An exclusive first look at new Sonoran restaurant Glenrosa

Golf course restaurants aren’t often associated with culinary experiences.

“You typically have your hot dog and your club sandwich and go on your way,” says Grass Clippings Rolling Hills Golf Course co-founder Jake Hoselton.

He and the team behind the Tempe course want to change that with Glenrosa, a Sonora-inspired restaurant set to open on April 5.

“There is this unbelievable opportunity to serve elevated food and cocktails also in a golf course setting,” Hoselton says. “If there wasn’t even golf here, this is an incredible place for a restaurant.”

Glenrosa sits at the entrance of the par-3 course, which is located on Mill Avenue in Papago Park, just north of Loop 202. It’s not an average place to play – a lighted course means golfers can play at night. Hoselton didn’t want the food to be expected either.
The restaurant’s creamy white facade opens to an airy, hacienda-inspired interior where diners can spy the cooks working Glenrosa’s custom-made grill through a wall of windows to the kitchen.

The nearly 200-seat dining room and bar gives way to a tiered patio with tables and lounge seats encircling fire pits that look out to the greens of Grass Clippings and the sandy, curved Papago Buttes. Across the pathway is Glenrosa’s bar, which will also offer full dining service.

“We want this to be looked at as a place not just for golfers, but anyone can come and enjoy this beautiful space,” Hoselton says.

Sonoran chefs at the center

To create a “chef-driven” restaurant that appeals to both golfers and gastronomes alike, Hoselton says they sought the best chef they could find. In January, the team announced they had partnered with two-time James Beard Award semifinalist Samantha Sanz, who has showcased her skills at restaurants around the Valley, including Sanctuary Camelback Mountain, Virtú Honest Craft and Talavera at the Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale.

With Glenrosa, Sanz wanted to highlight the cuisine of her hometown of Nogales, Mexico, and pay homage to memories at her grandmother’s restaurant, she shared in January.

But, “life changes,” Hoselton says, explaining that a move to Texas will take Sanz from the restaurant. She tapped a former colleague from the Four Seasons, Victor Davila, to take over as executive chef and bring her menu to life.

“It’s in her DNA to leave a place better than she found it and that is what she has done by going and finding chef Victor Davila, who is going to champion the Glenrosa, Sonoran live-fire menu from here,” Hoselton says.

The golf course co-founder describes Davila as “a young chef that’s on the come-up.”

Like Sanz, Davila has roots in Sonora.

“We resonated (with) our backgrounds, the type of cuisine we like to do, how passionate we are about it,” Davila says of the chefs’ friendship.
Davila grew up in Hermosillo and some of his first food memories are of his grandmother making tortillas and his grandfather harvesting chiles. Every time he smells chiles roasting over an open flame in the kitchen, that memory “comes back to life,” Davila says.

Getting to the Valley was a journey. Davila began his cooking career in Mexico and then headed to New York City. He arrived in Phoenix in 2017 and joined the kitchen at Roland’s Market, the since-shuttered culinary collaboration between award-winning chefs and restaurateurs Chris Bianco, Nadia Holguin and Armando Hernandez. In addition to the Four Seasons, Davila cooked at Renata's Hearth at Arizona Biltmore and most recently worked at Caesars Republic Scottsdale.

At Glenrosa, he’s taking on a cuisine that’s close to his heart and carrying on the vision crafted by a friend.

“I promised her and I promised the team that we’re going to do honor to what she has started,” Davila says. “I’m certain we’re going to make her proud.”

What's on the menu?

Glenrosa will offer daily lunch and dinner service, serving family-style dishes that are geared toward large groups.

The grill, which Davila calls “the heart of the kitchen,” fuels those shareable platters of tomahawk steaks, whole chickens and fish that take on the flavor from mesquite, almond and olive woods. These meats arrive with housemade tortillas, roasted vegetables, crispy potatoes, rice, beans and salsas.

The menu will also feature Tacos Dorados, crisp tacos filled with chile Colorado beef and pickled vegetables, and the Tijuana Salad, a riff on the Mexican-born Caesar salad, served with heirloom tomatoes, chorizo bread crumbs, Manchego, crunchy corn and slices of toasted almond.

In the mornings, quick items, such as breakfast burritos, overnight oats and house-squeezed juices, will be available for golfers to grab before hitting the course. The team aims to add weekend brunch service in the future.

The drinks menu will include beer, wine, seltzers and a “small, fresh” roster of cocktails, Hoselton says.

“We’re going to constantly be rotating in fresh juices, going seasonal,” he adds.

That includes a prickly pear margarita and another using carrot juice. There’s also a spicy take on a dirty martini made with jalapenos.

Hoselton notes golfers can still find familiar fare, such as a hot dog done Sonoran-style with beans and grilled vegetables, and a peach Bourbon-based riff on a John Daley.

With the opening of Glenrosa, he hopes to challenge what people think about golf course dining and carve out a "destination" restaurant.

Glenrosa

Opens April 5
Reservations now open
1415 N. Mill Ave., Tempe