Saguaro Corners is cozied right up next to Tanque Verde Peak—literally as close as you can get to the protected park area without being in the park itself. It is zoned suburban ranch, even though it is under commercial use, and this certainly would not fly today, but the Saguaro Corners has been standing since the mid-'50s and has been grandfathered in.
Recently, this historic restaurant space was taken over by Kade Mislinski, former owner of downtown hotspots the HUB and Playground. He made some changes to the menu, notably adding a “donut program,” and some new and interesting tap beers for those bikers out all day and wanting a fresh brew.
Not much has been written about the history of this place, but I got kind of an "oral history." After lunch I asked the waiter if he knew anything about the neon sign out front. He got excited and said he was working one day and an old guy came in to eat and started telling him about the history of the place from his own memories. He sat down and listened.
Apparently this space was a gas station before it was a restaurant. In 1956 it was converted to a restaurant, and presumably the sign was placed about then too. The owner of the place at the time (it has changed hands several times since then) happened to have a backhoe on the property. Some developers were trying to develop the land behind the restaurant, and needed a backhoe, so they asked if they could rent the owner's machine. They did, and did some excavating, but then the deal for the homes fell through. With no profits from development they couldn't pay for the rental of he backhoe, so they offered to give the owner some property instead.
At this time there wasn't much out here, no state park or anything, so land was cheap. The builders gave him a large parcel, spanning from Old Spanish Trail and Escalante, up to Speedway and Houghton. The land included wells with water, which made the land more valuable.
Where the Saguaro State Park entrance is now, there used to be bunkhouses for the employees of the restaurant.
I forgot to ask if the sign is lit up at night.