Owner of Motel Safari in Tucumcari is putting it up for sale

The owner of the historic Motel Safari in Tucumcari, New Mexico, announced on social media this week he soon would put the Route 66 establishment on the market.

Larry Smith, who has owned the motel at 722 E. Route 66 Blvd. for six years, stated he was “feeling that my time here at the Safari is drawing to a close” and that he was putting the word out to prospective buyers. The motel will remain operating in the meantime.

“It’s hugely important to me that the motel remains in the right hands and continues to build on its stellar reputation and forward path. It’s a comeback story with many more chapters yet to be written,” he wrote.

Here is his post on Facebook. He made a similar post on Instagram:

Smith asked that possibly buyers contact him privately for more details about the property. It consistently has boasted stellar reviews from online sites such as TripAdvisor.

In an interview with Smith on Thursday in the lobby of his motel, he said he was prompted to put the Safari up for sale by a wish to return to his home state of Tennessee. He also mentioned the difficulty in hiring housekeeping employees, adding that running the motel by himself “wears you down.”

Two years ago, Smith and the Motel Safari received the New Mexico Route 66 Association Heritage Award for its historic-friendly preservation and many improvements.

The motel was built in 1959. Chester Dohrer, an independent hotelier, designed and built the motel.

Larry Smith, a former director for international program distribution at Scripps Networks in Knoxville, Tennessee, purchased the motel in 2017 from Richard and Gail Talley, who greatly improved the property during their 10-year tenure.

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