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A new shopping plaza in Tubac will test whether the artist-oriented hamlet can exert a stronger attraction on for upscale shoppers.

Nob Hill Gourmet Market and Fine Dining will open Saturday at Plaza de Anza, a newly developed 21,600-square-foot retail and commercial center in Barrio de Tubac, located off I-19 at exit 34.

Plaza de Anza also features a high-end furniture store, Sunset Interiors, and Josef’s of Tubac, an Aveda hair salon. Other shops yet to open include the Powell Street Bakery and Coffee Shop, and the Tubac Culinary Center, which will house a new culinary school and sell high-end kitchen and home products.

Owned by Alan Anderson, 56, Nob Hill features a San Francisco theme combining a 3,000-square-foot gourmet foods market with a 60-seat restaurant. Open for lunch and dinner, the restaurant plans to serve dishes ranging from lamb to fresh cabrilla and wild Alaskan salmon.

The Nob Hill market features a full service meat and seafood counter, imported cheeses, local produce, cases of gelato, and shelves stocked with wines, pasta, spices, and other gourmet staples. The market also will have a coffee and espresso bar and a bakery.

“All I want is customers to come in and go ‘Whoa, wow,’” said Anderson, a former general manager for Safeway stores in Green Valley and Sahuarita.

Having landed his first grocery store job at A.J. Bayless when he was 16, Anderson brings more than 40 years of experience to his new venture.

Anderson was part of the development team for AJ’s Fine Foods, a high-end grocery store operated by the Bashas’ chain. AJ’s has a location at 2805 E. Skyline Drive, in the La Encantada shopping center.

When AJ’s first started in 1985, the concept of an upscale grocery store was something new to Arizona, Anderson said.

“It turned out to be a hit,” he said.

The idea for an upscale foods market in Tubac could work, even with the start of the slow summer retail season, Anderson said.

Though the demographics of Tubac are not overwhelming, with about 1,500 people living in the unincorporated town, residents are sophisticated and have high expectations, said Carl Bosse, a development partner with Nob Hill.

“Tubac is ready for its own gourmet market,” Bosse said. Shoppers could also come from Green Valley, Nogales, Sahuarita, and even Tucson, he said.

A Tucson retail expert agrees the development has strong potential. Anderson’s business and others in the shopping plaza should attract business from nearby communities, said Greg Furrier, a retail expert with Picor Commercial Real Estate Services.

“That restaurant will draw from Green Valley and Nogales and all the communities around it. The drive time between Green Valley and Tubac … my guess is it's 15 minutes on the freeway,” Furrier said.

“I think it will be successful because there's a market for nice dining in that area and I don't think there’s a lot of upper-end dining in the Green Valley, Tubac area.”

Bosse is also marketing director and long-range planner for Barrio de Tubac, a 350-acre master planned community of high-end homes developed by Brasher Real Estate, which is also developer of Plaza de Anza.

Plaza de Anza is divided into five buildings. Sunset Interiors, which opened in February, plans to move its showroom into the new store by early fall and turn its temporary Tubac suite into a design studio. The custom furniture store sells a mix of Southwest, rustic ranch and Native American inspired designed pieces.

The Powell Street Bakery and Tubac Culinary Center will share a 6,000-square-foot store with Sunset Interiors, with the three businesses showcasing items from each store.

By sharing an open area, the culinary store can display dishes and home products with furniture by Sunset, said designer and store owner Dara Davis, who also operates Sunset Interiors in Catalina.

Since opening, Davis said business has been good, with shoppers coming from communities around southern Arizona.

“Though Tubac has wonderful art, sometimes you just need a great chair and sofa,” Davis said.