A Wild West restaurant that has been a part of Tucson's heritage for 45 years is heading off into the sunset.

The Hidden Valley Inn, 4825 N. Sabino Canyon Road, will close its doors for good after serving up its last steaks Sunday night.

The building will be remodeled and reopen as the new corporate headquarters of Community Provider of Enrichment Services Inc., a local social service agency currently located at 2020 N. Forbes Blvd., according to a statement released by Hidden Valley Inn owner Ron Brown.

"With the considerable development around the restaurant in recent years, the restaurant had become somewhat of an eyesore and didn't quite fit into the emerging neighborhood," was the only explanation provided for the closure.

Plans proposed last year to convert the property into a two-story self-storage facility — ultimately approved by the Pima County Board of Supervisors — were dropped in favor of turning it into leased office space, said restaurant manager Paul Seguin.

The Hidden Valley Inn dates to the 1960s, when the property served as a beer-and-burger watering hole for nearby ranchers and passers-by. Its original name — if it had one — has been lost to history.

The restaurant ditched its cowboy menu for German cuisine in 1950 when Uffner's Sabino Canyon Corral Hofbrau opened, featuring its own glockenspiel room.

In 1977, the Colligan family purchased Uffner's Hofbrau and restored its Western flair under the name Hidden Valley Inn.

After a 1995 fire destroyed the restaurant, causing an estimated $1.4 million in damage, the owners declared bankruptcy and sold the inn in 1998.

Since reopening in 1996, the Hidden Valley Inn has continued to serve up traditional Western fare, along with more contemporary-style pasta and seafood plates.

It also played host to a series of Western-themed musical revues and fund-raising events, such as the annual Horsin' Around art auction for the nonprofit Therapeutic Riding of Tucson organization.

TROT program director Mary Vardi estimated that the fund-raiser had been held at Hidden Valley for at least four of its five years. News of its closure came as a complete surprise to her and to the executive director, Leslie Esselburn.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Certainly it was a unique venue for what we were doing, and it really fit our casual, blue jeans-wearing, barbecue event," Esselburn said.

A public auction of Hidden Valley Inn decor and restaurant paraphernalia, including authentic riding saddles and artwork, is planned next Saturday. For more information, call 299-4941.


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● Contact reporter Tiana Velez at 434-4083 or tvelez@azstarnet.com.