Press Room

I hope it’s not controversial to say that restaurant music has a bad reputation. It’s usually either too obtrusive or it fades into the background so much that you wonder why it’s being played at all. However, when it’s done right, carefully curated music can really add to a dining experience. If you don’t believe me, go to the Galaxy Diner on Route 66 and then try to tell me that hearing the Beach Boys and Chuck Berry on the jukebox doesn’t add a little extra to the experience of eating your cheeseburger and banana split. There’s a reason that whenever I hear Dean Martin I can almost taste Olive Garden breadsticks or that Norteno music makes me crave chips and salsa. But how can we apply this to our restaurant in order to give our guests a more immersive dining experience?

First, a little background. We use the name “Charly’s” to mean different things, and that can get confusing. Technically, all the dining and drinking on the first floor of the hotel is under the banner of “Charly’s Pub & Grill,” but the bar portion and the restaurant portion, which are separated by the lobby, have very different atmospheres and operate on different schedules. Furthermore, the restaurant portion is divided into two distinct rooms. Just off the lobby is the main restaurant space, which was the original lobby of the hotel and then a retail area for most of the 20^th century. Through a second set of doors is the Exchange Pub, which was built a few years after the rest of the hotel and was Flagstaff’s original telephone exchange, hence the name. Starting in the ‘20s or ‘30s, it became a diner called the LeBrea Café and eventually the Weatherford Café. In the late ‘70s, current hotel owner Henry Taylor allowed the leases on these businesses to expire so that he could renovate the spaces and re-integrate them into the hotel’s operation. Since then, due to the exceptional era of music during the hey-day of the telephone exchange, we’ve tried to stick to songs and artists, as well as restaurant décor, that represent that time.

Of course, that era of music, as groundbreaking as it was, can be limiting, especially for the employees who hear the same playlists day after day. Among other things, unlike in later decades, it was reallllllly hard to make a record in the ‘20s and ‘30s, so there is nowhere near the variety that you hear in music starting around the ‘50s and growing exponentially from there. This means that we repeat the same artists frequently. Because of this, it’s always tempting to drift from the plan, like rationalizing that since Billie Holiday is a soulful singer that fits the mold of what we’re trying to stick to, then someone who is similar on the surface from decades later, like Aretha Franklin, fits. Then from there, we drift and drift until we’re playing Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga. For obvious reasons, this needs to be avoided if we want to cultivate a pre-rock’n’roll, Jazz Age atmosphere.

However, in an entirely subjective “I know it when I see it” manner, some later music fits into our plan without throwing things off. Tom Waits, although recording starting in the early ‘70s, somehow fits the atmosphere with his less avant garde work. Nina Simone, who also played decades after Ella, Louis, and friends, is significantly more of a jazz-influenced artist than her Soul contemporaries and adds variety without abandoning our self-imposed structure. French and German songs of the pre-rock era and covers of these songs also spice things up. Add in some Blues and Western music (not Country, though. That’s different—just ask the Blues Brothers) and now we have some variety where those who are so inclined can pay attention and appreciate what they hear.

Here’s a sampling of the “new” approach:

