“I’ve always been into camping,” Andrews says, “and I’ve stayed at similar lodges and loved the experience, so we decided to take the idea of above-ground trailers and make them more permanent.” He says the location, previously home to another lodging destination, was a perfect fit for the concept: “There is this beautiful creek that borders the property, and it just felt very peaceful.”
Doug Weckerly and his wife, Laura, opened b. simple in a small, unassuming space in 2020. Weckerly, who launched popular restaurant chains in New Mexico and Colorado, built b. simple’s menu on the same elements that made his earlier restaurants beloved: butter browns — his take on hash browns — and large, fluffy biscuits with house-made jams.
“We’re known for our browns and our biscuits,” says Jose Sanchez, who bought b. simple with his wife, Katherine Velasco, in 2022. “Those are the two things people have to have.”
Located in a stone “cottage” on Montezuma Street in Prescott, Bear & Dragon takes its name from the nicknames of Adam’s two kids, Bridget (“Little Bear”) and Drake (“The Dragon”). But the name also reflects a British pub tradition dating to the days before widespread literacy, when pubs used pictures to depict their names. Inside, Adam and her husband, Chris, replicated the feel of an English cottage, with wall sconces, floor-to-ceiling books and framed portraits of British literary figures.
After creating a catering business named Senses, which focused on serving sustainable, locally sourced food, John Panza and Cassandra Hankison took over Prescott’s BiGA restaurant in 2017. They rebranded the inviting space as BiGA by Senses, with a simple goal: delivering a true farm-to-table experience that doesn’t sacrifice flavor for a talking point. “My opinion,” Panza says, “is that when you’re cooking with local food and seasonal ingredients, if it grows together, it usually goes together.”
Three years later — and having survived the COVID-19 pandemic — the restaurant and brewery is popular among Prescott locals and visitors alike, having been voted Prescott’s best brewery and best restaurant in The Daily Courier’s Readers’ Choice Awards in 2021.
Farm Provisions’ seasonal menu features interesting twists on comfort foods, such as deep-fried deviled eggs, made with locally sourced eggs, maple bacon jam and sriracha creme fraiche; and the Not Your Mom’s Chicken Pot Pie, served in a puff pastry with all-natural chicken, fresh peas and a rich sauce flavored with rosemary and thyme.
Now more than 100 years old — the property celebrated its centennial in 2017 — the Vendome features 20 guest rooms with private bathrooms, many of which include vintage claw-foot tubs. And while modern amenities have been installed over the years (think Wi-Fi, televisions, air conditioning and heat), much of the hotel’s original charm remains.
The lodge’s foundation dates to the turn of the 20th century, when it supported housing for immigrant railroad laborers. The current structure dates to the 1940s, when it opened as Navajo Lodge, one of the motor lodges built along U.S. Route 89 (now State Route 89), which defined the northern edge of town for decades. In later years, the building served as Prescott’s Greyhound station before becoming an extended-stay facility.
