Wringing hands likely doesn’t do justice to the exercise of Valley old-timers these days.
Pinnacle Peak Patio and Greasewood Flat in Scottsdale are going away next year.
Today we learned Monti’s La Casa Vieja, the oldest restaurant in Arizona, is closing in just two weeks. And this follows the closure of landmark Mexican restaurant Tia Rosa’s in Mesa. 
Well, at least we still have Rustler’s Rooste.
The natural reaction is to lament their passings and resent that which is taking their places.
This would be miniature thinking on a couple of different levels.
First, the re-developers of the Pinnacle Peak Patio site are wisely exploring options to recreate Pinnacle Peak Patio at WestWorld as a new special event venue. This follows their generosity of allowing the restaurant to continue rent free, prolonging the operation far beyond what would have otherwise occurred.
Greasewood Flat recently pulled its effort to relocate to property elsewhere in Scottsdale. If the owners could ever get in sync they would realize the brand equity the establishment has, and begin soliciting for new locations like Rawhide once did, solidifying a future elsewhere.
The 11,000 square foot integrity of the historic “Hayden House” that makes up the core of Monti’s will be preserved in the redevelopment. So while it may not welcome steak lovers any more who knows what the future may hold in the fascinating space.
The lamenters will say the Valley is losing its way and that which makes it special.
They will say Scottsdale is losing its western roots, notwithstanding God’s roots in greater abundance in the massive McDowell Sonoran Preserve close by Greasewood Flat and Pinnacle Peak Patio. Also adjoining Pinnacle Peak Patio is the hugely popular Pinnacle Peak trailhead, created long after the restaurant debuted. And then there is the Four Seasons across the street from Greasewood Flat, enriching the neighborhood since its opening years ago.
Across from Monti’s is Tempe Beach Park, the site of festivals, concerts and families nearly every week of the year.
Downtown Phoenix is awash in terrific new small businesses, local entrepreneurs rather than chains are again flocking to Mill Avenue and University of Phoenix Stadium has become one of the best home field advantages in the National Football League, not to mention the upcoming home of Super Bowl 49, college football national champsionship and a likely Final Four.
Even the infamous Scottsdale Galleria which replaced the beloved Kachina Theater and confused downtown Scottsdale for years has reinvented itself as a fully-leased technology center fueling nearby businesses with enterprising employees.
A dynamic community replaces special with special. And that’s the good news about this other news of late, as the more enlightened view can mitigate our regret, knowing that our community indeed remains impressively dynamic.