1. “Cheek to Cheek” by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. We’re by no means throwing out the baby with the bathwater with this music update! The stuff that we’ve played for the past forty years is still awesome and it’s never leaving our playlist, only being joined by some new friends.
2. “Frankie” by Mississippi John Hurt. We’ve tended to learn more into Jazz rather than the Blues, but Mississippi John Hurt has always had a soft spot in our hearts, as evidenced by his portrait hanging in the restaurant.
3. “See That My Grave’s Kept Clean” by Lou Reed. Musicologist Harry Smith collected volumes of field recordings in the 1920s that preserved many of the traditional songs that later became folk and blues standards, including the previous one on the list. In 2006, a tribute concert was held where contemporary artists including Nick Cave, Beck, and Wilco covered some of these songs. It’s hard to pick just one song from that collection to include here, but Lou Reed’s version of Blind Lemon Jefferson’s “See That My Grave’s Kept Clean” is definitely among the top 5.
4. “Gallow’s Tree (Gallow’s Pole)” by Odetta. This Leadbelly song is best known from Led Zeppelin’s recording, but if we played Led Zeppelin at Charly’s I’d probably get fired on the spot. Here’s Odetta, who once actually played on the stage in Charly’s bar area.
5. “Hang Down Your Head” by Tom Waits. It’s tempting to include one of Waits’ earlier songs from when he played barroom piano ballads like a demented Billy Joel, since his output after about 1980 is so idiosyncratic (yet still awesome). However, this song from 1985’s Rain Dogs fits nicely in the mix, as it takes some of its words and melody from the folk song “Tom Dooley.”
6. “The Band Played Waltzing Matilda” by the Pogues. This long, depressing story song is about an Australian soldier fighting in World War I, and despite being played by an Irish punk band that was based in England, it somehow feels appropriate blaring from our stereo as people eat Navajo Tacos.
7. “Sinnerman” by Nina Simone. Although she began her career in the 1950s, long after the Exchange Club building was constructed, this amped up version of an old Spiritual sounds great reverberating off of its walls.
8. “St. James Infirmary” by the White Stripes. This Blues standard packs a punch when performed by this garage rock duo from Detroit circa Y2K.
9. “La Vie en Rose” by Iggy Pop. Who better to cover Edith Piaf than the Godfather of Punk?
10. “Don’t Fence Me In” by Roy Rogers. Singing cowboys were a big deal in the pre-rock’n’roll era, and not many people realize that this song was written by Cole Porter.

(Dis)Honorable Mentions

While they fit into the era and the musical style of our new playlists, there are a few songs that come to mind that are extremely interesting, but on which we are taking a hard pass.

1. “Shave ‘Em Dry” by Lucille Bogan. This song, recorded in 1935, needs be heard by anyone who is convinced that dirty music is a recent phenomenon. It makes the work of Cardi B sound tame and is 100% NSFW.
2. “Your Southern Can is Mine” by Blind Willie McTell. Blind Willie’s voice and guitar playing are so good that it’s easy to gloss over that this entire song is about him gleefully physically abusing his lady friend. Although plenty of old Blues music is misogynistic in a way that you can attribute to a representation of attitudes of the time, this one is extreme by any standard.

Please stop in and give our new playlist a listen or check out this preview at home and then let us know if you have any suggestions.

-Drew Purcell, January 27, 2022

The Weatherford Hotel is a fantastic place to read, and winter is the best time of the year to do so. There are cozy nooks all over the hotel that suit this purpose, both public and private, as well as plenty of books that involve the building itself, the personalities who spent time here, and similar themes.

Before we get to the actual books, here’s my totally subjective list of the best places to read in the building:

1. Of all the warm spots to enjoy an Irish Coffee and a book during the lazy winter months, the pair of small tables surrounding “Wanda,” the pot-belly stove in the Exchange Pub, might be the most iconic.
2. While the hotel’s original balcony burned down in 1929, it was rebuilt by the current owners in the late 1990s, just in time for the hotel’s centennial. There are plenty of tables and chairs for relaxing, and a gas heater that heats part of the east-facing end. While this is only open to the public when the Zane Grey Bar is open (for up-to-date hours, please check here https://weatherfordhotel.com/zane-grey-ballroom/) hotel guests can hang out in this area at any time.
3. The fireplace in Charly’s restaurant area was once the centerpiece of the hotel’s lobby. Be sure to ask owner Henry Taylor the story of how he dug it out from under layers of drywall after reading of its existence in an account by western author Zane Grey. Grab a seat nearby, order a bowl of Sam’s pozole, and relax.
4. Directly above that aforementioned fireplace and sharing the same chimney is another beautiful spot in the Zane Gray Bar. While the area can be noisy on busy weekend nights, earlier in the day it is a nice place to relax with a book while sampling Brittley’s seasonal cocktails.
5. The basement used to have several fireplaces, as evidenced by the many coal shoots still scattered around the Gopher Hole Pub. Unfortunately, these fireplaces have long since disappeared as the area transitioned from a legitimate bar to a speakeasy, and then to a series of fraternal organizations’ headquarters, a cobbler’s shop, storage, and finally the resurrected Gopher Hole. Thankfully, during the latest renovation, the owners added a new fireplace, which may be the prettiest one in the building.
6. If you have superb concentration abilities, the bustling lobby has some great reading areas right out in the open. While the configuration of the area changes frequently, there is currently a pair of chairs right next to the radiator, under a portrait of our founder, J.W. Weatherford.
7. Finally, Room 42 is my personal favorite room in the hotel and probably the greatest reading nook of them all. As a queen suite, it is less pricy than our king suite, and is the only private room that has its own potbelly stove for heating. Next to the stove is a chaise lounge, two comfy chairs, an antique bed, and several large windows. Check out this short video for look at the room: https://youtu.be/kmc-CtNm9_4.

