Grand Canyon Cafe in Flagstaff reopens

The historic Grand Canyon Cafe in downtown Flagstaff, Arizona, reopened this weekend after a lengthy renovation following an ownership change.

Here’s a post on Instagram on Friday:

A post shared by Alissa Marquess (@alissamarquess) on Jun 30, 2017 at 10:54am PDT

Alissa Marquess wrote in the photograph:

The Wong Family had this restaurant for over 70 years before we bought the business from them. I was grateful to talk to Fred Wong this morning and have him tell me that we’ve done well, “…kept some of the old but polished it up.” He’s going to be in to cook with our chefs soon. […] I loved it that already this morning we had both regulars as well as a couple from Europe on a road trip down the Mother Road. Feels good to see this place be able to continue being part of Flag and Route 66.

Ownership of the Grand Canyon Cafe changed last fall when a group of five investors bought it. The group included owners of local restaurants and a microbrewery, plus a Northern Arizona University faculty member.

The group at the time of the buyout said they planned to keep some menu favorites, such as the chicken fried steak, as well as some of the Chinese-food influence the Wong family gave to the restaurant. They kept the neon signs, restored the jukebox, re-upholstered the booth seating and made the restaurant compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

At the time, the principals expected the Route 66 landmark to reopen as early as December 2016. However, as many restaurant renovations do, it took longer than expected.