At 10 a.m. on October 8, a bronze plaque goes up at 6033 E. Cave Creek Road. The building is Local Jonny's Tavern & Café. In the 1950s and '60s it was the Highway Variety Store. The plaque comes from the Local Landmarks program, which the Cave Creek Museum runs for the town. The museum ties each plaque to a public storytelling map. Local Jonny's is one of three honorees for the 2026–27 season, and the announcement doesn't name the other two.
Read the map end to end and a pattern shows up. Very few of these places are still doing the job they were built for. Most of the town's heritage sits in buildings that changed use two, three or six times. The Local Jonny's plaque fits right in, and this fall's newcomers are setting up along the same road.
Before It Was a Tavern
The Cave Creek/Carefree Independent printed the building's history when it announced the award. The list reads like a slow-motion Main Street:
- Highway Variety Store, in the 1950s and '60s
- Highway Variety Hardware store
- A barber shop, a locksmith and an auto repair shop
- Lauren's Feed and Tack
- Cave Creek Coffee Company, known as C4. The paper calls it one of the most influential businesses in downtown Cave Creek in the late 1990s and 2000s.
- From 2014, a coffee shop with a few breakfast items on one side and the Flat Tire Bike Shop on the other
- Curbside and online service during the pandemic, including essentials and groceries
- In 2021, a remodel, a new tavern bar, full table service and the current name
The bike shop moved to another location in 2020. The tavern in its current form is only five years old. The program is honoring the building and its run as a gathering spot, so the age of the current business doesn't count against it. The museum describes the program as recognizing "iconic buildings and special spaces."
The Rest of the Map Has the Same History
The program started in 2020. By November 2024 it had recognized 20 sites, according to a Town of Cave Creek release issued for the Desert Awareness Park presentation. Rancho Mañana was a 2025 recipient. As of its February 2026 update, the Cave Creek Museum's Local Landmarks page lists 23 mapped places. Many of their histories look a lot like Local Jonny's:
| Landmark | Address | What the building was first | What it is now |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cave Creek Inn | 37645 N. Cave Creek Rd. | Black Mountain Store, a country store from the late 1940s | Oregano's, after stints as the Cave Creek Inn, Trois Amis and a Mexican restaurant |
| Big Earl's Greasy Eats | 6135 E. Cave Creek Rd. | A 1930s Standard Oil station in Phoenix, moved to Cave Creek in the 1950s | Retro diner since 2002 |
| El Encanto | 6248 E. Cave Creek Rd. | Black Mountain Gas Company offices, 1952 | Mission-style restaurant, run by the same family since 1989 |
| The Horny Toad | 6738 E. Cave Creek Rd. | A home, built in 1932 | Fried chicken dinners and a busy bar |
| Indian Village | 6746 E. Cave Creek Rd. | Laundromat for dude-ranch cowboys, around 1944 | Tacos, frybread and souvenirs since 1972 |
| The Hideaway | 6746 E. Cave Creek Rd. | Housing believed to date to the 1930s, for Bartlett Dam workers | Biker destination bar, after time as Hannah's Chocolate Shop and a French bistro |
| Buffalo Chip | 6823 E. Cave Creek Rd. | Bait shop, 1951 | Saloon with a bull riding arena |
| Le Sans Souci | 7030 E. Bella Vista Dr. | A private home | French restaurant since 1995 |
| Wagon Wheel Coffee Shop | 36457 N. Cave Creek Rd. | A residence and jewelry store | Coffee shop since 1989 |
Indian Village went furthest before landing on tacos. Between the laundromat and its 1972 opening, the museum lists a duplex apartment, a taxi stand, a Chinese restaurant and a video arcade. The Wagon Wheel's barred windows date from its jewelry store years, and the coffee shop takes cash only. Big Earl's is the one with outside recognition. It's on the National Register of Historic Places, and the museum calls it the only remaining Phoenix-area example of the classic Standard Oil station design.
A few entries are the exceptions. Harold's Cave Creek Corral has been a bar since the 1930s and has carried the Harold's name since about 1950. Cave Creek Building Supply has stayed in the building supply business since its founding in 1958, through three generations and a fire that destroyed the original building. Even the Cave Creek Museum has a reuse story. Its campus at 1 Skyline Drive includes a historic church that was donated and moved to the site.
Walking the Map This Fall
The map works well as a self-guided route because so many stops are still open for business. Most addresses run along a short stretch of Cave Creek Road, from Big Earl's at 6135 E. to the Buffalo Chip at 6823 E. The museum also runs a Local Landmarks Passport. You pick one up at the Cave Creek Museum or the Cave Creek Visitor Bureau, visit 10 locations, answer the questions and bring it back for some swag.
A stop at Local Jonny's now comes with a plaque to find. The bronze plaques are meant to link each place to the stories on the museum's map. The map's outdoor stops go well beyond the town core. They include Black Mountain Summit Preserve, a 2.2-mile round trip with a 1,000-foot elevation change to a 3,398-foot summit, plus Cave Creek Regional Park and Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area.
October Brings More Traffic to the Same Road
Two October events take over Stagecoach Village at 7100 E. Cave Creek Road, a short drive east of the landmark cluster.
- Taste of Cave Creek runs October 14 and 15, 5 to 9 p.m., with tastings from more than 25 local restaurants, according to the event site.
- The 17th Annual Stagecoach Village Fine Art & Wine Festival runs October 23 through 25, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Vermillion Promotions produces the festival, and it supports Robinson Ranch.
- Foothills Food Bank's 28th Annual Empty Bowls Market follows on Saturday, November 14, at 4250 E. Carefree Highway. VIP hours run 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. and public hours run noon to 2 p.m., per the food bank.
Taste of Cave Creek may be the easiest way to sample the town's kitchens in one evening. Many of those kitchens belong to the reuse story above.
The Next Tenants Are Already Here
The newest arrival on the main road sits right in the landmark cluster. Creekers, a locally owned burger restaurant and bar, took Suite 14 at 6554 E. Cave Creek Road, as the Independent reported in June. A first-look video posted August 31 showed a soft opening, with the official opening announced for Labor Day. That address is a few doors from the Dairy Queen at 6548 E. Cave Creek Road. The museum's map entry for the Dairy Queen describes it as a long-standing local spot "to meet for a burger." The museum also uses "Creekers" for locals in its Hideaway entry.
Two other projects are further out:
- Desert Hills Brewing Co. is under construction near the northeast corner of 53rd Street and Olesen Road. A September profile forecast a late December or early January opening. An October 2 report pushed the tentative target to mid-January 2027, with construction and permitting still underway.
- Black Mountain Marketplace is a 13-acre retail and restaurant project at the southeast corner of Cave Creek Road and Carefree Highway. As of KTAR's October 4 report, tenants were still negotiating. The land was zoned commercial before Cave Creek incorporated in 1986. The developer prepared a Native Plant Inventory and Salvage Plan, and part of the residential-zoned land on Black Mountain will stay open through a Transfer of Density. South of Carefree Highway, the City of Phoenix will supply water for the development.
The marketplace parcel has been waiting for a commercial use since before the town existed, and it's still waiting on its first tenants.
Cave Creek homes have histories too, and those histories affect what a property is worth today. If you own near the town core and want to know where your home stands this fall, Andy Berglund has followed this market since 1995 and can show you how buyers are valuing it now. Start with Get Your Instant Home Valuation, then call Andy to talk through the details.
