Historic Landmark Restaurant closing in Mesa

After a 34-year run in one of Mesa's premier historic buildings, the Landmark Restaurant is closing at the end of this month, owner Don Ellis says.

The restaurant's famed salad room — a smorgasbord with items such as prickly-pear-cactus salad, pickled watermelon and quail eggs — will go dark, and its menu full of comfort foods like pot roast and chicken fried chicken will disappear. But the building itself will live on under new ownership, likely as a wedding venue without a public restaurant, the Ellises said.

Don and his wife, Candy, moved to Arizona from New Hampshire and opened the Landmark on New Year's Day 1981. This week, they finalized a deal to sell the historic property to Aldea Weddings in Peoria for about $975,000.

After more than three decades running the Mesa restaurant, the Ellises decided it was time to move on. They had been talking about selling for the past five or six years, Candy said.

RELATED: Longtime Phoenix restaurant Downtown Deli to close Friday

RELATED: Pinnacle Peak Patio's last supper: Steaks, pie, memories

"Concepts change, and you want to keep something going that is viable," she said. "If you can't keep up with that, then you need to make a change. We just decided this is the time."

The restaurant's last day will be May 31. Letting go after a long, successful run won't be easy, Candy acknowledged.

"Everybody's up in arms about the change," she said. "But the building will carry on because it is a landmark here. I think it's going to be preserved as such."

Count Mesa Mayor John Giles among those disappointed by the restaurant's closure.

"It's been a favorite of mine for a long time," Giles said. "I don't know where I'm going to get quail eggs going forward if the salad room is no longer there. I'll be sorry to see it go."

Mesa Councilman Dennis Kavanaugh, who visited the Landmark monthly with the East Valley Bar Association, said the news was sad but not unexpected.

"The food was consistently good, but I felt like I was eating at my grandmother's home so I always had to be on my best behavior," Kavanaugh said.

Evelyn Comer, owner of Aldea Weddings, said her company had looked for two years for the perfect location and building for an East Valley venue. The Landmark property's unique architecture and courtyards made it a good fit, she said.

Comer is working with the Mesa Historical Museum and a contractor to preserve the building while working through some updates and repairs, she said. Her company expects to move in for sales and marketing on June 1 and will have a grand opening on Sept. 1.

Aldea Weddings plans to host one private event per day at the Landmark building, along with regular open houses, community events and charitable functions, Comer said.

The building at 809 W. Main St. dates to 1908, when it opened as a Mormon church, and has served a variety of purposes since then. Known first as the Alma Ward Meeting House, the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The meeting house was built by Joseph Rogers Standage to accommodate a growing number of Mormon families settling west of Mesa's city limits along Alma School Road in the early 1900s, according to the National Register of Historic Places. It was surrounded by farmhouses and large cottonwood trees.

Local church members raised half of the $7,000 construction cost, with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints covering the other half, according to the National Register.

In addition to worship services, the Landmark building provided a recreational gathering place in Mesa in the early 1900s. An amusement hall on the southern side of the property was built of adobe brick in the 1920s and hosted plays, dances and other social events for the community — not just church members.

Another, smaller building was added in the 1930s as a Boy Scouts meeting room. Eventually, the congregation outgrew the building, and the church sold it to Producers Life Insurance Co. in 1954.

Mesa Community College established its first campus in the Landmark building in 1963 with 600 students. The college left three years later when its student population had doubled.

Faith Tabernacle Church moved in until 1972, when the property was again sold and became Rouch's Schoolhouse Restaurant. The Ellises took over nine years later.

During more than three decades owning the building, the Ellises have made sure to preserve and show off its rich history. A photo gallery in the restaurant's basement gives diners a glimpse of the past, with black-and-white shots of the building and the surrounding region.

The Ellises finalized the sale this week but have negotiated a short-term lease to allow the restaurant to stay open through the end of the month. The couple wanted to give fans one last chance to visit the restaurant.

5 uses for Mesa's historic Landmark building

One of Mesa's most significant remaining historic buildings, the Alma Ward Meeting House at 809 W. Main St. has seen a variety of uses over the years. Here is some of that history, according to a document from the National Register of Historic Places.

Mormon church

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints constructed the building in 1908 as the Alma Ward Meeting House, just west of Mesa city limits, to accommodate a growing congregation. In addition to worship services, the building provided space for social events like dances and plays for members and non-members alike.

Insurance office

After the LDS Church outgrew the building, it was sold in the 1950s to Producers Life Insurance Co., which maintained its offices there for about 10 years. The company kept the building largely unchanged but removed a sloping floor in the meeting house auditorium.

College campus

In the 1960s, Mesa Community College opened its first campus in the former church, with 600 students and 20 faculty members. The school served students from Mesa, Tempe, Chandler, east Scottsdale and Gilbert. It outgrew the building with 1,200 students by 1965 and moved out the following year.

Restaurant

The first restaurant at the Alma Ward Meeting House was Rouch's Schoolhouse Restaurant, which opened in 1972. It was replaced by the Landmark Restaurant nine years later under new ownership. Don and Candy Ellis have operated the Landmark for 34 years.

Wedding venue

Under new ownership, the restaurant is set to close at the end of May and will become an events center for weddings and receptions. It will be the first time in more than four decades that the building has not welcomed diners at a public restaurant.