Who'd Buy a Town?	< 1980-1987 . 1987-1998 . 1998-2008 >
1987 to 1998 - Jerry & Mary Jo Bryant

Jerry and Mary Jo Bryant were the owners of Tortilla Flat for eleven years, before retirement came calling. But, who would they sell their town to? Not just anyone, but someone who would love the town and keep it in the direction of improvements, but still keep the unique history intact. Tortilla Flat had always been a "Mom & Pop" owned town and that's how the Bryant's wanted it to remain.

Before they became owners of Tortilla Flat, the Bryant's lived in Indiana for over 40 years. Jerry's background in aviation had him working for a Cessna dealership and for General Motors in research and development on aircraft gas turbine engines. Mary Jo handled the secretarial work for a power company in Indianapolis. Freezing winters, humid, hot summers, day after day of overcast skies depressed the Bryant's and they began to look for business opportunities in warmer climates.

Jerry worked with a man named bob Brock at an airport in Indiana in the mid-1970s. This man later moved to Arizona where he bought a town (you guessed it --- Tortilla Flat). They kept in touch and on a visit back to Indiana in the mid-'80s, Brock told Jerry and Mary Jo about Tortilla Flat. Thus the seed was planted at just the right time, when the Bryant's were considering their options.

When Jerry and Mary Jo decided it was time to leave Indiana and set up their own business, they had already made the decision to move to Arizona. But, the question was ... where? They gave Bob Brock a call to ask about businesses for sale. He said, "Have I got a deal for you," and suggested they become partners in Tortilla Flat.

The Bryant's visited the little town soon after their call to Brock, after the fire of '87. (More about the fire later.) The town then was a pile of burned down rubble, yet Jerry and Mary Jo could see it had great potential. Brock had regained control of the corporation through default and had exhausted all venture capital and potential investors when the Bryant's purchased partnership of Tortilla Flat in December of 1987. Rebuilding started in January of 1988. The Bryant's liquidated everything they owned in Indiana, and arrived in town on Valentines Day, 1988. What a way to start a new year!

Eager to begin, their heads brimming with possibilities and ideas, the Bryant's plunged right into rebuilding the town. Though you wouldn't guess it, underneath the buildings' rustic facades is sturdy, fireproof cinder block. You may think that since Tortilla Flat is 18 miles away from town that state, county, and federal regulations are lax. Such is not the case. The Bryant's have taken great care to work with the Mesa District of Tonto National Forest and other state and county jurisdictions in the strictest compliance.

Not just anyone would be able to come out here and make this enterprise work. It's a very specified niche. Combining the traditional Old West with up-to-date technology and insight, the Bryant's have been able to make the town not only survive, but be a bigger success than they ever imagined. During the height of the busy season they will serve as many as 1,000 people a day.

The staff is thoroughly trained and cross trained so everyone is more than capable of handling the busy season. Sometimes you may have to wait a bit for a table, but it's worth it! Jerry and Mary Jo insist on good service, and good food -- in quality and quantity. If it wasn't that way, then why would more than 300,000 people a year stop to visit? To live in Tortilla Flat, you have to work in Tortilla Flat (though you can work here without living here). The employees, themselves, work as though they each had a personal investment in Tortilla Flat. And in a sense, they do. It's a way of life, not just a job. When you ask folks why they want to live all the way out here, with no phones and few in-town conveniences, they say "Well look. Just take a look around you." And, indeed, 'why' is that obvious. The scenery is un-paralleled.

During the winter, live bands play bluegrass and country music out on the patio. Patrons can order food grilled on a unique outdoor cooker that Jerry built to look like an old locomotive. Inside the restaurant the cozy atmosphere invites people to relax and enjoy their good food and fun surroundings.

Folks from more than 67 countries have papered the walls with currency. Places such as Jamaica, Canada, Chile, Singapore, France, Yemen, Mexico, Germany, New Zealand, Indonesia, Ireland, Philippines, England, Italy, Poland, Korea, Netherlands, Hong Kong, Czechoslovakia, San Salvador, Iceland, India, Guatemala, Malaysia, Egypt, Australia, Russia, Thailand, Belgium, and of course the good ole USA. Autograph one of your own dollar bills and join the long-standing tradition. You might even find the name of someone you know, or someone who's famous.

Other interesting attractions are mounted on the wall, some representing the wildlife of the area plus pictures and memorabilia. Unusual barstools of genuine saddles beckon young and old to belly up to the bar for a famous Bull-rider burger and sarsparilla. The large native stone fireplace in the comer of the upper dining room adds to the charm of the friendly Old West atmosphere.

Of course a trip to Tortilla Flat would not be complete without a stroll up and down the boardwalk. The clomp of shoes on the wood is reminiscent of a time past when wooden sidewalks were the only kind of sidewalk. Be sure to venture into the ice cream parlor and gift shop. Tortilla Flat is the only place in the world where you can get prickly pear ice cream (comes in yogurt, too). Deeeelicious. Other items unique to the Southwest or to Tortilla Flat, such as spice packets for making your own Killer Chili, can be found on the shop's numerous shelves. A short walk past the schoolhouse takes you to the hanging tree where some of Arizona's desperados met their end. Now it's reserved for those who would pilfer the 'wallpaper' in the restaurant. (Just kidding, folks.)

Tortilla Flat has its own post office so you can mail your post cards and letters to family and friends and make them envious to be here with you.

Jerry and Mary Jo make every effort to keep alive this corner of the Old West. The Superstition Mountains, themselves, help with that. Once you get a quarter of a mile or so off the road you can set your watch back about 100 years. The people who've set up permanent camps in the Superstitions seem to still live in that era where the "Law of the West" and survival of the fittest are the only rules. The Bryant's parents just shook their heads and thought their kids must be crazy to leave perfectly good, well­paying jobs to move out WEST and BUY a TOWN -- for goodness sake. But they quickly changed their minds when they came for a visit and saw for themselves. Crazy? No. Incredibly enterprising? Yes. Mary Jo sometimes thinks that what they're doing here is a dream. Especially when looking back on their past lives. They wouldn't trade it for the world.