February 1st seems like a lifetime ago, but that is the date we told you HERE that Evan and Vicki Lathouris were planning to retire at the end of February, and made the announcement that Evan’s Old Town Grille had been sold to local business owners, Grant Turner and Bret Runion.
Evan’s served their last meal on February 29th, and construction on the location at 1129 Arizona Street began the very next morning. The plan has always been that the spot would be remodeled and then leased to another restaurant operator, as Grant already owns and operates three other restaurants in town.
Plans had already been drawn up, so Grant Turner and the contractors went in and got busy immediately on the inside, which we hear is mostly complete, and now you can see the new work that has been done so far to complete the outside. (Sorry folks, we couldn’t get a preview, they’re holding that close to the vest for now, waiting for a big reveal when they reopen!)
But wait – then the coronavirus hits and our world has changed dramatically over the last 30 days. So we called Grant Turner to chat with him about how things were going. He tells us that they are close to completing negotiations with a potential restaurant operation, but obviously the current climate has delayed everything and made this more challenging than anticipated. However, Grant is optimistic (always)! and feels confident that a great restaurant will be ready to open here as soon as the industry is allowed to begin to reopen their doors.
Let’s continue to wish them all well in this process, and the staff at Evan’s as well, during these crazy times.
