Kingfisher Bar & Grill, one of the old guard of eating establishments on Grant Road between Tucson Boulevard and Forgeus Avenue, has been sold to new owners.

James Murphy and Jeff Azersky celebrated Kingfisher Bar & Grillโ€˜s 29th anniversary on Sept. 1.

On Monday, Oct. 24, they announced that they had sold their longtime Grant Road seafood-centric restaurant to a Tucson couple that had been regular diners for the last 20 years.

โ€œFor years, Jeff and I have said โ€ฆ we run a business and it is like a family, but the family can run under different owners,โ€ Murphy said Tuesday as he showed the new owners, Jacqueline Kuder and Ted Burhans, around the restaurant at 2564 E. Grant Road.

Murphy said he and Azersky will continue working for a while to help with the transition, but most of the staff including some who have been with Kingfisher since its early days will remain on board.

Sabine Butka, far left, and Patricia Peery listen to Robert Schreiber as he relays a story to them over lunch at Kingfisher Bar & Grill.

โ€œThey want to keep Kingfisher on an even keel and keep the staff and keep what Jeff and I and (fellow founders) John (Burke) and Tim (Ivankovich) and everyone who has worked here for the last 30 years (made) a staple in the community,โ€ Murphy said.

Murphy said Kuder has a long history as a chef, including cooking years ago with Janos Wilder at his namesake upscale restaurant at Westin La Paloma Resort. Burhans worked front of house at Janos, Wilder said.

Kuder also was a food critic for a number of years with Tucson Weekly. Burhans, a UA alumnus, works in the field of sustainable energy.

The couple is coming into a restaurant with a long established reputation and loyal clientele base.

Jim "Murph" Murphy

Jeff Azersky

โ€œTucson has been very kind to us, and we have loved taking care of our clientele, many we see weekly or yearly as they return from Wisconsin or Chicago or Maine,โ€ Murphy said. โ€œWeโ€™ve been very lucky in that.โ€

Murphy and his partners opened Kingfisher in 1993 on a mostly desolate stretch of East Grant, which at the time had one other nice restaurant, the longtime Italian eatery FioRita. (Burke left Kingfisher early on and Ivankovich died in 2012.)

โ€œI think I remember a review that said, โ€˜Well, theyโ€™re in the middle of the desert on Grant Road.โ€™ Now, thereโ€™s what โ€ฆ five or six different food places?โ€ Murphy said. โ€œGrant Road around here has changed. โ€ฆ This has kind of been a new hub of food. I think the rise of midtown and Grant Road has been a boon for the neighborhood and the community.โ€

Murphy said that although they are selling the restaurant, they are not retiring.

โ€œWho says weโ€™re retiring? We just sold the business,โ€ he said. โ€œIโ€™m turning 62 tomorrow. Iโ€™m gonna nap for a little bit and take some time off.โ€

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Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at cburch@tucson.com. On Twitter @Starburch