Monti’s La Casa Vieja
Located in Tempe, AZ, and near Tempe Beach Park, sits the
foremost restaurant, Monti’s La Casa Vieja.
You will be treated to a premier meal at an affordable price. The atmosphere is somewhat dark and
moody. It feels like an old mine
setting, but more upscale.
The restaurant’s adobe building started out as the home for
Charles Trumbull Hayden and built in 1871.
He constructed the flour mill across the street, and started a ferry
service crossing the Salt River. After
Charles married Sallie Davis, the house became many different
establishments. It was once a hotel,
blacksmith shop, post office, and even a general store. The settlement of Tempe was known as Hayden’s
Ferry during this era and was later changed to Tempe sometime in the 1880’s. The Hayden’s son, Carl was born in that house
and later became a congressman. Carl
Hayden is noted as being one of the most significant citizens in Arizona
history.
The Hayden family relocated to their new residence in the
1890’s, and started calling the original house “La Casa Vieja” which is Spanish
for “The Old House”. Meals were cooked
at La Casa Vieja by the Hayden daughters for travelers using the ferry service
or purchasing flour at the mill. Due to
economic hardships in the 1930’s, the sisters were compelled to sell the
property. The restaurant changed hands
with many owners throughout the years.
In 1954, Leonard F. Monti Sr. bought the structure, and
opened for business two years later.
Knowing about the history of the place, he decided not to rename the restaurant
and added his name calling it, “Monti’s La Casa Vieja”. He adorned the walls with memorabilia,
photographs, and placed exclusive objects around the interior displaying the
history of the place. In 1984, the
Hayden House was added to the National Register of Historic Places. I have had many meals at this restaurant, and
had a wonderful experience each time.
We need to get into that mill!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! I bet the inside has lots of interesting stories and photo opts.
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