Barnone at Agritopia: Quonset Hut Turned Artisan Marketplace

Most people discover Barnone by accident.

They're visiting Agritopia Farm for a Farm Night market, or grabbing coffee at The Coffee Shop next door, and then they notice it: a striking, curved metal structure that looks like it belongs on a vintage airfield rather than a Gilbert neighborhood. They wander in, and they find something they didn't expect. A working machine shop next to an artisan ice cream maker. A farm winery steps from a wood-fired pizza kitchen. A letterpress studio down the hall from a hair salon.

That's Barnone. And once you discover it, it tends to stay on your list of favorite things about Gilbert.

What Barnone Actually Is

Barnone is a Quonset hut barn that was renovated by Johnston and Co. to house and highlight small, local makers and businesses. It sits at the heart of Agritopia at 3000 E Ray Road in Gilbert, buildings 6, 7, and 8, and it is open Monday through Saturday from 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM and Sunday from 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM. 

Barnone stands as a unique community hub where skilled craftsmen gather to create and showcase their handcrafted goods. Visitors will encounter a diverse ensemble of twelve of Arizona's finest makers, ranging from artists to experimental winemakers to restaurateurs to machinists and beyond. 

The variety under one roof is genuinely unusual. This is not a food court. It is not a boutique shopping center. It is something harder to categorize and more interesting for it.

The Story Behind the Building

Barnone is a barn-like building made from World War II era planes, which is part of what makes it such a distinctive landmark. The Quonset hut structure, with its iconic curved metal roof, was originally part of the Johnston family's working farm before Agritopia was developed around it. 

It all began in the year 2000 during Gilbert's rapid suburban expansion when Joe Johnston envisioned creating a community that honored his family's farmland history and traditions while offering a modern village experience. To preserve the heritage and tradition of the original farmland, Johnston and Co. repurposed several iconic buildings on the property, transforming them into thriving businesses. 

Barnone was one of those repurposed structures. Rather than tear it down to make way for something new, the Johnston family chose to keep it and fill it with makers and craftspeople who reflect the same spirit of hands-on, intentional work that defined the original farm. That decision is a big part of why Barnone feels so different from anything else in the East Valley.

What You'll Find Inside

Barnone currently houses 12 businesses, including a boutique shop, a hair salon, a wood-fired pizza restaurant, a plant-based kitchen, a farm winery, a brewery, and an artisanal ice cream shop.

Here's a closer look at what's inside:

• Fire and Brimstone: A wood-fired Mediterranean-inspired restaurant run by James Johnston, one of the founding family members. Ingredients come directly from Agritopia's farm and community garden, making this one of the most genuinely farm-to-table dining experiences in the entire Phoenix Metro.
• Cream of the Crop: An artisanal ice cream shop also run by James Johnston, using farm sourced ingredients for small batch, seasonal flavors. The kind of place you visit once and immediately start planning your return.
• Garage East Winery: An experimental farm winery producing small batch wines on site. The "garage" spirit of the operation is intentional. These are not mass produced wines. They are craft experiments made by people who genuinely love what they are doing.
• A nano-brewery: Craft beer brewed in small batches on site, consistent with the broader Barnone ethos of local, handmade, and intentional.
• Johnston Machine Co.: A machine fabrication facility where innovators can build and test prototypes for new kitchen equipment. This is one of the most unexpected tenants in Barnone and one of the most compelling. The presence of an active fabrication shop alongside restaurants and retail reflects a genuine commitment to craft in every sense of the word. 
• Additional tenants: A florist, a letterpress studio, a woodworking shop, a salon, and the Agritopia Farm Store, which carries fresh certified organic produce, pantry staples, and locally made goods year-round.

Why It Matters as a Community Space

Barnone was never designed to be a typical retail destination. Building a space for small, local businesses in the community was intentional, according to William Johnston, CEO of Johnston and Co. and Joe Johnston's youngest son. The goal was to give Arizona's independent makers a permanent home rather than a seasonal market booth. 

That philosophy shows in how the space operates. Most of the businesses here are owner-operated. The people making your pizza, pouring your wine, and designing your letterpress stationery are the same people who built the business from the ground up. That directness of experience is something you simply cannot replicate at a chain or a larger commercial center.

Barnone also plays a central role in Agritopia's broader event programming. The Agritopia Farm Night market is located on the west side of the iconic Barnone Quonset hut, right in front of the Farm Store, which means every Farm Night evening, Barnone becomes the anchor of an entire evening's worth of community activity.

Barnone as a Real Estate Conversation

If you are considering buying in the Agritopia neighborhood or anywhere within easy reach of it, Barnone is worth understanding as a lifestyle asset, not just a destination.

Communities with walkable, curated retail and dining consistently command a premium in the real estate market, and Agritopia's ecosystem, of which Barnone is a central part, is one of the things that makes this neighborhood genuinely different from every other master-planned community in Gilbert. It is not a feature that can be replicated in a few years by a competing development. The history, the building, the family ownership, and the curated tenant mix took decades to develop.

For buyers who value that kind of authentic neighborhood infrastructure, Barnone is one of the things that makes Agritopia a community worth paying attention to.

Plan Your Visit

• Address: 3000 E Ray Road, Buildings 6, 7, and 8, Gilbert, AZ 85296
• Hours: Monday through Saturday, 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM | Sunday, 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM
• Website: www.barnoneaz.com
• Parking: Free on site
• Best time to visit: Any evening, especially on the second Wednesday of the month when the Farm Night market is running alongside it

Business and community information sourced from Agritopia.com, Johnston and Co. (johnstonandcoaz.com), Gilbert Sun News (December 2025), East Valley Tribune, and Discover Gilbert. Hours and tenant details are subject to change. Please visit barnoneaz.com or individual business websites to confirm current hours before visiting.