After nearly two years of trying to make inroads to the downtown Tucson dining scene, The Delta Bar & Grill is closing.
The restaurant, dubbed by the owners as the "pissed off rock-and-roll cousin" of its sister restaurant The Parish, will serve its final Sonoran gumbo, muffuletta sandwich, pimento cheese dip and other Southern-inspired fare on Saturday, Nov. 11.
"It just never took off," co-owner Bryce Zeagler said on Friday, Nov. 3, hours after he and his partners, Steve Dunn and chef Travis Peters, announced the closing on Instagram.
"Financially we probably should have closed months ago, but it finally gets to the point when you are asking yourself when is enough enough," Zeagler said.
Original art colors the walls over the diners at The Delta, 135 S. Sixth Ave. on Jan. 12.
The Parish, at 6453 N. Oracle Road, which has been in business for 12 years, will not be affected by the closure, Zeagler said.
Zeagler and his partners signed the lease for 135 S. Sixth Ave. in spring 2021 and spent 10 months renovating the space that had been home for 10 years to Janos Wilder's Downtown Kitchen + Cocktails.
Zeagler said that when The Delta opened on Jan. 1, 2022, they had plans to open for lunch and capitalize on the workers in downtown business and government offices.
But after the pandemic, most of those office workers who had transitioned to virtual offices never returned.
The Quesabirria Smash Burger, a smash patty with El Rustico’s birria, pico de gallo and avocado salsa on a local brioche bun, from The Delta, 135 S. Sixth Ave.
"I don’t think, based on our experience down there, that it was tied to us specifically as a concept more so than the challenges of downtowns in general," Zeagler said.
Zeagler said he and his partners told the restaurant's 28 employees about the closing three weeks ago to give them time to find new jobs.
"It was really important to us, as a matter of fact the most important thing, to give them time to make arrangements and find jobs," he said.
Zeagler said closing The Delta allows him and his partners to refocus on their Parish roots.
"That’s our baby and it's doing great," he said. "This allows us to pay attention to our initial concept and grow from there.”
The Delta is open from 4-10 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, from 4 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday and from 4-9 p.m. Sunday. The restaurant will close for good at the end of business on Nov. 11.
