The El Charro Lodge has been sold. Tonight is their last night. It is supposed to reopen in the fall under new ownership but who knows if they will know how to make those great sticky buns. I will miss their fabulous Sunday brunchs sitting outside enjoying the wonderful mountain views.
Another Phoenix landmark going away or at least changing.
Man how has Phoenix changed. As a Phoenix native it is unbelievable to me how much people could care less about history or the past.
where i live there was a family owned rustic old restaurant that only served breakfast and lunch but it was the best breafast around with pancakes as big as the plate. the local regular customers could get a coffee cup with their name on it so you always got the same cup when you came in. they were leasing the building they were in and the landlord raised the rent, so they moved into a new building but the atmosphere was just not the same. they shortly went out of business and the old building is still vacant. it was a lose lose lose situation for the restaurant, the landlord, and the loyal patrons.
dinners around the fire pit outside....that's what I like so as long as they are going to re open I'm sure not much will change....you can't beat the ambiance out there..Hot and Hot xoxo Terri
More info on the sale of El Chorro Dorrance is the heir to the Campbell soup fortune and lives in PV - hopefully he will keep it the same. Let's hope.
El Chorro Lodge up for sale by Carey Sweet - May. 22, 2009 05:50 PM Special for The Arizona Republic El Chorro Lodge, the venerable Paradise Valley landmark restaurant and home of the nearly world-renowned sticky buns, is under contract for sale. According to owner Joe Miller, the paperwork should be finalized within a few days.
The purchasers are Kristy Riding Moore and Tim Moore, formerly of Phoenix's Continental Catering, and Jacquie and Bennett Dorrance. Bennett Dorrance is director of DMB Associates, a Scottsdale-based real estate development company specializing in resorts and master-planned communities.
El Chorro employees were notified of the sale this afternoon, Miller said, and that the property will soon close, perhaps for five months or longer. While he's not sure what the new owners plan for the prime, 22-acre parcel on Lincoln Drive and 56th Street, he said he hopes the restaurant's heritage will be preserved.
"It is what it is," he said. "It was time."
Built in 1934 as a school for girls, the historic property was converted to a resort in 1937, playing host to celebrities like Clark Gable and Milton Berle. Through the decades, many of the original staffers stayed on, including Miller, who started there as a bartender in 1952, and met his wife Evie on the job. The Millers purchased the Lodge in 1973, and over the next 15 years, expanded the restaurant's capacity from 70 to 165, while still preserving the property's rustic desert charm.
It's long been a favorite gathering spot, known for classic Continental cuisine and signature basket of sticky buns included with each meal.
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