notes. “People come to this theater to escape the troubles of the world. We stay on the positive side of things. Our audience walks away feeling uplifted.”

In the months and years following the shutdown, Dietlein has found comfort and support in continuing his work in Gilbert.

“People thought I was crazy doing this,” Dietlein said. “When we had to shut down for seven months during the pandemic, I was beginning to agree with them. We’ve rebounded, though, and the community response has been excellent.”

A

t Joe’s Farm Grill, customers line up out the door of the midcentury farmhouse turned restaurant for locally-sourced, made-from-scratch burgers, chicken tenders, beet salads, and strawberry milkshakes.

In the midst of meal rushes, General Manager Bill Eaton directs the flow with confidence.

“It’s not unusual for us to serve 10,000 customers a week during high season,” said Eaton, who started with the restaurant in 2016. “We have a crew of 75, ranging from 16-year-olds who are working their first jobs to a 70-year-old who still does our maintenance.”

Eaton’s journey to Joe’s Farm Grill—founded in 2006 on what was once a family farm and is now the farm-centric community of Agritopia—was circuitous, to say the least. After starting in the restaurant business as a youth, Eaton pursued acting in Los Angeles and Chicago before switching to insurance for ten years.

“I realized that I actually liked working on my feet, with the public, and having a tangible product to sell,” Eaton said.

Joe’s Farm Grill fit the bill.

“This place is a mainstay for Gilbert,” Eaton said. “It’s a destination for birthdays, anniversaries, and rehearsal dinners. I have 17- and 18-year-olds working for me who came here with their families when they were eight.”

Another thing he loves about the restaurant?

“I love the camaraderie of working with this crew,” Eaton said. “That was particularly true during the pandemic, when we did a hard pivot for curbside take-out. We stayed open and kept people employed. We made lunches for healthcare workers.”

Joe’s Farm Grill has become a Gilbert institution, Eaton maintains.

“We love it that we’re a neighborhood place for locals and a destination for people from all over the state and the country.”