Tom’s Tavern, iconic downtown Phoenix restaurant, closes doors after 87 years
May 10, 2017, 5:49 AM | Updated: 9:55 am
(Facebook/Tom's Tavern)
(Facebook/Tom's Tavern)
PHOENIX — The iconic downtown Phoenix restaurant Tom’s Tavern has closed its doors on May 5 after 87 years of operation, the Phoenix Business Journal reported.
Officials with the eatery released a statement on May 5, saying owner and chef Jim Gallen “was forced” to close Tom’s Tavern “after careful consideration.”
“Tom’s Tavern has a rich history in Phoenix, and has enjoyed serving many of our city’s finest,” part of the statement read.
The statement did not give a reason for the restaurant’s closure, and neither did a Facebook post by Gallen on Monday.
“This weekend has brought change, Tom’s is closed and no one is more disappointed than I,” Gallen wrote on Facebook.
Gallen also thanked the family of Arizona Cardinals President Michael Bidwill, whose company bought the restaurant in 2011, customers and his family for the support.
The future for the downtown Phoenix space is uncertain, the restaurant officials said in the release, but Gallen “will continue cooking in the Valley.”
The restaurant was a staple in downtown Phoenix.
Tom’s Tavern opened at the old Phoenix morgue in 1929, then moved to its newest location in downtown Phoenix’s Renaissance Square in 1982. It was owned by Michael Ratner from 1982 until 2010, when he died from cancer.
Rojo Hospitality, called “an arm of the Arizona Cardinals family and the Bidwill family businesses” by the Arizona Business Journal, bought the restaurant in 2011 to avoid closure.
