Granny’s Closet, formerly known as the Lumberjack Cafe, in Flagstaff, Arizona, probably won’t reopen as a restaurant. But the future of the property remains unclear after Northern Arizona University officials approved buying it.
According a report this week by the Arizona Daily Sun, Northern Arizona Real Estate Holdings, which works for the NAU Foundation, bought the restaurant and adjoining residential rental properties April 15 for $4.9 million plus 5 percent interest over the next 20 years.
Granny’s Closet at at 218 S. Milton Road (aka Route 66) closed in late 2016, and its contents were auctioned in April 2017.
What the university will do with the Granny’s Closet property remains uncertain:
“NAU has not made any decision or put together any plan for the property,” said NAU spokesperson Kimberly Ott, adding that now that ABOR has approved the purchase of the property, the university can utilize the property as it sees fit without having to again seek ABOR approval.
The property is just across West Butler Avenue from campus and nearly adjacent to the Hub, a student housing complex set to open this fall.
According to ABOR documents, “transferring ownership from the NAU Foundation to the University will allow for the University to better manage the real property and will better position NAU to manage its anticipated future growth and needed facilities.”
A 10-foot-tall fiberglass lumberjack and an antique tractor once stood at the property. According to previous reporting, one of the brothers in the family that owned the restaurant for years kept the tractor, and the lumberjack was moved a few miles down Route 66 to the historic Museum Club in Flagstaff.
The Lumberjack Cafe and one of two original, 20-foot-tall fiberglass lumberjack statues made a brief appearance in the iconic 1969 film, “Easy Rider.” You can see it at the 3:07 mark of this clip.
The restaurant’s two tall lumberjacks were moved to the university’s Walkup Skydome after the restaurant changed owners in 1974.
(Images of Granny’s Closet via Yelp)