Liberty Market in Gilbert in the running for best-restroom title

by Srianthi Perera - Sept. 5, 2012 10:26 PM The Republic | azcentral.com

The restrooms at the bustling Liberty Market in Gilbert's Heritage District are candidates in another kind of national election as they vie with nine others across the country for the title of best restroom in the U.S.

People can vote for Arizona's only entry in the 2012 Cintas' America's Best Restroom Contest until Oct. 26.

Liberty Market restrooms | Best bathrooms in Valley

"I think it's a tiny thing for the state of Arizona. But it would be a nice thing if we won," said Gilbert restaurateur and entrepreneur Joe Johnston, one of four partners of the restaurant.

Once a grocery store that played a major role in the town when Gilbert was called "the alfalfa-hay shipping capital of the United States," the Liberty Market is now an urban bistro that blends retro with modern. Its espresso bar, dessert case with multilayered cream cakes, pizza oven and full kitchen draw the crowds. Liberty Market is open 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and from 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday.

The five restroom stalls -- four of them unisex -- also see a lot of traffic, but they remain very clean.

"We clean them very, very frequently," Johnston said. "They were designed first of all to be very clean and maintainable."

Johnston, his partners and his older son James each got a crack at designing the stalls with their own creativity.

Johnston's design incorporates his love of Vespa scooters and the native Italian lifestyle they represent. There's a Vespa tire on the wall and behind the door is a photoshopped picture of his wife, Cindy, and his son riding a Vespa on a street in Italy.

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Liberty Market in Gilbert in the running for best-restroom title