While reading any book (or magazine, or blog post…) is enjoyable at the Weatherford, here are a few suggestions to really help immerse yourself into the hotel’s unique atmosphere:

1. We’d be crazy not to start with Zane Grey’s The Call of the Canyon, which was written (at least partially, as there are several accounts) while Grey was staying in what is now the ballroom area that bears his name. It takes place in nearby Oak Creek Canyon and mentions the “Wetherford” several times. Being in the public domain, you can find it as a free ebook here: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1881
2. While this list mostly focuses on the past, George Breed’s book Walking Flagstaff: A Photo Journalshows how Flagstaff continues to be a vital, interesting place full of amazing people. Visit https://soulsticepublishing.com/product/walking-flagstaff-book/ or wander over to Bright Side Books, just over a block away from the hotel, where you can find this as well as many of the other books on the list.
3. Platt Cline’s Mountain Town, an updated version of his earlier book They Came to the Mountain, is considered the definitive history of Flagstaff, and it features John Weatherford and the Weatherford Hotel prominently. Out of print, you can usually find used copies in local used bookstores like Bookmans.
4. Jimmy Swinnerton: The Artist and His Work by Harold Davidson, is an entertaining and enlightening account of the long life of the man who invented the modern comic strip at the age of 17 and then became a celebrated landscape painter after drying out at our hotel. This one is relatively hard to find, but it occasionally pops up on eBay for about $25. The many high-quality prints of his paintings featured in the book make it well worth the price.
5. Susan Johnson, founder of “Haunted Flagstaff” ghost tour business Freaky Foot Tours, wroteFlagstaff’s Walkup Family Murders: A Shocking 1937 Tragedy about a sensational local murder that had been nearly forgotten. Find it online at https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Products/9781467147156.
6. Lowell Observatory’s Kevin Schindler and local philanthropist Michael Kitt collaborated on Historic Tales of Flagstaff, a very entertaining collection of stories about the history of our town, including some info about the hotel. https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Products/9781467142410
7. Odetta: A Life in Music and Protest is Ian Zack’s biography of the late folk legend Odetta, known as the Voice of the Civil Rights Movement. She was one of the hundreds (maybe thousands?) of amazing artists who graced the stage at Charly’s over the years, and many longtime locals can still attest to watching her captivating performance.https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/621094/odetta-by-ian-zack/
8. There are a few major differences between the Weatherford and the Overlook Hotel of Stephen King’s The Shining. For instance, we don’t have a topiary garden or roque court (Winslow’s La Posada has croquet, which is similar), we don’t shut down over the winter, and our ghosts are mostly friendly. However, late at night, the halls in our hotel areas can conjure images of little kids on tricycles, creepy twins, and the occasional river of blood. Pick up this book literally anywhere books are sold, or from the bookshelf of nearly anyone between the ages of 40 and 80 in any English-speaking country.
9. Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None is a fantastic locked-room mystery in a setting that I can’t help but imagine looks a lot like the Weatherford, despite taking place on an island of the coast of Devon in the UK. You can probably find this one lying around at any grandma’s house, and if not, any other Christie book will do.
10. On the surface, it may seem like a riff on the tropes that were established in The Shining and reused over and over since then, but Scott Kenemore’s The Grand Hotel is actually an entirely unique approach to the haunted hotel genre. This one is really enjoyable, and the audiobook version is a great listen. https://scottkenemore.com/the-grand-hotel/
    *Honorable mentions: Any biography of Zane Grey, William Randolph Hearst, Barry Goldwater, etc.

