He’s through-and-through classic. She’s a little more modern. For the Phoenix culinary power couple Crystal and TJ Culp, working together over the last year has been about blending their styles into a trio of Phoenix restaurants.
The two chefs guide the food and desserts at the intimate Melrose District bistro Restaurant Progress, downtown French sweetheart Sottise and Phoenix’s vintage diner dive Sidewinder.
Crystal (formerly Kass) is a pastry chef and two-time James Beard Award semifinalist known for her Arizona-inspired and nostalgia-driven baking at Valentine. She joined her then-fiancé, and 2026 Beard Award semifinalist, at his restaurants after departing the Melrose District eatery last fall.
In June, the couple eloped in Las Vegas. Since then, they’ve tucked away their stylish wedding outfits and put their aprons back on, working to perfect their partnership in the kitchen.
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“We’re trying to really figure out that meld of my vibe with hers,” TJ says, sitting next to Crystal at the end of the bar in Progress’ shotgun-style dining room. “It’s also cool for the pre-existing restaurants to have —”
“Something different,” Crystal says, finishing her husband’s sentence.
Now, the duo is in a groove. Not only do they finish each other’s thoughts, they’re also quick to share a laugh or a knowing glance.
Though they work at the same restaurants, they’re not side by side on the line. Crystal handles desserts and bakes solo. Meanwhile, TJ oversees the kitchens and operations. They handle their own culinary realms, but they often brainstorm together.
“I can bounce ideas back and forth,” Crystal says. “Usually it’s at the end of the day when we’re just decompressing, relaxing, and then it’s, like, still thinking about work.”
After getting their bearings as partners in life and in food, they’ve started to play around with other ideas. In March, they hosted a pop-up brunch designed to highlight Crystal’s command of laminated pastries and TJ’s fan-favorite but rarely served daytime dishes.
The excitement and demand pushed them to make the pop-up more permanent.
This weekend, they will officially launch brunch at Restaurant Progress, the charming eatery that TJ opened in 2017. The new weekend service will feature creations from each chef, plus a few they’ve worked on together.
“We’re always collaborating on dish ideas. I’ll talk savory dishes to her, and then she’ll talk sweet stuff to me,” TJ says. “It’s great to have a second opinion that is aligned with each other.”
The Culps will collaborate on some brunch dishes, including laminated toasts.
Provided by Restaurant Progress
Not a ‘fancy’ brunch
Aside from the pop-up, this isn’t the first time customers have eaten at Restaurant Progress during the day. TJ and his team last cooked brunch in the year and a half before the pandemic. Though brunch was starting to take off, the restaurateur abandoned the weekend service during that chaotic time.
Recently, Phoenix has seen a boom in brunch and all-day restaurants. When the Culps go to brunch together, their choice varies. Sometimes they’ll dive into a big, comforting meal in the darkness of Dick’s Hideaway, or enjoy the beats at Requinto. They’ve enjoyed a posh patio brunch at Le Âme and walked to Ollie Vaungh’s, their Coronado neighborhood go-to.
In the Melrose District, they see the need for another neighborhood spot where people can find classic, elevated options in an unstuffy format.
“We want it to be louder; we want it to be more fun,” TJ says. “It’s not this fancy breakfast situation.”
A few popular dishes emerged from Progress’ original brunch run, including TJ’s soft scramble, which the chef serves with seared tomatoes, a side salad, sourdough toast and house-made jam.
The kitchen will also offer steak and eggs paired with a cognac peppercorn sauce, a hangover-curing pork chop and eggs smothered in gravy and Progress’s cheeseburger — a dish previously reserved for festivals. The chefs will also add more lunch-forward options, such as salads and pasta from the restaurant’s dinner menu, in the future.
During brunch, diners can order Crystal Culp’s laminated pastries and other bakes.
Crystal Culp will offer a full dessert menu during brunch.
Restaurant Progress’ burger is topped with cheddar, tomato and a celery salt slaw.
Crystal will bake several pastry options, including a staple chocolate croissant. Other flavors will rotate. Diners can also expect her take on chocolate chip cookies and a full dessert menu.
“You don’t really see a dessert menu offered during brunch,” she says. “Maybe somebody doesn’t want a pastry, or they don’t want breakfast, but they want to have a coffee or a bottle of Champagne and a sweet treat.”
The couple will team up on two dishes: a brioche honey bun and an avocado toast made with a laminated dough and served with a poached egg.
Admittedly, they’ve got a lot of ideas they want to try. Though the brunch will include some constants, the chefs will refresh the menu seasonally, if not more frequently.
“I always like to do new things,” Crystal says. “My menu won’t really be locked in. It’s gonna change.”
Restaurant Progress offers full service during dinner, but at brunch, diners will order at the bar. Customers can also take pastries and coffee to-go. TJ isn’t a fan of line culture, but he acknowledges the counter-service format will likely create one. He aims for a “quick, snappy line,” but Crystal laughs, acknowledging that “it might take a second.”
The restaurant will expand its coffee offerings to include a taut selection of traditional cafe sips. Customers can also order Progress’ dinner cocktails or choose a bloody mary made with a house mix or a mimosa featuring blood orange juice and orange bitters.
Brunch is just the start of new projects the couple plans to take on together, TJ teases. The Culps are of the same mind, or at least the same thought, on their current venture.
“We’re hoping that it really turns into a neighborhood —” TJ says, trailing off. Crystal finishes his sentence: “Hangout spot on the weekends.”
Restaurant Progress
Saturdays and Sundays, 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
702 W. Montecito Ave.
Dining and Cooking