Have you read any of these, or are there any books that I missed? If so, please let me know in the comments.

-Drew Purcell, January 20, 2022

Since we purchased the Hotel Weatherford in 1975 we have made it our mission to save this historic building and make it the cornerstone of a thriving downtown Flagstaff. We have put our heart and soul into making this business the best it can be for our customers!

The Hotel Weatherford opened its doors to the public on New Year’s Day 1900 when Flagstaff was just small watering hole in the wild west. Now at 119 years old, the Weatherford needs consistent upkeep and renovations to protect the structural integrity of the building. From rebuilding the beautiful wrap around balcony, to renovating the basement to bring you the Gopher Hole, we are constantly trying to improve the building for the sake of our guests and preserving this magnificent historical landmark.

It is with those goals in mind that we announce some new construction happening at the Weatherford over the next 2 to 4 months! We are adding structural support in the Charly’s Lounge (also known as the Main Bar), removing the ceiling in the lobby that is currently the Mezzanine, and constructing new hotel rooms in what are currently offices. The end result will be 6 new hotel rooms and an airy, spacious lobby area.

We are excited for the finished product, but we also acknowledge the inconvenience to our guests. Throughout construction the Gopher Hole will be open at 11AM for lunch and dinner, the Exchange Pub side of the restaurant will be open at 8am Friday, Saturday and Sunday for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and our wait staff will guarantee the same service that you would receive in our restaurant. Please call us for the most up-to-date information on construction and any questions that you may have at (928) 779-1919.

When the Weatherford opened in 1900 the Coconino Sun said, “There is no finer hotel in the whole southwest,” and we mean to keep it that way.

-Henry Taylor & Sam Green, owners of the Hotel Weatherford

See pictures of the renovation in progress!

Is it really almost here???? After years of planning, dreaming and preparing, we are finally ready to announce… “The time is almost upon us!” Sam and Henry (along with the best staff in town) are about to embark in one of their biggest adventures yet… OPENING THE GOPHER HOLE!!!!

Over the past year we’ve watched as crews have come in to work from the top down to prepare are beautiful building for the massive remodel of the basement. We’ve seen thousands of pounds of tar peeled off of our roof, said good bye to our favorite storage area, and kicked our beloved maintenance man, Greg, out of his “office”. There have been walls sealed up, stairways turned into closets, and where there was once a wall of dirt  you’ll now find a fancy game room (and state of the art bathrooms!). But the what has really captured us, what has really made us stand back and say: “it’s really happening”… is the day we saw the bar come to life!

Today was the day we finally got to fill the beautiful new shelves, rails and counters of the Gopher Hole bar with our favorite friends: Johnny, Jack and Jim (just to name a few). It’s housing all of our favorites and yours. Plus, as we speak, our devoted researchers (a.k.a. our beloved bartenders) are out searching for some new labels to add to the mix. (Remember that we are always looking for suggestions from our friends!)

With our 80 keg-cooler primed and ready to roll, we’re just waiting on our first delivery to stock it up (have we mentioned how excited our delivery guys are??). The 20 tap handles are on their way and set to be the centerpiece for this work of art.

This beautiful display of libation-al glory was the hit of the 1930’s; when it’s grand opening marked the end of prohibition in Flagstaff, and we can’t wait to watch you all celebrate with us when you come in!